Ok so we all know just how prone these OBS's are to rust. Want your guys opinions on just how to go about fixing a few patches of rust on my OBS Crew Cab.



Here's the first bit of rust. It's right where the windshield meets the grated panel that sits between the hood and windshield. Usually the chrome weather stripping would cover it up and out of sight. My prediction to fix this is two ways depending on time available/costs.

#1 My first and best option to fix it is to have our windshield guy remove the windshield next time he's at the shop doing someone else's vehicle and then once it's removed just wire brush it down and hit it with some naval jelly and then prime it up and just have him install the new windshield next time he's at the shop doing someone else's windshield.

#2 Is the more realistic of the two options unfortunately. I'm gonna have him do my windshield next time he's at the shop but just quickly wire brush the rust and hit it with rustoleum or por15 then have him install the new windshield same day.




Next bit of rust is on the floor right by the column that separates the two doors. To solve this issue I was just going to cut out around the rust in a rectangle and just weld a new piece of metal in place. Coat the bottom of the truck to prevent future rusting and then just hitting the interior area where i welded in the patch with some primer or spray paint.




The last bit of rust is the floor boards...but not the actual floor boards, just the cab sheet metal that lies underneath the rising floor board of the front driver and passenger side. The picture below is to give y'all a better idea what I'm reffering too.



To fix this bit of rust I was going to cut out the part of the inside floor board by the pedals that slopes upwards, cut out any rusty areas and weld in new pieces of sheet metal from where I cut out then weld the sloped inner floor boards back in all after painting the newly welded areas with some type of paint.

What do you guys think of my plans/ideas? Any suggestions? I'm no expert at body repair so these are all fixes based on the logic of someone who has never done body repair in his life.

 

following this post, my drivers cab mount is like gone

 

Is it a daily driver? If not I'd say pull the cab and get after it all in one shot and rhino-line the underside.

 

How long do you want it to last?

And, are you in the rust belt? Or, is this rust something of an anomaly?

Roy

 

In my opinion it is less money in the end to go find a rust free truck from somewhere down south. I've had Chevrolets and Fords having been a New England resident all my life and they all rusted out. To fix them was in an exorbitant amount of money. In the last year and a half I have moved south to the Carolinas. I found an early 97 f250 4x4 7.3 that doesn't know what trust is. No dents and the pain is good. I ended up paying $6,500 for it. So I would go on a search take a vacation and go get it. It's actually exciting to lift floor mats open hoods and look underneath at the rocker panels and door bottoms and see shiny paint!

 

+1

But, that is why I asked where the truck is. If the rust is isolated, and the truck is in a low-rust part of the country...well, fixing it in a forever way seems reasonable.

Roy

 

Plumcrazy7 It is not a daily driver, just a weekend toy resto-project I have going on. Was planning on hitting the whole undercarriage with something...of what I'm still not sure.

irhunter yeah unfortunately i am in the rust belt...Pennsylvania to be exact. I want it to last for my own son someday if life's ever changing path allows me to do so.


Bird-Dog 250 I wish I had the time to take off to go vacationing down south for a good rust free donor truck but work and the bills just won't allow me more then saturday and sundays so that's a little bit out of the question for me. Plus I'd much rather fix these 4 small 4"x5" rust areas on this cab then do a whole entire cab swap. I got lucky where they are as they are all spots that are hidden when the trucks put together so I don't have to be super smooth with the welding and what not but I just wanna fix the rust as a preventative maintenance type of thing. If I never woulda gutted the entire interior I would never found these spots so just wanna fix it the best I can without breaking the bank. Even though it is in the rust belt I'm never gonna drive it in the snow if even at all during the winter so it's not like the patches are going to get that much worse as it won't be daily driven either it's just a weird quirk I have with rust. I wound up spending a whole weekend with my daily driver Silverado up on jack stands as I wire wheeled/painted my ENTIRE frame, cross members, axle, hitch receiver, drive shafts, skid plates, controls arms, etc. just as a preventative maintenance.

 

You can buy a replacement cab support, easy enough to install if you know how to weld a little bit.

If not its easy enough to learn by practicing a few times before diving into the truck, a low cost 110v AC wire feed is worth is weight in gold for quick metal repairs. Shielding gas provides better looking results but if working outside (wind) flux core gets the job done just the same.

 

I hear you! I did the same to all my trucks that rusted out. It's just nice to know if you decide to look there out there. Keep us posted with pictures! Good luck hope it comes out good...

 

I would plan on removing the driver from cab support to fix it Correctly. Then you can cut out the bad spot of the floor and paint the repair. Then you can install a new cab support

 

Youtube has tons of videos showing rust repair. Of course, the problem is about 80% of them are posted by knuckleheads without much of a clue.

I like the instructional chainsaw videos which start with the guy saying, "I have had no training, and I have only owned a saw for about a week, but I am going to teach you how to..."

Anyway, The are many great rust repair videos. Just sort through them, and learn from the guys who seem to know what they are doing. Eastwood has dependable videos up on Youtube.

Roy

 

Thank you all for the advice, guess I'll ask around locally and look on YouTube and make a call on what I do to fix the rust, got plenty of time as it's entirely too cold to be working all weekend long in the driveway so I'll knock out the stuff I can do indoors first till it's warmer out

 

there isn't really "fixing" rust, only removing it or attempting to slow it.

attempting to slow it is for those who don't know what theyre doing, or for those that know theyre going to part with the truck sooner than later and just want to keep it from falling apart.

you already indicated you wanted to keep it, leaving it alone for now is a viable option and then deal with it appropriately for longevity down the road.

 

You can convert rust using a tannic acid solution or phosphoric acid. You will have to clear or paint over it though.

 

I plan on doing all the cab bushings anyways so will see just how extensive the rust is on the supports once I get it in the air and off the frame but I recall the supports being relatively clean (minor surface rust no rot)...its just in between sheet metal seams that are starting to go really