I finally found, purchased, and "tricked out" (I'm really a stock guy) my dream truck: F250 SD, Super Cab, 7.3, with 170,000, Black rims, new Michelins, running boards, & gooseneck hitch. For added measure I had it repainted even though it didn't really need it. I left town for a spell, and somebody TORCHED my truck. Set the driver's seat on fire and the cab is toast. The fire and heat were contained to the front seat and dash pretty much. Floor mats and carpet are in tacked (not burned or melted). The dash is still there, just completely melted and droopy. The drivers seat is bare metal springs and wire. Beyond the fire-wall looks unscathed. No paint boiled or bubbled off.

Question: Can I replace the Cab in it's entirety, and go on with life? In my perfect world, it would be a "new" (used) cab and rewire of the whole thing. Anybody know anything about doing such a job?

 

Sad Day.

 

Did they catch who did it ?
Did you contact the police ?
Insurance ?

 

I would guess that your insurance would write this off due to the unknown damage that isnt visible. Fors sure you would be looking at a lot of re-wiring. It is hard to tell from the picture how bad the damage is. But the wiring that runs under the door sill at the bottom of the floor at the kick plate would have to be fixed , just because you can see where it is melted at the kick plate.

I would imagine maybe a new harness, dont know how much damage the harness suffered, but you would have blown fuses for sure, the steering wheel is damaged which mean the switches and wiring to the button on the column would have been effected. Same if you had powered seats etc.

Could you do it, sure, but this will be a project and would really depend on how much work you want to do and how much your willing to spend. If it were me, I would wait and see what the insurance co offers you and ask what it would cost to buy it back.

You may get enough to find another truck and just update it yourself with the feature this truck had. The problem with trying to fix this one is going to be the electrical gremlins, melding harness's can be a huge PITA it can be done, but it really will be some work. If I were going to attempt that I would find a donor truck that had been wrecked that still had the good parts you need and has the options ( ie XLT PW, PL PM CRUISE ETC ) and use the donor parts for this truck.

Pull everything out of this truck dash, seats, steering column, carpet, headliner and then check the wiring, hoses, components that go between the firewall and make sure they are good, then start looking at all the wiring and harnesses check their integrity and see what needs to be replaced, look at the fuses boxes, and relays etc.

You would have your work cut out for you and this would be a project that would take a while depending on how much work you want to put into it. Biggest this is how the ECU etc have faired when everything got cooked. I'd be concerned about what you can not see. So there will be some challenges to doing and that is time. and money to complete it and then get it certified to be allowed to be put back on the road and registered and insured.

That just my two cents

 

Thank you Pocketlint.
I was out of town when this happened and the police were the ones that called me. It was way after the fact that they discovered the truck. it had been cold for some time.
Insurance is a longer, sadder story, I am in the process of moving back to NM and --no comprehensive insurance. So, this is ALL on me. AND, I don't have any faith that the guilty party will be found/figured out.

As for the truck--for sure the steering column contents are toast. Wire harness components behind the dash, but inside the fire wall also suspect. Everything at floor level, under the carpet, or kick-plate are probably still good as none of the carpet, floor mats, or kicks are actually melted. What is seen in the photos is melted plastic from the door dripped on to the floor.

What I am getting, from all sides, is forget this truck. It's GONE. It just seems like it should be possible to to take a complete intact cab from another truck, cut all wires just outside the cab, do the same with my truck, and splice in the new/used cab.

I'll go back to preparing myself for the worst. If I have to.

 

I can't imagine resurrecting this truck. It's a 7.3, so it's at least 14 years old. It's also a super cab, which makes it less valuable and also harder to find a good "new" cab. Whether it's insured or not, this truck has seen it's last ride...my 2¢

 

Wow sorry for your lousy luck, I just don't understand people anymore. I guess if it was me and no insurance I would be forced to fix. It's going to be a very long project. Hopefully you can find a very complete cab.

 

If I had to fix this I would find either a complete cab with wiring or a good donor truck to use. You should the eliminate most wiring problems due to the fire. Also you can then check all the harnesses that stay with the chassis much easier and repair as needed. Have the cab painted before dropping it back on and should be good to go.

 

My opinion, the truck is gone. Vehicle fires get very, VERY hot when they burn. Like changing the temper in the steel, kind of gone. That's why insurance companies always total a burned vehicle. It's a structural safety kind of thing.

Sure you could find another cab, but seriously, WHY? Either pull the driveline from this one and transplant it into a clean donor truck that quit running, or just walk away entirely from it. You can still sell the 7.3/trans on Craigslist or similar.

Sorry for your loss, but this one's not worth saving.

 

I guess anything can be done if you want to invest the time and money but IMO you should cut your losses and walk away. Pull the drivetrain out and sell it.

 

As a firefighter... that's a write off.

As we say - by the time we get toned out for a vehicle fire, the insurance company already owns it.

To get a salvage title; replace the cab, rewire basically everything in and through the cab; then get it re-titled for the road - that would cost way more then the truck's worth.

Sorry for your loss and **** luck; but that's not a project that's worth taking on.

 

Wow CerrillosHauler59 that sucks that trying to get your rig up and running is all on your dime. I feel for you. As I said could it be done, sure but it takes time and money.

It really is going to be how much do you want to spend to try and get it back on the road. Honestly my best advice to you would be to look for another 7.3 that has blown engine that someone has decided to not fix and bought something else or just didnt have the cash to repair or put in a rebuilt 7.3.

If you could find a truck same year options with a blown or dead 7.3 in it, you could swap the good from your truck into the other truck including your good engine.

Dont get me wrong you could try a cab swap, but the amount of work to rewire everything and then make sure it works before it can be certified to be on the road might make it more costly then to find a good donor truck.

There are lots of 7.3's out there that have gone a lot of miles on the engines and are at that point where guys arent willing to rebuild the engine or fix it due to high miles. If you could find one of those or a truck that was written off because insurance thought it was more to repair then it was worth, that would be a good candidate for you to swap your good parts into, I think you'd be better off than a re-wire on your current truck.

I am not saying you couldnt do it, but I just think you'd encounter more wiring issues and module issues and as the others have said issues with cab structure strength with the metal from the heat of the fire.

You would still need to have donor part from another truck to put into your current truck, so in reality one way or another you would still need to lay your hand on the parts from another truck which would be the cab and all the interior parts, dash , steering column, seats, headliner flooring wiring.

I would look for a truck where the engine is toast or one that was totaled by the insurance for the owner ( even theft recovery trucks can be a good choice because usually the thieves are just swiping parts ( and yes engines) I would check Craigslist and auction sites ( some auctions have section for vehicles that are called mechanical salvage where its vehicle that have had mechanical issue or have a dead engine etc and rare in the auction by dealers or insurance companies and yes even repo-ed vehicles )

One of the sites I haunt looking for salvage/wrecks is at this link

Buying Online Salvage Vehicles | Bid Online Auto Auctions - Salvagebid.com

You would be amazed at some of the trucks in there ( some I wonder why they are listed and some that really arent that bad) but might be worth looking at. I am sure some of the other guys may have some links or places you could check as well and hopefully they will see this and share them.


Now are you going to find one right in you area? Maybe...maybe not. But I would look at different auction sites and in different states as well. One of my neighbours buys trucks at auction and fixes them up, and yes including written off accident vehicles, and he fixes em up gets them inspected and turns around and sells em and makes a good buck doing it. ( he retired ages ago but he does it to keep busy ( tells me the wife says she drives him nuts when he has nothing to do...lol) But I would scan craigslist and auction sites etc.

You'd just have to try and look for a truck that's as close to yours and year , vehicle features, gears etc etc etc. Liek I said there are lots of good parts on your truck, but either way you do it, your still going to need a donor vehicle

just my thoughts

 

Will there be issues with title on a cab swap, since the serial #s will be with the cabs?

 

Lot of work changing cabs and splicing wires. My suggestion is it would be cheaper and quicker if you looked for a truck with a blown 7.3L and swapped the drive train.

 

WOW!
This was a great idea to poke my nose under this tent flap. Completely forgot about the titling issue. (And it was a pain with this one because the drivers door had been replaced and NM requires TWO VIN to be located for registering.) All the wiring issues I know exist, but have no personal experience with. And the lists of steps should I try to make a swap.
Thank you all for the $0.02 opinions. They're worth a mint.

I shopped so long for this one to find one out west with NO rust, not worked into the ground, or worn out, etc., etc. Giving up is tough. Particularly when I look at one (yesterday) 2002, 127,000, straight--no damage, rough gooseneck ball installation, But RUST, leaking tranny and pumpkin seals, and $15,800.

I know there are better deals out there, it's just--*&#@! I want my truck.

Thanks again for all the great info to help me make the right call here.