I bought my truck , im 15 its my first truck and It has the sweetest dark blue paint job on it, and I keep straching it, and Im so paranoid somebody is goin to key it o kik it just becuz its so nice looking, and now i found a little patch of RUST! I paid 3200 for it, im not sure wut to do i dont really want to put more money into it becuz its a 1981 ford xlt f 150 with a 302 and it needs engine work and now body work id need to at least put another grand into it , and if I went to sell it it would not sell for 4500 firm. so just tell me wut i should do.

 

welcome to vehicle ownership

body rust is going to happen on a truck of that age. based on your description it doesn't sound like your fender is about to fall off or anything. your logic is sound, the only reason to fix it is if it bothers you that much, you want the experience, or it becomes a safety issue like frame rust or something because you aren't going to get the value back out and you probably don't have a ton of money to sink into your truck.

i've only attempted a couple body repairs and none of them were what i would describe as great successes. the equipment and paint supplies can be spendy and the fumes are VERY powerful if you use normal auto-spray. unless you live in arizona, you can chase little rust spots year round on an old truck.

haynes manuals have a nice little tutorial on body repair but unless you get it right the first time it may end up looking worse than the little rust spot you started with and the rust may return quite rapidly.

i know its going to bug you, but depending on where it is, if you keep the truck washed & waxed it will still look great to everybody else and continue to be a "mad chick magnet" .

my advice, would be to keep the truck as a learning tool but don't sink a ton of money into unnecessary fluff. sell the truck when you're ready or when the rust starts to really take off and seriously hurt the value or rigidity.

i sold my high school sweetheart of a truck after 10 yrs of ownership because the rear portion of the frame was rusting through and the body cancer was getting a bit out of hand but it still looked quite nice from a distance. thats the point to bail imo.

folks with more body work experience will prolly have a completely different viewpoint.

good luck.

 

is the rust right thru? If not, it should be easy to sand and paint, but remeber, the paint you buy will almost never match the colour of your truck, unless you have it done at a shop ($$$) So keep her oiled, washed and waxed and it will last a long time!

 

Fix the engine first. Rust won't strand you in the woods, but a sick 302 will!

The other reason to fix the engine first is that you'll likely scratch up something while working on it. Best to mess up the old paint job than a brand new one. Once the engine is running good, then think about paint.

Fifteen - they let you drive early up there. IF the rust is really bugging you, there are some paints made to chemically retard the rusting process. You can get touchup paint at the auto stores too. Remember, a hot rod is never done.........

 

Yeah, thanx alot guys I appreciate it, ill just keep working on my truck till the b#tch falls apart, and the rust is just under the paint its bubling.Hey spikedog i only have my learners i get my drivers in Dec. First im going to get new plugs new wires , oil change, and a new oil pan gasket and my engine shampoo'd, Then i will get my rust and my chips fixed, and then after all of that im thinkin of putting a cam , intake and bigger carb or just a carb kit. but thanx agian