If you really want to keep it due to it being your father’s truck, frame off restoration is really the only route. With a new frame from a truck that wasn’t exposed to road salt. But that’s gonna be a lot of work, and even doing it yourself would be tens of thousands of dollars. Post some pics of the frame, maybe the pictures make it look worse than it is. Get a southern donor truck, with a good frame and body panels with a bad engine or something since yours runs to cut down on cost of the donor truck. From there just swap all the good parts from the donor truck, frame, body panels, etc. 99% of shops probably wouldn’t take on a project like this so your gonna have to DIY it most likely so if you don’t got a lot of time on your hands it could take years to do.

 

Rust has a pretty good hold on that one. You are asking about cost? Well, $3K is not going to do it. Even $7K won't take you as far as you may think. Now, I work in nearly worthless Canuck bucks, but a decent paint job around here starts at about $10K. Rust repair would likely double that. So, first thing you need to know is exactly how far you need to go. A good start would be to crawl under the truck with a pick hammer and start swinging. A rusty frame would be a deal breaker IMHO.

 

Canuck Bucks has me dying. I just call it Can-a-dough.

 

​​​​​​​I'm a sucker for sentimentality.

I tend to keep my cars forever. If this were mine, and this was my goal, I'd probably get it sprayed like @JJF20 mentioned in Post #7, maybe once per year depending on how much you drive it. In the meantime, start studying up here at FTE and other places, see what you can figure out how to do yourself and/or get a better understanding of what you will be asking others to do. Over this time, you can set aside some more funds to put into this, and drive something more "disposable" as much as possible. This will help slow the rust while also reducing the risk that Dad's truck gets damaged etc. in a plain old fender bender. It will also be necessary to have another vehicle available just to be able to get around while this one is taken apart for whatever reason.

Some of this can be pieced together as you go. They make body parts that can be grafted in, and then later when the frame gets worked on, these repairs would still stay. Some of the rotten mounts etc. under the body that are replacable can be replaced today, and would probably be okay to re-use in a few years when you get the big things done.

I am assuming you are not looking for a show truck. That would easily be $30,000.00+ and then you'd never want to drive it.

Anyways, the good thing about long-term projects like this is you can take your time and not kill your finances, and maybe learn a thing or two along the way.

 

Having once owned a body shop I can safely say "restoring" this particular vehicle to a nearly new condition would run somewhere near $100K today. Nothing less than a full frame-off would be effective in the longer term. Undertaking such a huge project would also require highly specialized technicians with extensive experience in such work. Think Jay Leno's Garage where not a single bolt, nut and fitting is left untreated in one way or another.

Additionally sourcing so many new parts would be another daunting undertaking given the truck's year of manufacture. The cab needs to be replaced with a known version in as near a rust-free condition as possible then undergoing its one minor restoration all by itself. Same for the frame and many of the suspension attachments and parts.

I too get the sentimentality of such a project and if you can muster enough money that's extremely flexible as unanticipated additional funds are needed then nothing is impossible. I wonder if there's not a more practical less costly way to honor and remember your Dad?

 

we have a loonie as PM...go figure.

 

I can tell you I was a professional and that is NOT surface rust that is full on rot!
If you see any holes where the rust is that is rot not surface rust.

It all depends on who is doing the work and for how much.
If the OP was doing the work the time is free and would only need to pay for the repair panels and the welding supplies.

If a shop was doing the work, if you can even find a shop that would do that work now days, yes you could buy a new truck for the cost.

BTW I did a 4 year cab off frame rebuild as a nice driver of my 81 F100 flare side that I did all the work on, yes even paint.
That was floors, rockers, cab corners, lower inner & outer left door and I used a long bed ribbed floor to replace the wood floor as it was going to be too much money and the long bed was from my parts truck.
It has been on the road now for 4 years and I have yet to add up all the paper to see what it cost me
Just the gallon of red paint was $1000!
Dave ----

 

I haven't totalled up my body work separately from all the mechanical work I did on mine but over a 5 year period, I put $4000 total in it, and the paint and body are nowhere near the level of a professional job. But it's not going to rust.

 

Beauty of a truck, but it seems your best option is to swap the good parts, or turn it into an apocalypse rig, that much rust is surprising, even up north, I have a similar truck, actually a little older, with nowhere near that much. (Came from Oregon, lived at crater lake, now in Washington)

 

If you're looking to have someone else do the work, it isn't a stretch to say you'd have more than $10k USD into that truck trying to bring it back just cosmetically. But the significant rot on that frame and the rest of the undercarriage is a separate story. I doubt you could get a reputable shop to touch it, and even if you could, what are you going to be left with that is the original truck that you are sentimental over? It makes much more sense to replace the cab and sheet metal than it does to try and patch everything. Same goes for the frame and running gear.
I did a write up on here a few years ago, replacing the floor pans, cab corners, rockers, etc, on the cab of my '90 F350. That was a winter's worth of work, probably a few hundred hours, just to extend the life of the whole truck a few years. JJF20 has a much more comprehensive write up on here basically going through everything your truck would need to have done. Take a look at his write up to get an idea of the work required.
Unfortunately, the truck is on borrowed time and is pretty far gone. Even if you take it to get the underside sprayed in some sort of rust inhibitor, you're only delaying the inevitable by a few years.

-Edit: I just saw your other thread titled "Rust". The chassis is significantly worse off than I initially thought. It looks like one of your rear leaf spring hangers is about to let go, as well as well as a host of other significant safety issues I can see in those pictures. I don't mean to be crass, but it is probably time to let this one go.

 

Sounds like a nice truck now FuzzFace2. Love those older flairsides
All hope is not lost beccaj
You are not the only one with a damn rusty truck
Save a bunch of money up to buy some good junkyard fenders and a good bed or new bed sides to have welded in
Do you think you can replace the fenders yourself beccaj?
You could go the patch panel route but that is liable to cost more and not look as good in the end
The frame will survive for quite a while IMO
I have had rustier trucks / vans over the years. the rear shackle pivots will rust out first and that is when you reevaluate the frame (years from now)

 

My guess is, if that truck comes apart it will not go back together.. not from a lack of dedication or ability, but everything will be so rusted out, it simply won’t be worth it.

Go to California.

1995 F150. $9,000 USD / $12,200 CDN.
https://www.choiceautontruck.com/det...f-150/95653282

You are on the internet asking for subjective advice, and have now received answers all over the map. My best suggestion is to take it to a couple of reputable shops. Find small independent ones that do restoration work and ask them in person.

 

That time has already come. This picture is from the other thread. That hanger is on its way out.