move to charlotte. i like it here, you probally will.

 

I took some detailed pitures of the undercarrage of my truck today to give you guys a better idea of what I'm working with here...Please be honest and give me any opinions so I don't make the wrong disision on what to do with this truck. Keep in mind I undercoated this whole truck a little less than a year ago, the some of the minor rust you see here is what has peaked thru the undercoating already.

-Click the Thumbnails


The spare I dred to use..

Cracking Passengers Side Rear Leaf Spring Bracket

Passengers Side Rear Leaf Spring Bracket

Passengers Side Front Leaf Spring Bracket

 

Passengers Side Quarter Pannel Rust


Passengers Side Door Sill Rust

 

More...

Somehow I still have a dust sheild on this side..

Both mount locations on the core support are rotted out..

Brake Dust Sheild Rotted out and fell off. Along with a bad lower balljoint.

 

Even more thumbnails..

Broken Drivers Rear Leaf Spring Mount

Drivers Side Rear Quater Pannel Rust

Drivers Side Lower Door Sil Rust

 

You might consider the left-coast- the south doesn't have as much salt, but the humidity factor is unreal- especially near the coast. Even in the soggy Pacific Nwst, we can't concieve of 90% humidity... unless it's raining.

 

If you really love your truck then do this an you will have years of rust free driving..powder coat the frame...

I have drove my truck all over the US and have even moved from the inlands to the coast there is no getting away from the salty air and if you live in a winter land state where the roads are salted and sanded then you are hit with a double whammy ... so spend a little time on your truck fix what needs to be fixxed and powder coat the rest...

and yes rust is a death kiss an that kiss can be avoided with a little work...5 years now my truck has endeared the salty fog and air on the coast and at first I was discouraged when I first saw rust then I took action an powder coated my frame and if you can not afford the powder coating then spray epoxy...

You get out of your truck what you put into it..

 

One day I want to rip it down to the frame and build it back up. Theres really nothing to trucks..Just front end, a cab and a bed..than your down to the frame and suspension.

 

I live in north-central NJ, about an hour north of trenton and 20-30 minutes outside of NYC. This fine state loves salt. No such thing as too much salt. So yes, eventually everything driven in NJ rusts. However, body work isn't that bad. I'm an amateur, and I don't think this came out too bad:

Before repair:



During repair:



After repair:




My frame had a ton of surface rust too:



after repair:




Using "import" parts, I repaired both rusty wheel wells on the bed using patch panels I bought on ebay. They were $35 for the pair plus $15 shipping. I welded them in myself, then ground off the welding beads, applied as little bondo as I could get away with, raspped with a body file, sanded primed and painted.

The radiator support was shot on my truck as well - once I removed the fenders and the radiator hoses, it just fell forward on it's own - it was that bad. That part (import) was about $80 if i recall, and maybe $25 shipping. Also, from a seller on e-bay. I replaced the two front fenders with import fenders, and they were "okay" to fit, not really perfect... but for the tiny bit of money I wasn't going to complain. In NJ I can't pass inspection with through-body holes, there's just no way around it. And the inspection stations will peel off any duct tape they see. At least they are supposed to.

You can see I cleaned up the frame too - I sandblasted off all of the big flakes, then added metal where it was getting a little thin for my tastes. Since I had the entire truck apart, I chose to "box" the frame rails where the front suspension tacks on as well as the steering gearbox. My rear shock brackets were rusty rusty rusty and I simply tacked on hammer-formed 1/4" plate over the thin areas. Took a lot of hammering but you can shape 1/4" plate with a 5'lb sledge hammer on a shot bag. It just takes a long while and your arms will hurt, trust me!

Was two weeks of work, working my **** off. Considering what a new F350 crewcab costs, I didn't mind sweating in the hot sun repairing this truck.

 

I'm worried about the front ball joints now..

 

Oh btw, my truck pass inspection today, AMAZING!

 

I'm thinkin' about selling again I don't know what to do..

 

Please stay where you are, so we can offer you our rust-free trucks.
We are getting overcrowded.
Just kiddin.

 

Like a few others have said, give it a darn good sellin' if you can and get a rust free truck. If your drivetrain is first class get a tired truck with good undercarriage and sheet metal and use your old truck as a donor. I have played with collectable cars, mostly Fords, all my adult life and I learned real early, there "ain't no" getting rid of rust. Unless you have a very rare vehicle don't fool with it. You are seeing the rust, what about the wiring that has to be corroded? Been there, done that. Sell it. By by truck

ray

 

If you think there is no help for my truck, and I you don't think its worth restoring in a few years. than maybe I'll look into selling. Before I put it up for sale I thought it would be best to put my new rear leaf spring brackets in..Even then I don't know if it will sell with its SUPER sensitive clutch problem...