How far is too far?

I suppose this is a question most of you have asked yourselves at least once when staring at a new project. How far do I go with this? I am right in the middle of this very evaluation as I had my new 66 on the lift for the first time and I was able to really poke around in the hard to get to places and see the true shape of the truck. Needless to say I found rust and decay that I hadn’t seen before (I discovered the radiator support is completely gone underneath the radiator which has allowed it to drop .5” on the passengers side and now there is a small leak in the rad). In the last few days I had just ordered new hoses and belts, a few replacement body panels including the lower door pillars and floor pans, new tires and new kingpin kits and front end bushings. I bought this truck to use it not because I needed another project. I’m generally not an **** guy so I don’t need things to be perfect all the time, but I am a machinist so I tend to do things the way I know them to be right. I general don’t use JB weld when I can replace a part with a new one if you know what I mean. So looking at this truck today my first instinct was that I needed to take the cab and the bed off the frame, sand blast everything weld in repair panels where the body is rusted through replace bushings and bolts etc. etc.. I have a fairly conservative budget for this truck which I am fast approaching the limit of. Luckily I also have a number of years in the auto body and mechanics field so I can do most of the labor myself. The thing that I am most concerned about is: the fact that with some places are already rusted through, and that living in there is a real possibility of salt and snow on the roads (especially this time of year). I want to do enough to the truck to not have to worry about it rotting away to the point of junk, but can’t get into a full restoration project. I don’t like the idea of using por-15 to cover what should be replaced, but I guess I’m going to have to compromise and fix the things I can, accept the things that I cannot, and hope that I can tell the difference.

 

Lug Nut; sounds like you just about answer your own question. I would also suggest, initial repairs to areas of most important's like cab mounts, rad support it able. you could get it mechanically & driveablilty right than cosmetic's later. The rad support repair seems to be the hardest area. cab mounts & floor boards are a weekend repair if you got the facilities and tools.
The questions is; What level of recondition are you looking at. Daily driver; total body off resto Show & Go etc?

Mitch

 

Lug Nut! I looked at the pictures you posted and honestly thought "this guy needs a new cab". But since you are a mechanic and seem to have a solid idea of what needs to be done to repair the cab, I recommend you continue the project. Both OEM and aftermarket core supports are available (not cheap) but they are available. Most everything else can be patched or replaced. Good luck!

 

When you start disassembling things, take pictures and video.

 

I struggled with this throughout my whole project as well.
The truck was a total Flintstone mobile when I got it, and it was much worse than I'd ever imagined. I kept plugging away at it, knowing that there was no way to do a total body-off show quality job - it was just too far gone. I replaced a lot of metal (cab mounts, floors, cab corners, bed corners, fenders) and had to repair the core support.

In the end I ended up with a nice looking, usable truck, that I can haul things with, and launch my boat, but I don't have to worry if someone scratches it in a parking lot. It's not perfect, and a vintage car expert would probably cringe, but I'm happy with the result. Do what you need to make it safe to drive if you want to use it as a truck. Anything else you can afford is just extra.