started friday on my day off to put the left cab mount in the 53 . it started off bad and just got worse . i and matt a freind of ours who's a body shop employee started by getting the running board , gas tank etc. out of the way . well i started cleaning all the crap on the bottom and top of the floorpan . yep heres the first suprise . i didnt pay much attention to this area when i bought her as it appeared really decent and i was enamored with the flathead . well...... the previous owner used fiberglass and blackjack { roofing cement ! } to hide the rust in the left corner of the cab , and the fact that the pinch welds 'tween the floor and firewall on both sides were gone . the left side is pretty bad : the cab mount , the mount in the cab , from about 8 inches in to the inner side cab bracing is swiss cheese the pinch welds are rusted away ,the inner rocker after an attempt to clean it is also jury rigged ., the "cup under the dimmer switch is also partially gone , and the left front cab corner is really bad . the right side is actually really good save for the pinch welds being broken , its good to go .well seeing as i gotta drive her everyday we have just been fabbing up some frankenstein ugly patches to get me by until i decide whats next . im considering taking the cab off the 55 as the floor is all replaced , finish the bodywork and paint her , or just replacing all the damaged with new . oh well gotta go and try and finish it today so i got it back up and running . amazing how we can overlook this stuff cause we see stars in our eyes when we are looking at them the first time . ya know i might drift ever so slightly towards the darkside now as i got some ideas 'bout lowering and some kustom body work ........

 

about as equivalent to my friend's '79 CJ 7. Found the roll bar was mounted to the rear with a license plate and bondo (about 1 inch thick) on the horizontal flat above and behind the rear fenderwell. From there, it went into rebuild mode and $5000 later...

 

It's right at this point that you need to step back and decide if it's worth repairing... It's easy to get suckered in and down a path paved with $$$$$

 

yep thats why im thinking of using the 55's cab and put the other vin tag on it . the floor is done the front cab corners are donr all it has left is the right rear cab corner and some dents in the roof . fiish and paint then put 'er on . dont know yet . its almost back together so it can be driven ,goin' back out now . we'll see .