Let me re-phrase my previous answer: I would only consider swapping the VIN tags from another cab IF I had the title to it as well.

It will save you the hassle of re-registering your truck, and the cab may be from either a lighter duty or heavier duty truck and could cause you some issues.

I too would never just swap VIN plates to an unknown cab. You could open up a whole can of worms by doing so.

 

well, I wont be swapping the cab anyway because the cheapest one i can find around here is over $600, so patch panels it is.

 

Here's a picture that may help ... LMC Truck Parts - Page 21

This is from the LMC catalog, where we have been buying panels. I was unaware of RayBuck .... are they a sponsor of FTE?

My son is having fun restoring our rusted out '84 and '86 F250's. Having a little MIG machine will make things real fun and easy.

Good luck.

 

I have worked on two of these cabs so far, and I had the same problem with both. Where they do make patch panels, they do fit and do a good job of fixing they area they are designed to. The problem area I have run into is the inside floor area at the cab corners. Both trucks I have worked on where totally eat away in this area, it it's very hard to try and get metal in that area. On both I used fiberglass matt to repair this area. What makes it even worse is this is the area where the seat belt bolts in, so I have been having to move it up and remount it in a stronger area.

 

We have the same problem. While I consider this '86 to have very bad rust-thru, maybe yours is even worse. Nevertheless, there are areas that are not repaired by the aftermarket panels. We bought a small section of sheet metal at the local distributor. 16ga was the thinnest he had. We used pieces of this steel to patch those areas, and get everything all welded together.

Some of his homemade patch pieces require a little more bending, etc to make them exact replacement pieces. But, we are trying to get this truck together quickly for his younger brother to drive. Structurally, the patches are fine ..... but they are not factory perfect in appearance. He will be soon moving on to an '84 F250 which he wants to do perfectly, and he will spend more time and effort fabricating the homemade patch pieces.

Also, the rocker panels we got from LMC already had reinforced seat belt anchor points built into them. They seem to be in the OEM position.

Take everything I am saying with a grain of salt. My 19 year old son is doing all the work and giving me info on the project. Everything looks good, though.

My comment that a little MIG machine will make the job fun and easy .... was a very relative comment. My son loves doing this stuff, and spends all his spare time at it. So, whatever problem appears, he does complain .... its just another fun challenge.