Idea that might help us northerners

[Stevonator]

I've seen a few instances where undesireable cabs were scrapped because they were "bad" by southern terms. Trust me up north many of the ones we have are GONE until you get up about 8 inches and then just to frustrate us THEY'RE FINE!!!! Now, it's understandable that no one wants to try to pay the shipping on a less than perfect cab. And many of us aren't able to transport an item that large even if we wanted to make a 2,000 mile round trip. HOWEVER, it would be great if before you decided to scrap it if you could cut the bottom 8 inches off the cab. This would at least be shippable. I just priced out the panels needed to repair my Ohio cab and we're talking about $600 just for the panels.....and then they all have to be pieced together and welded. In translation that means NOT WORTH IT. Now I know they ALL need rockers typically, but there's a big difference between a couple cab corners and rockers and completely rebuilding a northern cab. In my case the truck has some sentimental value, but at some point if you replace enough stuff the truck looses its "soul". Also it'd take me DAYS to do it all piecemeal, but if I had a donor "pan" I could at least have a SOLID USUABLE cab in a day. Just a thought........open for your .02

[c-1072]

I would buy one it would have to be pretty solid though maybe off something rolled or with roof rust ?

[Stevonator]

It makes me mad to see a california cab get tossed when some of us would love to have the bottom.

[wannabeburbowner]

I know, if they only knew what it was like up here. I have seen a few beds go in california for $200, and it seems like it is hard to find a buyer over there. To have that bed shipped here would be like what....$600 or so. If they only knew....

My truck my look ok in pictures, but man it is FULL of mud. Tons of work is ahead, but it is hard to find a solid truck around and still get a "deal" on it.

The pan idea is pretty cool. But still how much will shipping be?? Still would be bulky and pretty heavy.

[72gord]

I agree on some of the parts we see going to scrap, but to go get a cab or box side in Florida or out on the west coast is not cheap, (unless your going for another reason to justify the $$$)...whether you get it yourself or hire someone. Its all about location and what you are willing to pay to get the part. You also have to consider what it would take for someone to cut the bottom off a cab and get it packaged/palleted for shipping, but hey I feel your pain...I have 3 cabs here with rotted out floors and supports, but good doors, firewalls, and roofs.

[RainFade]

Maybe we should for some sort of mid-western co operative.
When enough people know what they want and have put funds in say some sort of escrow a large truck and trailer are dispatched westward with a shopping list ?

[1Ton]

There are a few companys that bring western parts this way. Here is a link to one my brother used to get a complete body for his suburban. When I say complete I mean interior and all. Front and rear AC PW PL everything. If you would like to see the process of changing this body check out www.burben.com He delivered it to his door. He had a 40ft gooseneck trailer full of parts. There is a guy in Fredonia NY that gets parts from Texas too.
http://www.rustfreeparts.com/

[john_doe]

I'm in the north and I agree with finding a way to get southern parts at a resonable shipping cost. I drove to the middle of Ohio from NY just to get a stripped cab that I could cut the pan out of.

[Stevonator]

Yes, the pan would still be a large item, but something that I think would still ship Greyhound.....I think that's the method that would make it work. I realize someone would have to cut the bottom off, but it wouldn't have to be a super pretty cut. A torch cut or grinder cut could be done in about 1/2 hour or less.

[SLS]

I'm wondering if a southern man could make such a idea profitable?

What I mean is, there are usually plenty of cabs, even whole non-running trucks (mostly non-ac) to be had in this area. I'm just wondering if a guy had a large enough truck and trailer, whether it would be profitable enough to locate a unit, take a bunch of photos of it, post them here with a price, and pickup the truck and deliver it to our northern brothers...without the hassle of having to hack it up before delivering it?

[busterwivell]

If enough of you all got together, I'm sure we could find somebody to bring a U-Haul full of parts up to you. I kind of like the idea of cutting the bottom off. I'm sure a saws all would do the job. Someone just asked my friend to cut a cab roof off. Last Friday I stopped by and helped him cut a roof off an el camino that someone took back to Ohio. I'm sure we can find what you want, if you all got together. Unfortunitely, some of this stuff ain't cheap. It also doesn't help that scrap is bringing $75 a ton right now.

[72gord]

I'm not afraid of making the trip, its just getting a big enough trailer and getting enough people together to make it worthwhile. If someone in the southwest could locate and arrange purchase of parts, so a guy wouldn't spend a week or two rounding stuff up. You never know until it comes time to put up the $$$! From up here in Wisconsin, it would be about 2000 miles or so to AZ, a pickup pulling a trailer will burn about $900 worth of gas round trip, plus your time, and wear on truck and trailer...got to get a lot of parts on the load to make it viable. JMO

[72402]

I'd be willing to get involved in that. I live in eastern Oklahoma, about 30 minutes south of I-40, and have room for outside storage.

[Stevonator]

But one problem that still remains is that if you do the whole cab... now you have to go through the title process or hey guess what....WE'D JUST CUT THE BOTTOM OFF WHEN IT GOT HERE! Why not do it in advance and make something that can be readily shipped. I know I can get a decent cab, but what about those of us that have a decent interior or a "sentimental truck" and don't want to have to transfer everything over to a different cab and all the assorted hassles? Cut it with a sawzall and ship it greyhound. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SPECIALIZE IN BRING BEDS/CABS UP NORTH ALREADY! The problem is the space/gas/wear and tear/profit that anyone doing the job wants. I'd say anywhere from 2-300 bucks shipped would be reasonable to the seller for something they were going to junk don't you? AND THIS IS STILL HALF THE COST OF THE REPAIR PANELS FOR THE BUYER!!!! Without the associated welding and fitting. Also that's for FOREIGN STEEL for my AMERICAN TRUCK!!!!

The whole point is to allow the job to get done by TWO individuals using TRADITIONAL shipping methods. As soon as it needs any special transportation the cost went way up.......GREYHOUND IS GOING THERE ANYWAY FOLKS. I'm not sure on the restrictions but I'm sure the basic requirement is that it fits under a bus! I've spend more than my fair share of time on a bus and I'm pretty sure that the fitting should be no problem. They love the business because there is FAR more space under the bus than what is typically needed.

[72402]

Looking at some of the pictures I've seen posted about repairs, I can't believe some of the stuff you guys fix. I'd be happy to see you get something better, but personally, I wouldn't cut the bottom off a cab unless the top was awfully bad.

[68C15]

come to think of it a pan (firewall to rear wall & from rocker to center) would easily fit in the cargo area on a bus. we work on them for the state penn. maybe even the whole pan but that would be hard to handle in one piece.

I am all for the idea!!!!!!!!!!!
I want one myself!!!!!!!!!!! where & when do I put in my order?

[c-1072]

Not to throw a snag in a great idea but greyhound limits packages to 100lbs maybe even 90lbs i dont remember exactly .

[Stevonator]

If you split the pan....it's just one weld to make it one again

[SLS]

Something to consider:

How many people out there have a cab that has a good bottom, a bad top, and would be willing to chop it up, package it, and ship it.....for $200-$300???

Not many, I'd bet.


What you probably would need to do is deal with salvage yard operators, or people who already own such pieces and want to get rid of them...and can cut them up on the spot. Problem is, at least around here, most of the 67-72's I've found in the salvage yard...the yard wanted to sell the whole thing. No leaving the frame and chassis, rotten bed, broken glass, shredded seats behind. I don't really know why that is like that here, but just what I have experienced locally.

Would I spend the time to locate, inspect, maybe (or maybe not) purchase, and tote a cab/truck to my shop, unload it, then cut it up, package it for shipping, deliver it to Greyhound, cleanup the mess in my shop, and then make another trip to the recycler with the leftover pieces...all for $200-$300? No.

If I had a cab (and cab only) sitting here in my backyard that had a decent (easily fixable) bottom, would I go through the trouble of cutting it up, dealing with preping it to ship, and then taking it to Greyhound (for $300).....when I could just run a $10 ad in 'Wheels and Deals', sell the whole thing for $300 or more...and watch the new buyer load it up and tote it away? Again, no.


That's because, around here anyway, if a cab is bad enough to go to the crusher...it usually means that the bottom is trash to begin with. If the bottom is indeed a good one....a person can sell it for more intact (locally) than for what you are suggesting that they hack it up and ship it to you for ($200-$300).

For starters, alot of the cabs I've seen around here that would even merit cutting the bottoms out of..............are decent to begin with. Almost all of them have rust issues with the parts you are wanting to begin with.....lower pieces (rockers, pans, corners). And the sellers are usually wanting $300 or more for them anyway. I'd come out WAY ahead by stripping the cab, replacing the rusty pieces, and then selling the cab as a whole unit....ready to go. Plenty of people here in the south need SOLID cabs too. Preferably, the title would be be great, if the seller has it. If not, Rosette rivits...your original VIN plate.....BAM!...ready to roll.

Even if the cab (with good rockers, pans, corners) was given to me for free, I couldn't justify the time spent chopping it up and shipping it for $200-$300. Around here just replacing a pair of rockers on someone's cab can get you $600 or more....with far less effort.

What I'm thinking is, if I bought a cab with a good lower portion, and then went to the trouble involved in cutting it up and shipping it.......how would I not lose $$$......unless someone is willing to pay $300 or more for the cab I'm going to buy for them......plus another $200-$300 to cut it up and ship it....and then pay for the shipping too?

Last time I had a shipment from Greyhound, it was 1 door shell (Nevada to Tenn)......and they charged around $75. I don't even want to estimate what it would cost for them to ship a entire floor pan with rockers, corners, mounts, ect.

Between the cost of the cab ($300-up), the labor involved in chopping it up and packaging it for shipping ($200-$300???), and then the cost of shipping it (even Greyhound..surely $200 or more)............a person could easily have more than $1000 in a repairable floor pan/lower portion of a cab......and then they would still have to deal with repairing it and installing it in their project.....yet $600 is "not worth it" for fresh sheetmetal in easy-to-handle pieces?

Am I missing something?

"But one problem that still remains is that if you do the whole cab... now you have to go through the title process or hey guess what....WE'D JUST CUT THE BOTTOM OFF WHEN IT GOT HERE!"

Why would the seller or the buyer have to go through the title process...if the buyer has stated that he intends to cut the bottom off of it when he gets it? Seems to me that the title transfer would only be an issue if the buyer was going to use the VIN plate off of the donor cab.

Again, am I missing something?


Im with 72402.....I would NOT cut up a cab that had GOOD lower pieces to begin with......as these are the ones that are HARD TO FIND in the first place.......................unless it has been rolled or something.....and I have not seen any of those yet. Truthfully, I have looked at more cabs than I can remember....and I don't recall seing one that had a good bottom.....and a rotten top. Seems that they were all either rotten at the bottom, or rotten all over.