rust. lots of rust. and bent frame

[stockgp]

well, since i was out examining my gas tanks, i decided to check out my rust issues some more. now i wish i hadn't.

the rockers are gone. i knew that. but it appears that re rust has eaten so far that the area under the hinge needs to be replaced.

you can see in the pictures that the left cab mount was replaced. it's been fairly recent, but the mount needs replaced again.

the floor pan looks like it was welded over the old rusted floor pan.

and all this is just on the driver's side. i didn't have the nerve to check out the other side yet.

i really want to keep this cab. it was my grandfather's truck before it was my brothers. i don't have a welder and i don't know how to weld. this may be impossible for me to salvage.

i may have ot break down and replace the cab.

anyone gone as far as replacing as much of their cab as i'll have to?

also, there is on pic that shows what appeared to me at quick glance to be a section of bent frame. how do you go about fixing that?

[Goldfinger]

First of all stop the rust. using an automotive grade rust stopper. I'm sure you could graft the lower portion of a donor cab. since you don't know how to weld it could be costly unless you can find a helpful person from this forum close to you

[makman1297]

I cant see you pics, but i did some pretty extensive rust repair on my 77, check out the link and see. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=463296

[stockgp]

yours is looking very similar to mine. was the passenger side that bad? i know my rockers are gone on both sides.

i need to get a welder and learn to weld. then this won't be so bad.

any recommendations on rust stoppers?

[makman1297]

I used a product from advance auto called Purple Power De-Ruster, after i cut out the bad and ground off the paint you brush some of this on and it coats the metal, once it dries you can paint or weld or what ever you need. I also put on some more after cleaning up my welds. I used a product from TP Tools called brushable seam sealer, comes in a can and i used that seal seal up all the exposed seams on both sides, then paint and use undercoating. My passanger side is not as bad, but it needs a rocker, corner, floor repair and cab support. A good place to get the metal is classicparts.com.

[makman1297]

If you are going to get a welder, i recommend a gas mig (wire feed), the flux ones are not that good for sheet metal. I bought the harbor freight 220V mig, was about $150 on sale, then another to get the tank and regulator. I use the .027 wire and it works really good for the sheet metal, espically for the price.

[stockgp]

thanks for the info. i was afraid i was going ot have ot come up with 1,000 bucks to get a capable welder.

i'm going to swing by advance. i've never heard of the stuff you mentioned.

[donut]

If you can find a decent cab it can be replaced.
Decent is the key- when I did mine, decent wasn't in the budget, so got a good machine, repair parts, and went to town (time I did have, plus knowing how to weld and fit helped.)

As you dig further, you may find it is actually worse than what you initially see. Just be prepared.

[stockgp]

there's a guy parting one out by me. i'm going to call him and see if he'll let me cut chunks out of the cab before he scraps it.

i can't honestly say what there is in the junk yards near me. as many times as i've been, i've never been looking for c10 parts

[f.monroe]

There is some good news. If the last pic is what has you concerned about the frame then dont worry about it . GM started that in 78 or so . The drivers side frame rail looks unfinished but that is the way they left the factory.
Frank

[stockgp]

what exactly do you mean by unfinished? just looks bent to hell to me

[f.monroe]

When I say unfinished I mean that the bottom of the frame rail just has a sagging bend to it. It looks like they did not get a good stamping of the frame rail and the bottom lip did not get finished. The look like someone bent the lower lip down at an angle. It is not parallel to the ground unde rthe drivers side of the cab where the frame angles upward. I have never liked the later 70's and 80's frames for that reason.
Frank

[stockgp]

huh. that is weird. well that's one less thing to worry about then.

thanks