At what point should I consider a body swap?

[79vette]

My dad has a 77 K5 that he inherited in the early 90s, from his dad who bought it sometime around '82. I learned how to drive in the truck, and I have a bit of sentimental attachment to it.

It's a good looking truck from 20'. Interior is pretty clean, 350 SBC and th400 run well, mechanically it's pretty sound. Fenders and doors were replaced about 25 years ago and the truck has mostly been garaged since then so that all looks nice still.

But it has real bad rust in the floors, rockers, hood, tailpan, and tailgate. None of that was replaced or even repainted when the rest of the bodywork was done in the late 90s, and the Utah road salt has been eating away at it ever since. I don't have complete photos, but the rust goes a pretty good way up the B pillars and I've never seen patch panels for that. I probably would have to cut that section out of a donor cab if I try to fix it.

I've done floors in my 86 K5 (link in in my signature) and that was pretty easy, even fabricating the patch panels myself. I'm pretty sure I could do the rockers fine too. But the tailpan and B piller repair seems more intimidating, and I have been looking for a rust free K5 tailgate for like 5 years with no luck. Are they even avalible these days?

Pictures are below. If this was your truck what would you do?

1. Do the rust repair yourself
2. Pay a shop to do it (10k+? Everyone I have taken it to has been "too busy" to quote it, which tells me they just don't want to do the job because it's a pain)
3. Part it out and scrap the body?

[79vette]

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[79vette]

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[79vette]

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[Corts60]

I wouldn’t consider options 2 and 3 myself. If you’re going to scrap it, you may as well just run it as it is until it get to be too unsafe to drive, then part it out. Maybe by then you’ll have found a rust free donor.

Maybe floor pans and rockers if you want to keep it a long time and then just coat all the other rust with corroseal to help slow it down?

I’m in the same situation with my ‘88. From the front doors to the nose it is in perfect shape but from the rear doors to the barn doors, it is rusted so bad I don’t think it can be salvaged. So I’m just going to keep running it until the day I feel it just isn’t safe anymore.