55.2-59 cab rust - is it bad?

[regan56]

ok, the "legacy project" is coming around to body work. ive taken inventory of teh damage and to me its bad, but maybe its not as bad as i think. i've never attempted body work so this is new frontier for me.

there are two (well 3) spots im most concerned about teh level of difficulty i might be getting into:

the underside of the cab, where i'm going to call it bottom of the lower hinge pockets, both drivers and passenger sides have rusted through and the top of the windshield





other areas include bottom rear corners of the cab, the rocker panel on the passenger side is bent, and both door steps need replaced. as well both lower "rear" front fenders are rusted through and at least one headlight eyebrow...

[regan56]

its bad isn't it?...just give it to me straight doc.

[Accelo]

Yes it all can be repaired.
The floor rust is something we all have to deal with. Patch panels are common and fixes are not that difficult, as the fit isn't supper critical. The rust on the window frame is supper critical and I don't know of any patch panels. I would inquire on this board to see if someone has a good section for the window. Would make it much easier to repair. Most the rust appears to be behind the pinch weld which helps a lot.

[PDW HOTRODS]

It depends on a number of things. Do you have the skills and tools to do it? If not then do you have the money to pay to have it done? Anything can be fixed but is it worth it? Years ago I would just find another cab, but now it's getting real hard to find a great cab. I would fix it if it was mine. For the fenders price a new one and guess how much time it will take to fix the old one, they do make patch panels for them. A new fender might make more sense.
There are a lot of unfinished projects for sale because someone started and couldn't do it. If you haven't done a project like this before, you might think it through before you start. It's a big project but most of us enjoy it and when it's done it's cool to be able to say "I built this".

[_Ogre]

the hinge pocket repairs are minor and easy to repair. yours are not bad when compared to what most of us had to patch.
the windshield frame is another animal. looking at the rust on the inner roof, i suspect you have more rust in the rain gutters. start poking around with an awl to see if you have more areas of concern. like pdw said, you need to find original pieces and panels to weld in there. you might want to look for another cab

[regan56]

who makes the best re-pop fenders these days?

i'm certainly not afraid of doing my own work, i haven't ever done sheet metal welding though..so ya the hinge pockets i can do what i need, but the body work..would be a learning curve, again no fears on learning stuff..

[dsraven]

i wouldnt worry about fenders until you get the cab done. do like ogre says, poke around the roof gutter, all the way around, to see if you have any soft spots. blasting the cab will reveal any spots as well. before you go cutting anything apart i suggest to install the doors, if theyre off, and once they fit the cab then brace the door openings on the inside, like an x, and also the front area from door post to door post, then the doors can be removed and tinwork cut off as needed without worry of the cabchanging shape as you fit and weld stuff back on. if the windshield fit well you may also wanna brace the windshield opening just to be sure the windshield fits back in the hole when done repairs. that eyebrow panel is/was available and also comes with the complete roof panel. there are guys here who have replaced the roof and posted pics so you know what you are getting into before you start. I suggest to download a free copy of the 55-59 chevrolet truck factory assembly manual from the trifive site and peruse through that as it will show you where all the spot welds are located and how stuff fits together.
most of thesecabs have the rusty floors and hinge pillars because water gets trapped in the cowl plenum and drains out through the foot vents. the inner cowls have drains at the bottom but it doesn't take much to plug them at the little hole they have at the bottom. leaves, pineneedles, dirt, whatever.

[dsraven]

since the cab mounts are connected to the hinge pillars and cab inner steps make sure to check those areas well and look for a floor that is flat on the inside, fore to aft, because bad cab mount supporting sheet metal in the pillar area allows the heavy front section of the cab to sag and the give away is a floor that isn't flat up near the pedal area.

[dsraven]

on one truck I had there was a mouse nest in the eybrow area that extended to cover most of that area. pretty common I guess.

[dsraven]

check kabwe's build as he removed his roof. you can see the inner structures in his pics.

[regan56]

Originally Posted by dsraven

i wouldnt worry about fenders until you get the cab done. do like ogre says, poke around the roof gutter, all the way around, to see if you have any soft spots. blasting the cab will reveal any spots as well. before you go cutting anything apart i suggest to install the doors, if theyre off, and once they fit the cab then brace the door openings on the inside, like an x, and also the front area from door post to door post, then the doors can be removed and tinwork cut off as needed without worry of the cabchanging shape as you fit and weld stuff back on. if the windshield fit well you may also wanna brace the windshield opening just to be sure the windshield fits back in the hole when done repairs. that eyebrow panel is/was available and also comes with the complete roof panel. there are guys here who have replaced the roof and posted pics so you know what you are getting into before you start. I suggest to download a free copy of the 55-59 chevrolet truck factory assembly manual from the trifive site and peruse through that as it will show you where all the spot welds are located and how stuff fits together.
most of thesecabs have the rusty floors and hinge pillars because water gets trapped in the cowl plenum and drains out through the foot vents. the inner cowls have drains at the bottom but it doesn't take much to plug them at the little hole they have at the bottom. leaves, pineneedles, dirt, whatever.

Originally Posted by dsraven

since the cab mounts are connected to the hinge pillars and cab inner steps make sure to check those areas well and look for a floor that is flat on the inside, fore to aft, because bad cab mount supporting sheet metal in the pillar area allows the heavy front section of the cab to sag and the give away is a floor that isn't flat up near the pedal area.

Originally Posted by dsraven

on one truck I had there was a mouse nest in the eybrow area that extended to cover most of that area. pretty common I guess.

Originally Posted by dsraven

check kabwe's build as he removed his roof. you can see the inner structures in his pics.

all great stuff..thank you!

[leegreen]

are you up for 40 hours of driving rather than at least that many of rust repair?

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...78#post9311478

big back window though.


From what you show of your cab there is nothing that can't be fixed. But it is crusty enough that once you start poking around you will find more to fix. From this distant POV I'd say it is possible your cab is best suited for a patina or primer ride...fix the essential structural problems treat the rest with wax based rust inhibitor and finish getting the truck drivable and on the road.
If you want a shiny well painted truck your cab may be an uphill struggle - and good learning experience for body work and welding if that is what you want. But you will either put many hours into learning to make panels or many dollars into buying patch panels.

There is a risk to looking too closely at the cab you have. As it sits it has value (in Canada at least), but if you poke holes in or cut out all the rust and then abandon it it will have little value.

[mr48chev]

The lower panels around the door post are just common fixes on these trucks and you can buy a lot of the replacement parts to do it.

Fenders, The good is that you can set one up on a stand so that you can sit comfortably to work on it. Someone on the net showed a setup that they made to hold a fender on an engine stand to be able to flip it over to work on it that caught my attention.

The roof, it is either find a good roof to either swap or cut patch panels out of. I'd be looking at Old Dead grain trucks as donors. On them a lot of the time the only thing that isn't beat to death is the roof. Even if someone stomped in the center of it as long as the section you need isn't rusted life is good.
Otherwise it is hone your skills with a shrinker and stretcher and learn to build forms to shape metal around.

[mr48chev]

Another fairly decent but small window cab about 300 miles closer.

[JDarby]

Repair it now and be done with it!

It's the first thing that will raise it's ugly head after completion of your project.

There are a lot of vendors out there to choose from I have had good luck with
LMC Truck! Not affiliated just happy with the service and the company!

just my .02

[leegreen]

Do it right and do it once is a good mantra, but not everyone is going to have the time, space, money and ability to get to 'fully restored'.

I'd rather see more 70 year old trucks made safe and back on the road being enjoyed even with rusty cab corners and fenders and less stalled projects being sold by people that gave up.

[regan56]

cab corners and fenders i think i can deal with..its the windshield / roof line rust that i am concerned with. i took a poke around the drip rails, all solid. the picture is kinda misleading in that the muck you see inside the cab is just the remnants of the liner material, not rust, maybe some surface rust.

if i was going to get a new repop panel, what would you even call that piece? lower upper roof?

[leegreen]

https://www.lmctruck.com/1948-59-che...ont-body-steel