Happy to get a new cab but a little sad.

[In The Ten Ring]

So I have rust over my windshield, over top of where the driver sits. My drip rail is full of rust. My driver's side cab corner is very rusty, as are the rockers and the other cab corner is a bit rusty too.

Someone told me it would be better to go with a new cab and I have decided to do that but I am going to miss my old cab. I literally grew up with this truck you see.

What do you guys think?

[ole dollor]

do you have a good rust free cab that you can get for a good price, most of us here had a rusted some where cab...its a lot of work replacing the cab, were you planning on doing a frame off restro. what were your plans for the truck . cost and time would be a big factor for me..

[BrianG]

Get the new cab, then think about it for a while. be creative, and come up with something to do with the old one. Take just the very front off and mount it to a wall, or maybe better, the driver side, then get a door and a fender and mount it on a wall in your shop... I don't know, something like that. I'm sure that you could find and old door and fender, maybe even a bed side for little to no money. I think it would be pretty cool.

Something like this.. .I KNOW wrong make, but this is the idea, Inside a Tobey Keith's Bar.

[Mister-B]

That's gonna be a ton of work. Just think of having to rewire everything, put back in the windshield, heater parts, etc. All that, and it'll just begin the rust process again

It isn't too tough doing the drip rail. With your roof, if it's above your head, you might be able to cut out the bad parts, prime it, weld in new metal and then put in a vinyl headliner cover. Rocker panels and quarter panels can be purchased and replaced. The quarter panels require removal of the bed, the rockers do not.

If you're not building a nut and bolt frame off, you may consider taking a breath and considering those options a little more.
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[In The Ten Ring]

Removal of the bed eh? THAT WILL BE A PROBLEM.

You see, my dad was a welder and wait for it.....he welded the new bed on. I am not kidding.

The old wood bed rotted out so dad precision cuts a new one out of 1/8 inch steel. Welds the bed front and sides to it, bolts it to the frame, cuts off the bolt heads, then plug welds it on. He grinds down the excess weld and paints it over. It is SEAMLESS back there.

So...um....EITHER I'll have to drill out the new bolts from below OR remove the nuts from below and jack the entire bed off as a unit.....IF that will work.

That's about what I'm looking at right?

[SCHRUMGMC]

I am curious to see the old cab :/...I wouldnt get rid of it i'd hoard it

[Mister-B]

Originally Posted by In The Ten Ring

Removal of the bed eh? THAT WILL BE A PROBLEM.

You see, my dad was a welder and wait for it.....he welded the new bed on. I am not kidding.

The old wood bed rotted out so dad precision cuts a new one out of 1/8 inch steel. Welds the bed front and sides to it, bolts it to the frame, cuts off the bolt heads, then plug welds it on. He grinds down the excess weld and paints it over. It is SEAMLESS back there.

So...huh....I guess in order to replace my cab corners I'm going to have to drill out the bolts he plug welded on.....

That's about what I'm looking at right?

Sounds like it, but will you need to also remove the bed to replace the entire cab, if you were to go that route? Not sure on that one, but you better make sure
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[In The Ten Ring]

I tell you guys what, I'll take and post some pics of the rust areas in my cab tomorrow. It's never a good idea to make purchases based on incomplete info. As it is, I couldn't do anything with a new cab for at least a year....oh boy....really dove into something with this truck! LOL

[SCHRUMGMC]

You're not scrapping it are you ?

[In The Ten Ring]

Haven't made any decision yet, just trying to gather information for the moment.

[SCHRUMGMC]

I'd keep it personally if it meant that much to me

[wreckedchevy]

I know the feeling I got a complete good cab for $100 had it sandblasted but ended up selling it cause I just couldn't do it (but I did keep the driver door matches my cab perfect)

[In The Ten Ring]

I spoke with my dad a bit ago: he assured me that all one would have to do to remove the bed would be to take off the 4 nuts and jack up the entire bed to remove it from the frame. He said he did it once by himself (apparently after he plug welded it). Talk about "previous owner mods!"

So that's a relief.

[PatrickGMC70]

Originally Posted by SCHRUMGMC

I am curious to see the old cab :/...I wouldnt get rid of it i'd hoard it

Glad I'm not the only one out there!

[dfwright]

Consider at least trying to repair the existing cab that has some sentimental value to you. If you find ultimately you can't, then you've lost some time, effort and cash, but you will have tried.

[BigRed76]

The way I see it is these trucks are 40+ years old so regardless of what cab you use there will be rust repair involved. So you might as well repair the cab you have rather than switching cabs and still having to do rust repair...there is always more rust than what meets the eye.

[PatrickGMC70]

Think about it this way, by using the existing cab you stand a fighting change of not having to fight over VIN# issues with the DMV!

That alone would be enough motivation for me to try saving the original one!

Looking forward to seeing the pics of what you're facing.

[In The Ten Ring]

Thanks guys, this is the sort of insight and advice I was looking for. I'll hold off on a new cab for now.

I ended up in the ER today with a hurt toe (boy did I hurt it!) but the doc patched me up and it looked a lot worse than it was. I'd post a pic but I don't want anyone losing their lunch tomorrow.....

I'll get those pics up ASAP so you guys can see what is up.

[leddzepp]

If you aren't ready to do a cab swap now, I wouldn't buy one either. Wait until you are ready, save your cash in the meantime, and when the time comes, buy a cab from out here (Jeremiah King and Tom Korinek in AZ are excellent sources). You will be money ahead, less haedaches, and stay focused...nothing is more time consuming and demotivating than replacing and repairing rust damage. It's one of the biggest reasons people give up on projects.
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