This old cab Replace? or Repair?

[69twotone]

Hi all.

I have some rust issues with the current cab that I have. I have no body experience whatsoever and I do not know anyone with welding or body experience.

So in order to repair any of the bad spots I will have to contract the work out. So based on the pictures below should I take the cab off and have it repaired or should I find a different one with fewer or no issues? Either way I think I will have to take it off to repair it.
http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff10 ... CN1569.jpg
http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff10 ... CN1570.jpg
http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff10 ... CN1572.jpg
http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff10 ... CN1574.jpg
http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff10 ... CN1571.jpg
In the last picture in the middle of the rocker panel is a hole the previous owner patched by putting a piece of sheet metal on it. Toward the rear of the rocker panel the rust shown is all the way through the metal and if light pressure is applied the object will go through it.


Thanks for looking and your advice, I figure no one knows better than the great people on this forum.

[1971ford]

wow. ive never seen such a rusty cab. i say replace it since you dont have a welder. even if you did have a welder that would be a diffiicult task.
problem with getting a new cab is that you have a pretty nice looking paint job and you would have to have it repainted. plus the task of putting it in.

im sure that didnt help much.

[fordman]

what part of the cab is the second pic? the floor? and how are the cab mounts? i know you can buy the rocker panels and rthe rear cab corners as well as floors and cab mounts if needed. figure each piece at 40.00 each and then figure some welding time taking it to someone and then try and find a good cab and go from there. weigh the prices against each other.

[FORDification]

The cab I got originally with my '67 was worse than that....but even so, I'd still recommend replacing the cab. There's so much work involved replacing the damage in yours that I'd honestly be willing to bet you'd get started and maybe even keep after it for a while, but then you'd lose interest. And if there's that much rust where you can see it, you can bet that there's a lot that you can't see...yet.

[James72]

and I hope karma catches up with the person who decided it was ok to use that expanding spray foam for body filler.

[fordman]

i used that expanding foam on mine years ago to keep the exhaust smell out of the cab. i was driving it every day and i had to do something.

[James72]

i used that expanding foam on mine years ago to keep the exhaust smell out of the cab. i was driving it every day and i had to do something.

I'm not saying you were wrong, but a quick fix should be followd up with a proper one when possible.
I'm sure it works well to seal, fill, and sound killer, but it's also a good sponge sitting in a low spot causing future problems.
Everyone dose a quickfix from time to time, I try to repair the quickfix asap, or if I sell it, let the new owner know what to expect.

[jzjames]

...parts truck! Forget repairing that cab..

[Ranchero50]

Yeah, mine is about as bad and I wish I'd found another cab instead of chasing the rust around this one. It's good experience, but oh what an experience... I had floors, cab mounts and in and out cab corners to repair. PITA

Jamie

[AlleyCat]

I've repaired worse cabs but with no welding or body experience I'd suggest finding another cab.I learned a lot fixing up stuff that should have been crushed but I had access to the tools and friends who would help.

[Finleyphoto]

I'm not sure I'd write it off yet.

Check out the Dec. '07 issue of Classic Trucks magazine before you decide one way or another.

They have an article where they use the patch panels on a '68 F-100.

The "rust free" stuff is disappearing and this may be something we're all gonna have to learn how to do.


Dennis

[foghorn]

Im a 25 yr veteran of the auto body field and i say take the time to find another cab. Even with the right tools and such its gonna be a major pain in the a$$.





Foggy

[foghorn]

OOPPs double post




Foggy

[farmtruckman]

Man, I don't feel so bad anymore about mine!!! Like the old saying, "I cried because I had no shoes, until I saw the man with no feet."