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1982 K5 Roof Transplant

M

movario

Registered Member
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Location
Switzerland
Hi
The A and B Pillars, as well as the roof and the window frame are rusted beyond repair on my 1982. So I bought a 1987 with a seized engine, where windshield frame and roof are in good shape.

PXL_20240407_132019178.MP.jpg

Now I have to options:

Option 1: Transplant the roof including windshield frame, A and B pillars on the body.
Problem: I think it will be a very difficult task to keep everything aligned-

Option 2: Use the body of the donor car.
Problem: The donor car is a 1987 5.7l gas and the other one is a 6.2l diesel. Are the bodies interchangeable? Also, on the donor, the underbody is in a far worse condition than the one I try to fix. But I would have to replace all floorpans anyways. But on the donor, the lower door sills are pretty much gone (which a would also have to replace on both bodies, but on the donor they're gone, and on the recipient they're just very rusty) , and also some of the crosswise bracings are rusted through (and the bodymounts also don't look too promising).

What would you do? Anyone done something similar?
 
so what you are saying is you either have to deal with rust up top or on bottom?
 
Yes, more precisely:
I have to deal with small rust up top and heavy rust on bottom
OR
Heavy rust up top and medium rust on bottom.

Tomorrow, when I'm in the shop, I'll try to provide some pictures.
 
This is easy.....cross brace the donor roof with steel cross bracing before you start cutting the panels off...

Brace the recepient tub with steel bracing before you cut the roof off.....

Cut the back at the top of the quarter panels...

Front as low as you can....
 
So, after inspecting the donor more closely, I'll transplant the roof. The underbody of the donor is too far gone.

20240629_134200.jpg

20240629_134325.jpg

20240629_134348.jpg

20240629_134400.jpg

So my plan will look like this:

Along the red line, I'll drill out spotwelds whereever I can. The rest (especially A pillar) will have to be cut as precise as possible.

PXL_20240407_132019178.MP.jpg

Upfront, there are spotwelds I'm able to drill out. But at the A-Pillar section, I will have to cut the A pillar.

PXL_20240407_132030994.MP.jpg

Along this white line, I'll drill out the spotwelds. But I have no idea how the B-Pillar looks from the inside. My hope is that by drilling out the spotwelds along the white line and on the inside down to the bottom, that I can get it out without cutting.

PXL_20240407_132036253.jpg
 
That is a tough one. Both look like they spent some time parked in the ocean. If you were in the USA, I would say keep looking for a better donor body. Rust free bodies are still plentiful and relatively cheap where I am located in NW USA. A running/driving rust free project can be purchased for about $3-5000 US dollars here. Being in Switzerland probably doesn't leave you much options other than to work with what you have.

Just be warned, once you open up the A-pillar on a truck with a rusty roof, you are likely to start chasing rust in the unseen areas of the cowl and need go much deeper than planned. Water getting into the cowl makes a big mess since none of those surfaces were painted from the factory.
 
kennyw said:
Just be warned, once you open up the A-pillar on a truck with a rusty roof, you are likely to start chasing rust in the unseen areas of the cowl and need go much deeper than planned. Water getting into the cowl makes a big mess since none of those surfaces were painted from the factory.
Click to expand...

I'm hoping the best but expecting the worst.
 
I have not done this project so take this for what it's worth, but me and another guy I've been talking back and forth about the convertible windshield conversion. While you're not doing that project, a lot of the pictures he showed me really gave me some insight into how all that stuff goes together. He drilled out all the spot welds on his roofs to take the pieces off. There's three layers in that roof. If you take it back a layer at a time you could probably transplant them a little more easily here than if you try to just whack the whole thing off and then get the next one to line up perfectly. You may also find that you only need to fix a few spots here and there. Just my two cents and something for you to think about. Lot of spot welds you get to drill out if you do it that way though. Good luck, it'll be a project anyway you slice it.
 
If you look at my thread you will be able to see how some of the layers look as I work my way through my roof repairs. Good luck, not a project for the faint of heart!
 
So I made some progress. Took everything apart. Before welding the window frame back in, I need to tackle the A-Pillar rot. I found the inner A-Pillar (which has fortunately almost no rust) but wasn't able to find the "middle" A-Pillar. The part in the picture that is cut. I have a driver side A-Pillar from the donor car, which is in good shape. So I will just cut that out and throw it into citric acid before welding it back in. But the passenger side is gone in both. Before I start patching it up, does anyone know if you can buy that new? I found a replacement for the blazer -72 but none for my 82.
Any ideas?
20241222_161741.jpg
 
I think you need this.

www.autometaldirect.com

Inner A-Pillar - RH - 73-87 Chevy GMC C/K Truck Blazer Jimmy Suburban

Inner A-Pillar - RH - 73-87 Chevy GMC C/K Truck Blazer Jimmy Suburban. RH = Passenger Side This reproduction a-pillar for the 73-87 Chevrolet and GMC Pickup trucks, Blazer, Jimmy, and Suburbans is a direct replacement for your original with the same bends, holes, curves, and contures just like...
www.autometaldirect.com www.autometaldirect.com
 
Nope, unfortunately not. Source: I have those parts now, but don't need them anymore. Those are a pillars behind the piece that is cut in the picture.
 
@movario I plan to cut up this Suburban for patch panels before the end of the year. I already have a buyer for the floor section. Send me a PM and we can see if the piece you need would be worth shipping.

Parting Out - Parting 1989 Chevy Suburban

Located in Sultan, WA No engine, transmission, tcase, or seats Front Doors SOLD Back Doors SOLD AC unit SOLD Front bumper SOLD Steering wheel SOLD Tilt steering column SOLD Tcase floor shifter SOLD Dash bezel SOLD Gauge cluster SOLD Driver side fender SOLD Passenger side fender, some bondo SOLD...
ck5.com ck5.com
 
Great reference for anyone looking to tackle this task. Its a ton of work and a major challenge going in blind figuring out how all of the layers relate to each other.
 
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