91 cab rust issue solutions

[tj 413]

Is the easiest way to repair this to find another can top and replace. Fabrication will be time consuming especially to fit properly with the cap.

is there a website that has a repop of it?


I'm waiting back for pics from a 91 close to me to see the condition of that one to cut out.

I'm trying to figure out as many options as I can, if my other 91 option doesn't work out.

 

[nvrenuf]

I don't beleive any company reproduces that area, you'll probably have to cut it out of a donor.

 

[6872xtc]

With the rust on the inside, above the shoulder belt mounting hole, the condition the floor at the base of that B pillar, wouldn't it be better to look at a different body?
My experience has been that rust goes a fair amount farther than you see. I also seem to lose a lot of time on rust repair, even if it's simple. I would rather pull things apart and replace with good parts. Obviously, you need a space to do a body swap or swap drivetrain and axles into another chassis. Then get the leftovers sold or scrapped.

 

[Conner]

Unfortunately no one makes a roof skin for a Blazer, yet at least. I had similar damage, but maybe not quite as bad, on mine. This is where I started to tackle it in my build thread, which may help you. I chose to fabricate patches for it, which is doable but difficult and time consuming (I think I have close to 100 hours in the roof alone...). I still do not have the roof skin back on the cab, since I also took off the windshield frame/upper cowl panel, which layers underneath the roof skin at the top.

Like other people have said, if possible I would try to find a donor roof or even a donor complete body if you can. Even a "clean" body will likely still need some sheet metal repair (rust likes to hide), but it will still save you a lot of time.

Whether you repair or replace the roof skin, you will ideally need to remove it from the cab. It's spot welded on at all 4 sides: the back beneath the topper bolt holes, the sides to the drip rails, and the front at the windshield pinch weld. There is also some sort of brazing or something at the front corners to blend it with the A-pillars. I have some pictures in my build thread. You will almost certainly have some damage to repair underneath the roof skin as well, which is part of the reason why you should probably remove it.

If you can find a donor roof, the play is probably to sawzall the roof off the donor truck by cutting the B-pillars and A-pillars, leaving the entire roof structure (inner roof skin, outer roof skin, and the support pieces in between them) intact while you transport it back home. Then you can drill the spot welds to get the donor roof skin off cleanly.

I hope this helps, and good luck! It sucks a lot but it's doable. The one, tiny silver lining is you will have the opportunity to clean up and paint all inside the problem areas that you normally wouldn't have access to, which should prevent rust from ever coming back in those spots. Or at least that's what I'm telling myself to make me feel a little better about it.

 

[tj 413]

I appreciate the feedback. I found a donor 91 and if area of the roof is good, will sawzall the roof off and my welder guy will put it back together again aka humpty dumpty. This is going to be a daily driver and not a full resto so for me its fine. He did my trunk floor pan on my GTO and he's very skilled so I trust his ability and workmanship. He just said its easier to cut and replace that area then it would be to fabricate that area based on the way its formed and that would be doable but more time consuming and costly as Connor stated. I will post pics of it progress, for me as long as the cap and cab fit snug and doesn't leak, I will be happy.

6872xtc besides that drivers side of the vehicle, the rest of truck is solid when it comes to rust, it was a Florida truck its whole life. Since no one addressed the leaky cab/cap spot for years it trashed that side but its repairable by my welders two cents.

I'm keeping a positive outlook and will know late today when I go check that donor truck if that piece will work out.

​

 

[flatland]

Cut it as low as you can, right at the rails/cowl to make sure you get enough in case there is more rust inside than you see right now. Maybe start cutting yours first so you can see the extent before harvesting the new roof section to make sure you don't short yourself.

 

[nvrenuf]

3 words...."full top conversion"


I had to do it.

 

[tj 413]

Cut it as low as you can, right at the rails/cowl to make sure you get enough in case there is more rust inside than you see right now. Maybe start cutting yours first so you can see the extent before harvesting the new roof section to make sure you don't short yourself.

3 words...."full top conversion"


I had to do it.

Lol, when I was 20 I had a 74 and it was great for the 6 months I had it. I could manhandle taking off the roof myself and dragging it across the grass to my backyard. Unfortunately it was a giant rust bucket that my left foot went through the floorboard making a right turn one night. I didn't have the means to fix it correctly and sadly it probably became scrap metal. Now at 54, to remove my 91 top I used 3 people to get it off safely without getting hurt. If I had another garage where I could build a contraption from the ceiling to lift it off, I would seriously consider it. However, my 65 GTO convertible takes priority for the single garage space, cuz that's that shit.

 

[tj 413]

I got lucky, guy just sent me the pics of the 91 top he cut off. Picking it up in a few hours, super stoked at the condition.

 

[tj 413]

Kind of a waste of the entire cab top, just to use the skin of the bolt mount area....but I'm not questioning a welder with 40 plus years experience. He rust reformered the shit out of it..i guess the rest gets scraped for a few bucks.

 

[6872xtc]

As long as it's solid for more than a decade, it's all good, right?
Since the cab top was already chopped off, (from what I understand) then it got used better than just rotting away or completely getting scrapped.

 

[tj 413]

100% it will last that or longer. I may never pull that cap off, certainly not anytime soon...new hardware and gaskets it shouldn't leak ...that's all I care about...they cut it off for me, but the body wasn't ever going to be worth fixing too far gone...super thankful for having club members with skills.

 

[tj 413]

Coming along nicely

 

[tj 413]

Ready to be picked up.

Found a free website in which I was able to get my K5s build sheet using the VIN #.... GMPartsGiant.com

Was a pain in the ars trying to figure out the original exterior color until I came across this webpage. It's been painted a silver color just not sure when.