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I Hate My Body

What would YOU do?

  • Weld in a new tailpan and be done with it

    Votes: 9 16.7%

  • Replace tailpan, add additional supports for rear floor and bedsides

    Votes: 6 11.1%

  • Replace tailpan and put in a cage to stiffen up the whole body

    Votes: 17 31.5%

  • Buy a rust free body, and swap it on

    Votes: 22 40.7%
  • Total voters
    54
B_to_C

B_to_C

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My K5's body was New England raised. So far I have spent $1800 having other people weld in new floors, and extra support for the body. And here I am again...

My bedside is bowing out because my tailpan is so rusted on the passenger side
10915tail2.jpg


And then we have these holes... (this shows the passenger side, it is the same on the drivers side)
10915rust1.jpg

10915rust2.jpg


This shows my 1" body lift and the 1/4" plate that was SUPPOSED to support the body...
10915body1.jpg


It is just really hard for me, because I have put SO MUCH money into the body, and it's not really even the actual body or floors that are rusted, it is the supports. And I have new floors and subframe in the front, and now it's the rear that is going down hill fast.

-This is my daily driver, there will be no "truggy-ness" happining any time soon.
-College student budget

So...what would you do?
 
Well back when I lived in New England, getting a rust free tub really wasn't an option...I would either have to drive 2000 miles, or pay an arm and a leg. Oh, and BTW this is the LEAST rusty K5 I found after 6 months of searching all over MA, NH, and RI... :crazy:

But now that I'm in the "West" getting a rust free body is now an option.
 
Too bad you weren't here , I am just about to cut the tailpan off my "new" body . I gave up on fixing the 83 tub I had on the project :k5: :k5:
 
damn i spent 6weeks straight of the summer fixing my rusty rockers and tailpan of my k5 and then i made sure it didnt rust through for a while so i primed it all and then rhyno lined the whole inside and the undercarage i put like 10cans of undercoating., so far 1 connecticut winter down and no visable rust.
 
If it was just the tailpan and a few easy holes I'd say fix it...but those holes up front are not easy to fix properly.

I'd consider cutting your losses with this body and looking for a tub.

I have repaired those corners, plus the front floor and parts of the floor on my buddy's truck. i ended up cutting so much more out than I originally thought I'd have to. I had a ton of hours into it.

On my own truck I also fixed those corners and the entire front floor, but the rear of the truck was still brutally rusted. I started looking for another tub and ended up finding one in great shape rust wise. Problem was it was a 73 tub and it had been in a head on. The box part of it was all good though, and it was dirt cheap. I paid $200 for it and eventually grafted it on to the front half of my truck. Talk about doing it the hard way...

A tub swap is a big job, but much less frustrating than fixing it piecemeal like I did.

Rene
 
Nick, get a new body. You know I want you to truggy out, but I know why you wont (yet:D ) so look for a tub.
 
Swap Tubs....

Having been there myself a few times,I'd rather just put a whole rust free tub-or cab,its always much harder to fix cancerous sections that need to be cut,spot weds drilled,etc,then cut new patches or weld in repair panels,its all time consuming-and the welded areas rust even faster than before,many times you cant get to the welds with paint,it stays bare forever( and forever is about 2-3 years here!:blush: )-I've helped pull and put whole cabs and tubs on at the junkyard,we took off one decent tub and installed it on the bare frame the same day-

-it only took a few hours to torch off the cab mount bolts and strip the old cab or tub the day before,and get the other one bolted back on with new bolts--only a few bolts broke and we had to drill and tap those hidden "nut"things they go into that float in the back rail support,that slowed things up considerably--it wasnt too hard to do with 2 guys at least and the forkloader to lift the body off with chains...its much harder at home using an engine crane or A-frame alone,but its do-able--I did one or two by myself--its frustrating.( and can be hazardous!:crazy: )..but the end result is worth it,its a complete rust free tub to start fresh,no patchwork..

Its not that we dont see rust free cabs and tubs in new england,a few are usually available,not every K5 or truck is a native,some come here and go back to florida every year(snowbirds)or are from out of state,or some stay garaged all winter,and a few always get in a wreck--and dont stay in the junkyard long when the vultures come and pick it clean!--word of mouth travels fast here--rust free trucks dissapear fast,and the price usually ain't cheap.....:frown1:
 
Buy a crappy S10 with a good body and begin swapping parts over. Have daily driver amenities and a good wheeling rig all in one. If you fell ambitious enough, hook the A/C back up too along with the power, radio, and heater.
 
Yeah, if they were $2k I would already have one. But think about how much a new truck costs. Or even a used one under 50,000 miles. You can build a fiberglass K5 for less and it will last longer. The difference is the financing. I don't think you can borrow money for a vehicle that you are yet to build.

Think about the fuel economy and performance improvements, though. The whole body is less than 600#.
 
At least I know somebody that has a couple of cranes and a forklift that could swap a 73-75 tub onto your truck.:deal:
 
Fiberglass tubs??

I saw CJ jeep at a used car lot my friend works at as a mechanic with a fiberglass body..I like the fact they will never rust--but after seeing how rather flimsy it is,I definately would not want to get into a wreck with one!..My friend had to move it the other day so they could plow the parking lot--

It would not go thru the foot of snow in 4wd!!--its so light it just danced around sideways,and he had to PUSH it out of its parking spot!--the big wide tires (33x12x15)probably were mostly to blame,but I noticed when 3 of us got behind it to push it,we almost lifted it off the ground!--and I heard the glass crackle a bit as we pushed!:blush: --so I'm a bit unsure if the light weight is an advantage or not--I dont think I'd want to drive it at highway speeds on a local bridge noted for strong crosswinds..:yikes: its for sale for 1800 bucks,and its in good shape,but I dont think I'd buy it--I dont think it would plow very good either due to the lack of weight!...

Too bad GM didnt dip our cabs and tubs in fiberglass resin or some other preservative--you'd think they would know a 4x4 truck is likely to get driven in mud,snow and salt,and they would have been more concerned about the body rotting away before the warranty ran out-

-I saw a good many 73 trucks rotted so bad by 1975 the tailights fell out of the rear quarters,nothing to screw them into,and the doors and rockers were so rotted in a short time,many folks that bought GM trucks at that time were so disgusted they bought a different brand the next time!--none of the owners I knew had anything bad to say about the drivetrain though,and would rather have bought another GM product,if not for the body rotting out so quickly..they should have at least galvanized the doors and rockers...:crazy:
 
i am probably going to put 3 bodies on ebay soon ;)

86, 82 and 79 :xmas:
 
Your best bet is going to be to find a rust free body on a frame for around $500 (preferably one that rolls) and swap over all your goodies like lift, motor, tranny ect. I see them all the time missing motors for $500 and there is even one down in Bend, OR right now for sale by COCHEV for $800 with some extra's.
 
It's interesting to see that the most popular poll choice was to put a cage in. Yet all of the acgtual replies essentially say "Replace the body!" so is there anyone who voted for any of the first three choices that wants to post up about why they voted like that? because all of the votes for the first three choices (which all keep the same body) add up to way more than the final choice, but like I said, all of the actual replies say a new body...what's the deal?
 
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