Roof Rust repair

[stockk5]

Hey guys, so i am searching for a crew cab.. and in the northeast thats like mission impossible to find a clean one, anyways, i have found one, all excited about it, check the normal rust spots, cab corners, rockers etc and its all clean! woo hoo.. then i look up top above the doors... and see rust.. WTF??? So my question to you guys, would you tackle this? I am no stranger to full floor replacements/rockers etc. Here are the pictures of the truck, its an 86 2wd.. not sure on the price yet... but if its right i might go for it..

this is what the entire underside looks like!!

then u get up top... confusing... where does this and how does it start?

 

[ryoken]

I'm sure you've read my thoughts on it... I've done it, and crushed one with it and have no bodywork fear...

it reminds me of the old Mack cab's I used to do... except less spotwelding... anyway, if you are FULLY equipped, meaning a good blaster/compressor/welder it can be done.. just keep in mind every piece is custom... it has to be opened up, cleaned, patch plan devised, shape and fit, burn, yada...

the problem is, it's generally pervasive to the point that even with a quality job in your areas, you'll more than likely have stuff coming thru in other areas inside of 10 yrs...

 

[ryoken]

oh, and for anyone who has a place locally, the best way to do this is to cut out the bad steel, have the cab acid dipped, then media blast before patching, priming, etc...

 

[tRustyK5]

Buy that one, and a "regular rusty" donor. Graft the roof from the regular rusty truck onto the white one.

 

[stockk5]

im glad you guys were the one that responded, i know the right ways to do it, however my thought is if i fix it once like this, its not like it is goin to be hit w/ salt/sand cuz its up top right? Least i have a better chance of it being ok.

 

[ryoken]

it wont be any infiltration.. it'll be existing, inside out damage... like I said, you'll more than likely have something coming out within a decade... one day you'll open your passenger door and see it bubbled.. but ya might get lucky and get 15 to 20 out of it..

the real bad spot on these rigs is the upper windshield/roof bodyline being hammered.. I've seen more than a few, starts under the windshield rubber.. that's a tough spot to get thoroughly..

Rene's is the best solution if it has to be done.. obviously you have to have the "right" 2 rigs...

 

[stockk5]

i do have a burb i could steal steel from.. hmmm he wants 1500 for it.. i have a 12v nv4500 i wanna put in it. My gut says keep searching out west and save up and then ship one home. Just makes me nervous not being able to examine it in person

 

[ryoken]

same boat with the Dodge I'm hunting.. f*ck it, I'll take a shot sight unseen...

 

[stockk5]

well goodluck to your dodge search... these truck searches can be stressful! How do i tell apart a bondo job from a legit paint job btw? I have found some re-painted trucks just nervous there is a rust bucket under the new paint and bondo.

 

[ryoken]

you can tell by ear with the tap method often, or a small magnet is always handy...

 

[diesel4me]

My '82 K2500 was like that when I got it 8 years ago--the floors were nice,so were the rockers,probably the most rust free GM truck I have had as far as floor or cab rust...but the roof was rotted along the rain gutters,and I think a tree must have caved it in too,because there is about 5 gallons of bondo an inch thick across the entire roof--and much of it has since cracked and lifted up ,looks like a volcano about to erupt!...................................................................................................someone did a shoddy patch job on it ,to fix the rot around the windsheild,by putting a Lund visor on it and bondoing the hell out of the roofline around the windsheild...now that the rockers are getting holes and I hear the cab moving when I plow ,I think its time to stick a fork in it........it aint worth the effort of splicing another roof on it,or a whole cab,the frame is not that great,and I'm getting too old to be dealing with rusted hulks..................................................................................................I'd rather spend the money on a plane ticket to AZ and look for another truck,than waste it fixing rust,and see it return next year....it's like peeing into the wind,fixing rusted New England junks...

 

[shaun89]

id get it,do the swap, and fix the rust. if it comes down to it,10 yrs down the road a western/southern rust free cab could easily be swapped into it.

 

[starfish]

I never seen a gm truck with that much roof rust and have such a nice dashboard.Ive been scoping out the scrap yards for a good dash but there all cracked up.

 

[ryoken]

it is pretty bizarre, I've seen em with roof rot, my 78 had it, but usually the lowers are equally bad, or worse than the tops...

hehe, that dashpad is PUUURFECT..

I'd rather pay the $1000 shipping for a clean truck, than put in the ungodly labor fixing that...

 

[colbystephens]

http://reno.craigslist.org/cto/2810317878.html

http://reno.craigslist.org/cto/2780683403.html

http://reno.craigslist.org/cto/2799601470.html



Those are some damn good prices, I think. That second one, the 4x4, is friggin rad!

 

[stockk5]

arghh haha so far away... to get those home would cost me another 1500bucks..

 

[ryoken]

eh, you knew none of the answers where gonna be easy with that question... .

 

[stockk5]

eh, you knew none of the answers where gonna be easy with that question... .

truuuuttth

 

[colbystephens]

I've got friends moving to Boston in August... maybe they/we could bring it to you. Roadtrip!

 

[mill5471]

is it just me or in the fourth pic down does it look like that rocker has been replaced? looks like there is a weld/rusty seem up under the door hinge area...just throwin that out there