Roof rust
 

So i have a 63 that i bought almost a year ago and have been in the process of dechevyfying it. Last owner had a 350/400 combo in it but that has been pulled out. I also now have a correct hood and soon to have a correct grille in chrome and am working on getting a 64 dump truck with a 305 and 5 speed combo to put in my 1000. Now i am not a body guy short of bolting panells together and my cab has a ton of rust. Previous owner lived in austin area and was a firm believer in bondo and fiber glass. Most of the rust im not to worried about except i have big rust holes around the drip rails and around in the door frame where it does that 90° turn headed back towards the firewall. I have been looking for patches for these areas but they dont seem to be reproduced by anyone. Is this cab saveable or should i go about swapping cabs. I have access to a big window chevy for $500 and a couple of normal chevys in various conditions for $200-400. Like i said i am not a body guy, but i am pretty good on the mechanical end of things, any advice is appreciated.
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Re: Roof rust
 

How is the rest of the cab? cab supports, I would clean up the rust with a wire wheel on a grinder, and see what is there, if you are handy with a mig welder you can patch about anything.

Re: Roof rust
 

Well there are massive holes in the floor pans filled with fiberglass and the rockers are made of bondo right now. I havent really looked at the supports yet. Odds are i am probably going to have someone do the body work on it. There are places where the curves are a little bit intricate and i dont really trust myself to match it

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Re: Roof rust
 

I havent looked at the supports but the floor pans are bad and the rockers are nothing but bondo. How hard is it to swap roofs. I think the one on the engine donor truck is supposed to be ok

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Re: Roof rust
 

If you have never done bodywork before, roof replacement will be a nightmare. The panel is so long it can easily warp without a ton of patients. With all of the issues you have already mentioned, you will be time and money ahead if you can find a swap. A '64 -'66 cab will have a flat windshield. Before you buy, double check those mounting pockets on each corner.

Re: Roof rust
 

Agree with above. No question about it. Too many areas to fix. Plenty of parts to salvage for next cab. Glass, Windshield, dash parts, doors, seat, gas tank, pedals, visors, mirrors, trim, kick panels, vents, etc. Check donor carefully and buy another cab. Sell the one you have for $100 after stripping. Getting a big window is very nice if it's nice. VIN issues are certainly worth thinking about. Better end up with a legit title or BIG trouble "down the road" when selling. If your DMV will supervise getting vin plate switched to new cab, do that. All you are doing is repairing a truck same as a body shop would do. DMV may want to see donor cab VIN. It would be nice to get a title with the donor so they know everything is "kopastetic"

Re: Roof rust
 

As dry as the Lubbock area is, you should be able to find a relatively rust free cab. And of course, pickups have always been popular and plentiful in West Texas and Eastern New Mexico where I grew up.

Re: Roof rust
 

The old chevys are everywhere out here. There are 4 others that i know of in a mile radius of my house but they are all complete trucks. I dont remember if the big window had a title or not on it, and i really havent been able to look at it to hard but i know the roof is in far better shape but it did need cab corners. Is it difficult to a dash swap on them, or is there even a difference in dashes on them?

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Re: Roof rust
 

Yes different. Wait for a GMC if you want a GMC. With that many trucks there will be GMC's. You gotta dig one up. There is a 63 GMC right now on Lubbock craigslist!!!! Is that you?

Re: Roof rust
 

Nope. Is it that long bed step side. Because if it is a silver long wide sitting next to a blue nova somebody is going to have issues. And the gmcs dont pop up that often and people usually want good money for them.

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Re: Roof rust
 

This is the one I see:

https://amarillo.craigslist.org/cto/5656955686.html

Long bed stepside, white in color.

I'm kinda interested in the tow truck in the background of one of the pictures. Wish I was closer, I might be willing to risk the wrath of the wife for a 60's GMC tow truck.

Found the tow truck (searched by phone number).
It is a Chevrolet, and it is pieced together. Front wheels are obviously 3/4 ton suspension, the rears stick out a ways and are likely from some other vintage or make of vehicle. *This* would not be worth the wrath of the wife.

Re: Roof rust
 

Haha thats funny. Yeah thats about a 2 hour drive me to that one. I am starting to warm up to the idea of the big window cab. I want to add a transfer case and swap to dana 60s at both ends. With the v6 in it the only thing that will be correct to the vin tag will be that is gmc long wide. It actually left the factory with an i6 and a 3 speed and i want to run the 5 speed that is in the dump truck.

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Re: Roof rust
 

Man you guys,have it rough. I part out every truck that needs more than just the front fender rust repaired. Also don't run a rear 60 if you really want strength. Run an Eaton ho52- 72 or a 14 bolt.

Re: Roof rust
 

Why not a 60 on the rearend?

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Re: Roof rust
 

Because it's the weakest full floating axle GM used in the 3/4 tons. The 14 bolt is really a one ton rated rear. Has considerably bigger axles. Bearings, ring and pinion. The Eaton has even bigger pinion and a housing rated at 10,000 pounds. And is lighter than both the 14 bokt and 60. Just think of this. Dana 60.The axles are the same diameter and spline as a 30 spline d44

Re: Roof rust
 

Ok cool. I havent ever really looked into the specs on them. That explains why i have heard stories of people twisting off axles on 3/4 and 1 ton dodges. I imagine the 14 bolts are everywhere in wrecking yards, how hard are the eatons to come by

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Re: Roof rust
 

Leaf spring Eaton stuff is a little hard to find. But any single wheel housing from 1948- 72 and dual wheel housing 1948- 1955 works . All axles are the same width in the whole series. The Eaton is built like a Ford nine. And factory Detroit lockers are not hard to find. The 14 bolt disk brake conversion works on the housing I mentioned. Or later 14 bolt drums and plates can be used. The best part of the Eaton is the fully welded steel housing. I fully set up Eaton is about 150 pounds lighter than a 14 bolt. Has 2 inches better ground clearance. And it's just plain cool looking.

Re: Roof rust
 

Ok cool thats good to know. Axles come out the same way as a 9 to? Just undo the plate and the bearing and everything comes with it?

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