Roof rust

[Jeeves]

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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[bobdylan]

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.

[Jeeves]

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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[Jeeves]

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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[WDShaffer]

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.

[AZKen]

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"

[snazzypig]

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.

[Jeeves]

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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[AZKen]

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?

[Jeeves]

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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