ZAAR

So guys I’ve been pretty silent here but not gone,
With that said I know there has been quite a few good write ups but what I’m torn about is cut the roof area out or do a cab swap???
Everything’s solid with the exception of the area right above the passenger side windshield area. When I got the truck it had the Lund visor on it and there were 2 screws drilled into the roof that had no protective covering or silicone over the heads and yes the rust ate from the inside out. So what do you all think???
Oh yeah the drip rail isn’t rotted it’s below the drip rail between the rail and windshield just in the one area pictured

oliver foster

That is a tough call. Cutting that roof rot and and welding it up can turn into a bigger job as you find more rust.
I have also seen people do ugly patchwork and then throw a Lund visor over it to cover their less then stellar body work.

Cab swaps are time consuming, but a little less prone to snowballing into job twice as big as you first thought.

Are you bringing that truck to the show next weekend?

ZAAR

The wife would never go on a 2 hour ride in it plus it’s not show worthy for anything.
For now I’ll need to keep it home as the ugly starts to steam lol.

ZAAR

Yeah I was a bit scared to dig in too far by pulling the windshield to examine in fear I may not have enough stability to pull the new seal back in god forbid the lock ring.

Angry Johnny

Since it is a standard cab I would do a cab swap as rust free examples can be found. I'm going to be repairing my rusted club cab roof with another nearly rust free roof I found. I'm not looking forward to it though.

ZAAR

I am lost if I want to tackle a cab swap, have this feeling I might end up trading one problem for another. clean roof then a rotted floor lol. All I know is time is of the essence now before the rot gets worse that’s how it goes with these can of worms.

Angry Johnny

Fixing some minor floor rust is easy compared to a roof.

ZAAR

Half tempted to cut a clean roof and have this one removed and welded in I know it’s a pain but seems the most plausible kind of repair like what you are doing.
Do they flex much?

Angry Johnny

Well, I'm not cutting the entire roof off. I could never find a roof in good enough condition to do that. I'm going to section it and replace/repair what I have to. But yeah I would tack weld in some braces before you cut it off just so things don't move.

SORTIE

I just posted a thread on my cab roof repair. the front edge of my roof was a rotten mess and it was starting to make enough noise that I could hear it over the engine roar! I'm happy with the way it's turning out, but a body pro is doing the work...

ZAAR

I like the progress I’ll need to do the same with my roof as well. Thanks for mentioning the thread

MrFusion

Or you could pull the windshield and do some exploratory cutting. If it ends up being more than you want to handle look at doing a cab swap.

Mexstan

Just read this thread out of curiosity and have a question. When someone does a cab swap, what do you do about the VIN numbers? Once everything is apart, can the VIN plate on the dash be also switched? Isn't there a stamped VIN number somewhere else on the cab, like maybe the firewall? In other words, what are the legalities (if any) if a cop starts digging?

Angry Johnny

Well if you are swapping a cab you can still use your dash with the VIN, or you could swap VIN plates. You can buy the special rivets but we have just used regular ones in the past when replacing a dash.



The firewall near the cowl on the right side does have a partial VIN. As long as the others match I don't think it's a big deal. These vehicles are antiques now by most standards so parts, including body parts get swapped.

MrFusion

Depends where you are and how picky they want to be. Technically in PA you need to get a reconstructed title or do paperwork specifically for swapping cabs. Most guys I know with old trucks swap the dash or move the VIN plate. Not many places match the dash VIN with the body VIN plate on these older trucks. To 99% of the free world the trucks we drive are old junkers or the occasional pretty antique.