NoSparkplugs

Well I've been thinking about it for a while but now I'm planning it for next summer. Simply put, my truck is a bit of an eyesore and I want to change that. The bottom of the fenders are rusting out, the rockers are 75% rusted out, the bed is cracked and dented in numerous places, the tailgate is dented. Basically the body is war torn and the ol' girl needs some TLC.

I really don't have any body work experience although I have a few friends that have done it before (shaving tailgate handles on their S10s etc etc) so I got some help there. What I need to know is this:

-Besides sanding, is there any other effective and fast methods of removing the old paint? Like an acid or something? Or could a guy get the truck media blasted?

-Where to get good quality replacement parts. I plan on picking up a good used bed and tailgate but things like fenders, tail lights and rocker panels, where can a guy find them? I'm really leaning towards getting a bodyshop to redo the rockers (cousin of mine runs an autobody shop so I'll probably send the business his way)

- Tools and supplies that I'll need? DA sander? block sander?

The colour scheme I plan on getting done is Dodge's "Electric Blue". I really like the way it pops out in the sun. And I'm going to get the rockers wrapped in 3M clear vinyl wrap for scratch protection.

I got a rough estimate from a body shop to get my truck looking respectable again... 8-10K!!. I'm going to try and cut that down as much as I can by doing a good majority of the work myself.

Am I on the right track here? Those of you with body work experience, what are your thoughts?

Thanks

ryan10

If i were you, id look for a donor gas truck and just swap the whole body onto your drivetrain.

BearKiller

Get rid of the damage/rust prone bed and tailgate, replacing them with a nicely designed steel flat.

That in itself will improve the looks of the truck a bunch for very little investment, providing you know how to shop for steel and build it yourself.

A sheetmetal bed gets bumped and it's a trip to the body-shop to repair/paint; take the same lick on a good steel flat-bed and a $1 can of Dollar General Store Gloss Black will hide any evidence of the occassion.


Cut the bottom of the cab, from wheel-well to cab-corner, at door-sill height, and replace this whole rusty mess with a piece of rectangular 3/16-wall tubing, to which you can weld running-boards, rock-guards, light brackets, steps, etc.

Painted nicely, this will look better than a brand-new set of rocker-panels.

There are numerous HOW-TO write-ups on how to do this, scattered in various vehicle forums; two are in the Ramcharger forum-site, RamCentral, I think, but not sure.

farmer0_1

like stated above don't stick money into your old rig use either suggestion . old dodges down our way are cheap . must be some south of you with no rust.

Featherman

Dave:

As farmer and Ryan said...............look south for a rust free donor. Could probabaly find a rust free 2 wheel drive gasser at a reasonable cost and you would be much further ahead.

BearKiller

If you are gonna change the entire cab, why not go with something real neat, like maybe an International, or an older Dodge ??

farmer0_1

maybe you could stretch the frame and put on a rust free crewcab dodge. hmm just happen to know someone with one still sitting on my trailer. hmmmmm i like the direction of this thread.

jogl

BearKiller:

Could you post a link to that square tubing thread at Ram Central. I looked around and can't find it.

Thanks,
JP.

BearKiller

I can get you there in a roundabout way.

First, go to our "stickies" at the top of the 1st Gen. page.

Then, scroll down to "body" and scroll on down to "fix floppy mirrors".

That will get you to RamchargerCentral.

Go to their TECH section, or maybe they call it "articles", and you will find a big list of all kinds of neat technical stuff.

The tubing rocker-panels are in among those articles.

farmer0_1

http://ramchargercentral.com/boards/...?topic=67793.0