It's spring and time for body work

[93TL93]

I figured I would get some ideas on what to do to my truck.
First here is the issues.
Passenger side

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Driver side

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What I was thinking is fix the cab corners and the bed rails paint them both with black rhino liner. Put fender flares over the wheel wells for now. I was wondering how thus color truck would look with black bottom half and I will be keeping the molding. I was also considering if I do rhino line it that I will paint or possible rhino line the front grille black. And get a black grille guard. Then what would I do with the bumoers. They would look out of place chrome I think . I was just wondering what u guys think so I have time to think of what to do.
Here's a front shot

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[great white]

Well, you have a lot of rust repair to do there.

I would suggest you start replacing sheet metal first.

The bed I would suggest you find a replacement that's not rusted out in the wheel wells. Head south to find on if you have too.

The cab corners are the least of your worries. You can buy those and they weld right in. All the supporting structure in behind is rotted and needs to be cut out. That stuff usually needs to be fabricated from flat sheet. Leaving any of that rust means you're be doing it again in another 6-12 months as it will at best just show thought he paint, at worst is will bubble again.

The rockers need to be done, which also has the same underlying rusted support issues.

The front fenders I can't tell form the pics, but those are simple bolt new ones on if bad.

You're pretty much looking a total repaint to get it to look good.

Flares are not going to give you what you are looking for, even cut out ones. I can tell by the rust on teh rear flares you're already going to have structural issues. And the rust will come back.

The front grill I would toss and buy one that doesn't have that peeling chrome. That will show through nearly everything you put over it. My 89 had that peeling scabies thing going on too. I had to strip all the chrome off it in order to get it to look good. It's not a job I'll ever do again. Slice you open in a fraction of a second like a razor blade. Here's what mine started like and ended up like:

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If I had to do it again, I would just pony up the dough and buy a replacement one.

Actually, I often wish I'd saved that front end from the truck when we sold/junked it. Just a nice looking grill and light arrangement.

If you're just looking to get a bit more time out of the truck (ie: beater), then I don't think I would even waste the money on cab corners. Just scab up some sheet metal and patch it.

But if you intend to keep it and make it a nice driver, I would spend the money on doing it right....

 

[93TL93]

I was just looking to help it out some it is my dd and has 247k miles on it only paid 1500 for it just rebuilt the trans 1.1k ago. Also it Is the heavy half which i found out after i bought it seen the 14 bolt when I crawled under it then checked the rpo. Got a little off track there. But it will be dd/ beater when I replace my pos 88 s10 with a 06/07 duramax in a year or so. I was wondering how it would look with that much black on it I personally think this color looks better with chrome. That's why I was just thinking of flares and patching the real bad areas. What about color matched grille and chrome grille guard how you think that would look?

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[great white]

Can you MIG?

Do you have access to one?

Can you do body work?

If yes to all three, it's fixable in the driveway (although a garage space would be preferred).

Buy yourself some 18-20 ish gauge sheet and the Bed side panels, cab corners and rockers are available fairly reasonably priced. Good thing is these are common areas for these trucks to go, so the panels are commonly available. The stuff that's not is what the flat sheet is for.

As to what paint and accessories will look good, that's up to you to decide. It's very much a personal preference type thing.

 

[93TL93]

I have a flux core welder which I can change into a mig just need to buy the conversion kit which I heard are garbage for my welder. My body work skills are not the best. I work on cars for a living but not in a body shop. Its just something I have not done much of and I can use this truck as practice. I have been searching for pics of this color truck with the mods I'm looking at just find very few.

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[great white]

I have a flux core welder which I can change into a mig just need to buy the conversion kit which I heard are garbage for my welder. My body work skills are not the best. I work on cars for a living but not in a body shop. Its just something I have not done much of and I can use this truck as practice. I have been searching for pics of this color truck with the mods I'm looking at just find very few.

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Flux core wire feed can work. That's what I usually use for quick jobs. Just lower heat and faster wire speed for thin metal. I usually stitch it together using standard sheet metal welding processes. IE: weld spot, move to new spot, more to new spot, etc to prevent warpage.

Only thing with flux core is you have to get it clean of the slag once done or it will promote rusting again.

Spatter is a PITA on flux core also.

If you have to work outside, flux core is a better choice anyways. Mig doesn't deal well with windy conditions.....

 

[michael hurd]

If it's got that much rust, yes it can be patched, but how safe is it going to be post-repair. If you can confidently say that yes, it will hold up in the case of a T-bone, then you have a lot of confidence.

I have fixed many trucks that were close, but not as bad as that, and have extensive experience doing so. Without all the skills, the tools, the work space and the money, it's a waste of time.

You should seriously consider getting a rust free unit from Arizona / New Mexico / California / Texas / Florida, etc. if you really desire the platform. Sure they may have high mileage, but not rust like that.

 

[93TL93]

This truck is structurally fine all body mounts are in tact. I'm not trying to make this into a show vehicle. Its a 21 year old truck from Ohio which I believe this truck is in much better condition then others around here that have not had work done. I don't feel attempting to make this truck look better is a waste of time anything is better than continuing to just let it rot away.

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[michael hurd]

Just looking at the rocker panels tells me that the cab is no longer structurally sound. Sure the cab may be physically bolted to the frame, but occupant safety in the event of a collision is going to be compromised. That is what I am getting at.

 

[michael hurd]

In case you think I am speaking without having been there and did that, take a look through my build thread.... I have fixed literally a dozen of these trucks myself.

http://www.gmt400.com/forum/showthread.php?22931-Mike-s-1997-ECSB-ex-Gov-t-truck-rehab&highlight=Rehab