How screwed am I? - Found huge Firewall hole - 86 C10

[Irish_Alley]

       Be care full, I've set the firewall insulation on fire several times myself .

kind of ironic

[gildardo01]

       Be care full, I've set the firewall insulation on fire several times myself .

kind of ironic

lol... didn´t learn the first time i guess... it is actually pretty easy to set it on fire... if it starts to smoke does that count as a fire.. if it does count me in...

[Mike86c10]

Ok so I took the truck over to a body shop near my work that specializes in old Corvettes to get an opinion since there's more rust than what I could picture.   Just by chance, the guy I spoke with knew the old owner of the truck and had previously worked with his father at a speed shop.  The old owner and his father had installed the Crate engine together.

After taking a look he found the rust is pretty much spread throughout the firewall.  There's another hole behind the heater core, behind the air cleaner there's problems (covered by sealant), and the rust behind the wiper motor goes down into the fuse box area.  He also said that it's starting to go near the master cylinder, which could be a structural problem.  However he said he's seen worse and considering the rest of the truck is in good shape not to get discouraged.

His two recommendations were either to find a complete firewall from the south and have it shipped up (I live NE of Philadelphia).  The other option is to cut it all out and do custom patch work.  He said that the engine would need to be pulled and some of the interior would need to be removed as well.  He estimated around $1200 for the body work if I were able to remove the engine and bring it to him on a flatbed.

Since it's more involved now, and I don't have a garage to work or store anything, I'm going to start looking for a complete firewall and probably get the work done in the shop.  I guess I'll budget around $2000 for parts and labor, and use family connections to find a qualified guy who can do it for a discount. 

If anybody has a good lead on a firewall please let me know.

Edit:
I actually think I'm going to let somebody just cut it all out and fabricate new steel in.

 

[Sartobuilt]

If its that bad, I would find another cab. Your gonna have most of it striped by the time your done fixing the rust.

[cvbear]

It is your truck, but I agree with Sartobuilt.  By the time you spend that much money and time, you could just swap a clean cab in.  Maybe the only rust in the cab is in the firewall, but if it is that rusty there I expect there is rust in the rockers, cab corners, door frames and floor pans as well.  Even if only one of the areas is rusty I think you would be better off with a new cab in both time and money.

[Macj1983]

If its that bad, I would find another cab. Your gonna have most of it striped by the time your done fixing the rust.

Yep

[Irish_Alley]

ok heres my honest opinion. i hate to say it but find another truck, the amount of rust on your firewall doors wheel well you will prob loose interest before your halfway done and not to mention the amount of money your putting into it. hows the frame look also? holes in cross members. maybe find one with a blown motor and trands and swap your in into it

[gildardo01]

ok heres my honest opinion. i hate to say it but find another truck, the amount of rust on your firewall doors wheel well you will prob loose interest before your halfway done and not to mention the amount of money your putting into it. hows the frame look also? holes in cross members. maybe find one with a blown motor and trands and swap your in into it

i was thinking the same thing... but the guy doesn´t have a garage..

[Mike86c10]

If decide to go firewall fix only, I don't have to get a paint job immediately.  I found a family friend who can remove the engine and do the work, I'm going to get an estimate soon, let's say its about $1,500.  The rocker panels were replaced about 10 years ago, and I don't see any rust in the door frame.

If I find a cab I'm looking at around $?? plus about 500 shipping.  Then the cost for somebody to install the thing plus paint.  If I do paint, I'm going to have to immediately address the minor body issues as well.  I need some minor fixing on the doors (unless the cab comes with rust free doors), and there's fixing around the rear wheels that need to be done. 

Both body shops I've taken it to they were positive about the condition of the truck.  The first guy climbed under and checked out the frame and bed and was impressed with the condition of everything in the rear.

I don't think it's time to jump ship yet.

[Irish_Alley]

You can buy a rust free truck for less money. I can't tell you what to do, only suggest. But think about how much money you can save

[Mike86c10]

Ok I'll look start looking for a truck before spending any money or making any final decisions.

[Irish_Alley]

Yea shop and compare

[gildardo01]

You can buy a rust free truck for less money. I can't tell you what to do, only suggest. But think about how much money you can save

and make money by selling the rest of the truck on eBay or Craiglist... sell parts of it instead of the whole truck....

[Mike86c10]

I decided that I'm going to eventually find a new cab (or buy a truck to use the cab).  This way I don't have to rush to make any decisions.  The rust can do what it wants and I'll just keep covering it when it's supposed to rain.

Just for conversations sake, if somebody were to attempt a firewall fix, wouldn't it be easier to remove the cab from the frame, instead of removing the engine to do the work?

[Fairlane514]

It depends. There may be less shift of the cab if its still bolted to the frame when you remove the firewall.