Is it even worth restoring?

[780K20]

Hey everyone, I would like your honest opinions on what to do with this truck body wise. I bought it two weeks ago solely as a project - fix it up a bit, lift it, make it into a nice little daily driver/trail truck (no insane mudbogging). By no means this will ever be a show truck unless I win the lottery or take the next 30 years of my life to save up and fully restore it haha. Can someone give me a rough idea what this may cost to repair the gaping holes/rust, and paint?

I imagine I can't even patch these holes very well...should I just give in and buy new panels? Or should I hack those cancerous pieces off and weld some patches on? These photos taken today are the worst areas. Everywhere else is in quite decent shape and just surface rust. The fender on the other side does have a steel patch on it, I forgot to take a photo. If you don't think its worth the money to restore and just leave it looking like a bush beater, I will not have any hurt feelings.




(Sorry, forgot to rotate this one)

Mirror arm ate a hole in the door those ugly things have got to go! I will have to either patch the holes or buy new outer panels....

[zieg85]

How deep is your pockets?  I would go over the frame well to determine if replacement panels would be worth it.  From the pictures I see new doors, bed and fenders at a minimum are needed.  How's the floor board?

[780K20]

How deep is your pockets?  I would go over the frame well to determine if replacement panels would be worth it.  From the pictures I see new doors, bed and fenders at a minimum are needed.  How's the floor board?

Floor board is in good shape as well. I could definitely buy a fender or panel here and there a month at a time, but not all in one shot (not at the moment anyway). Maybe I will see how my tax return looks this spring and will be able to get it done all at once

[fitz]

  The first thing I think of when I see a rusty truck is how are the brake lines?  Make sure its safe to drive before starting the body work.
  As far as the body, in my area a nice clean bed is $1,000.  Figure another $1,000 +/- for aftermarket doors, fenders, front fender wells, rockers, & cab corners (all available on this sites store).  You said your floors are good, so I'm thinking around $2k in parts to do the rust repair yourself.  Options are endless $$ wise when it comes to paint. 
  How is the rest of the truck? Drive train? Tires? Brakes? Exhaust? Brake lines? Fuel tank & lines?   Get the idea? A simple rust repair project can get expensive quickly.
  It could be a fun project if you keep the budget under control. Just keep in mind these things have a way of spiraling out of control.
  Only you can make the call on what to do.
  I've seen guys take worn out trucks and turn them into nice daily drivers they are proud of.  Others have gotten in over their head and had to sell the truck off as an unfinished project.  These people usually end up loosing big $$ in the process, and regret that they ever bought the truck.
Yours is not simple question to answer.

[1967KaiserM715]

I would scrap the bed and build a flatbed with angle iron and wood floor, would probably be cheaper then fixing that rust or finding a new bed. I would find a better shaped door, chances are with that outer rust, the bottom is probably pretty far gone as well.

if you can weld yourself, you should be able to do rockers and cab corners for under $100 a side

[enaberif]

With these trucks as stated don't bother with the body. Worry about the chassis first and look over the brakes, bushings, shocks, ball joints and ujoints.

90% of the time they are or will be near original to the truck and need to be replaced.

[Captain Swampy]

The parts for rust repair aren't that expensive. The tools and consumables are what get expensive. What is your time worth, you'll have a lot invested. I think it's worth it, but you have to decide. Maybe you have a lot of tools already. With what you're goal is, I think it would be a great project to learn body work on. It doesn't have to be perfect but you get to see if you like it.

[780K20]

Y'all's suggestions and information is greatly appreciated, thank you!

Originally an older farmer, who also has his own little mechanic service shop, owned the truck and rebuilt the engine, and did a lot of work to keep it running well and only used it seasonally for summer farm work (spraying). I crawled around under there and everything is in remarkably good shape including brake lines and all. No leaks or anything, no gashes or rusted out holes in the frame, no vibrations or any concerning noises. It passed inspection so we are off to a good start I bought it off a friend for $2000 (all he wanted was the value back for the brand new rims and Fierce Attitude tires). He was going to restore it but it just sat there for 3 months till I came along.

I think I will slowly acquire some panels and supplies! I have all sorts of access to tools at my dad's shop, and my brother is pretty handy when it comes to detailed body work and mechanical/electrical so he can help me if I run into technical problems. I work at a diesel shop too, which is convenient. This will definitely be a learning curve and should be a fun project. It will give me something to tinker away on.

[philo_beddoe]

You got some rust there. You must live near me. If you have a garage and the truck is not your primary vehicle, then you could do a full blown restoration, a little at a time.  Money determines all.

[roundhouse]

Come to GA and pick up some parts




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[Engineer]

IMHO, I'd make that truck a beater mud truck and look to the south/southwest for a clean daily driver.

I see cherry 81~87 4x4 trucks on craigslist from time to time. Every so often grandpa decides, or his family decides for him, he no longer needs "that old truck". The time, money, and effort your truck is going to require would pay for a nicely perserved time machine, or barn find.

[enaberif]

Northern Alberta is a LONG LONG LONG ways from any area that would remotely have good clean trucks. Most of the trucks up here are rusted in one spot or another and you either flog it off, keep it as a beater or scrap it.

[780K20]

Thanks again everyone!

Yeah way up north here in Canadaland it's tough to find mint old trucks unless they've been parked in a barn or machine shed most of their life. I wish I could take an enclosed trailer down to the States and load up on parts!

[Irish_Alley]

beds cab be found cheaper down south i live in maryland/delaware a good bed can be found anywhere from 400-800. down near north carolina there was a dually bed with only surface rust for 550. it would of been worth it but i didnt feel like a 8hr drive one way for a bed.
on a bad note 2k would be way too much for that truck i dont care what rims/tires it has cause im frugal as im told lol

[Joec123able]

I'd say if the frame looks solid go for it. Most all of the sheet metal is pretty easy and straight-forward to replace if you can find the parts. I find beds on Craigslist for sale at the lowest around 350.