General conversation about my current truck

[Greybeard]

I have a 1975ish Frankenstein model K10. I guess I am using it learn new skills this year I hope. Like welding sheet metal, body straightening, and heat shrinking.

I'm not really certain what all it is. I believe the two wheel drive cab is a 1975(ish), the box is a post '78 with two fuel doors, the frame is some year that carries everything off the ground, the engine is built from junkyard parts and new parts. The SM465 is from a one ton late seventies van and only had (according to the guy that gave it to me) only a few hundred miles on it when it was removed right after the van was bought and replaced with an automatic, the NP205 came from a dump truck of an unknown vintage. As for the manual swap...none of the frame parts were on the frame since it was an auto-only built frame from the factory (I never knew they built auto-only frames). I had to drill holes in the frame to mount the clutch linkage parts. It had a auto steering steering column that needed to be replaced with a manual column of some unknown vintage, the same with the pedals and the dash. I have a pile of dash parts and bezels I bought that I didn't like.

Overall, putting this current truck together to the point it is right now was a year long effort in frustration and a LOT of money and time wasted. Now I don't think the cab is worth saving. The jambs are rusted through nearly all the way around, the A-pillars have rust holes the size of pencil erasers or larger, there is at least 20lbs of bondo on the body that I never found until years after I bought it. The bondo is in places one would never think to look for on a truck, at least I didn't think to look there. Like around the rear window, on the outside (and inside) of the A-pillar, on the firewall, just weird places. Someone spent many, many hours smoothing it and putting a good paint job over it. In some places however, it is a quarter inch thick. 

I have been keeping my eyes open for a good K10 SWB truck but they are super rare here in corn country. And when I do find one that rarity is commanding exorbitant prices.

I'm thinking my best bet is to cut my losses, find a good cab off some LWB and switch it out with the one I have now. I have never done a cab swap but with the right lifting equipment it couldn't be too hard. My neighbor has a large articulated wheel loader with a boom pole that attaches to the arms. It is capable of lifting a few tons, much more than a cab will weigh. I need to remove the box too anyway to clean up the frame and work on the flip kit easier.

Anyway, any opinions about the cab swap? Would it be worth trying to weld up all the rust holes in the A-pillar, and the corners/floor/rockers instead? There is a good amount of body damage I found too on the left side high up and behind the drivers window (I can't imagine how that area got smashed in and nothing below that did).   

[Stewart G Griffin]

Well, a picture of the current cab would probably better influence my decision........

This is just me, but i'm the type that would rather weld and patch the current cab rather than to swap---it would seem much less work in some ways.   Or even just live with what you have provided it's not a safety issue and just paint over the rust with POR-15 or something.

However, since the cab is not original to the frame (?), then cab swapping might not be such a big issue.  But the problem is finding a good cab.

[roundhouse]

Unless it has some sentimental value.  Have you considered selling it and getting a better truck ?

Look at some ads in rust free southern areas

We got ours in AZ.  Not a speck of rust on it


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[Stewart G Griffin]

Unless it has some sentimental value.  Have you considered selling it and getting a better truck ?

Look at some ads in rust free southern areas

We got ours in AZ.  Not a speck of rust on it


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Well, that too.

[fitz]

Unless it has some sentimental value.  Have you considered selling it and getting a better truck ?

Look at some ads in rust free southern areas

We got ours in AZ.  Not a speck of rust on it


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I agree 100%.
I can see fixing a rot box that's been in the family since it was new, but otherwise, there are still clean trucks out there.

[Blazin]

Just putting this out there, vans never came with SM465s.
If the frame, bed, & nose is in good shape, a cab swap is not a big deal.

[enaberif]

You know I think most of us come to a point with these old trucks that we really start considering options with the. Some of us have the ability aka a large shop to be able to tear these trucks down and rebuild them nicely. Others don't have that means so they are  a forever project wasting money and time to become something that rarely ever makes happy.

I for example am at a point where I don't enjoy my truck because of the carb setup. I almost 40 years old and I've come to realize that there are certain things that become important to me and the ability to get in a truck and drive off without having to wait 10-15 minutes for it to warm up is one of those things.

In your situation if you like the truck enough do a cab swap and call it a day but what will be the next thing you feel needs to be replaced or updated?

[Greybeard]

I agree with everyone. There is a small amount of sentimental value but not enough to worry about. I have put a lot of blood sweat and tears into it. That too is not a big deal.

Blazin, I never gave it much thought. Maybe I misunderstood the guy. Regardless, when I saw the tranny it was sitting under a table in an office at a business unrelated to automobiles. It was squeaky clean. When it was opened up to switch the output shaft it showed no wear at all. So whether it was from a van or a chassis the rest of the story seemed to be true. And he gave it to me for free. Can't beat that with a stick.

Roundhouse, I have looked a little, but most of what I've found down there are priced way over what I can afford. I am a starving college student right now. Literally.  9 weeks and I'm out, still haven't received any job offers though. It couldn't be age discrimination could it? I'm only 59.

Stewart G Griffin, Good point, I spose I could post some pictures....and videos.
 






Click on these for video

[Burkhalter]

I'm pretty much in the same boat. 24 getting close to finishing up college and only have a seasonal job. My advice would be to drive it as it is (as long as it is road worthy). Then once you have a job and a steady paycheck I would say go for the cab swap. Look for something down south or west coast. Down south is pretty dry so you should be safe there and here on the west coast we don't salt. So as long as it has been used and hasn't sat for the last 10 or 15 years it shouldn't really have much rust, if any at all.

You know I think most of us come to a point with these old trucks that we really start considering options with the. Some of us have the ability aka a large shop to be able to tear these trucks down and rebuild them nicely. Others don't have that means so they are  a forever project wasting money and time to become something that rarely ever makes happy.

I for example am at a point where I don't enjoy my truck because of the carb setup. I almost 40 years old and I've come to realize that there are certain things that become important to me and the ability to get in a truck and drive off without having to wait 10-15 minutes for it to warm up is one of those things.

In your situation if you like the truck enough do a cab swap and call it a day but what will be the next thing you feel needs to be replaced or updated?

enaberif what carb do you have? It might be worth scrapping it and getting a new one that you know will work right instead of continually rebuilding a worn out carb. As for the issue of warming up, install a block heater. they're pretty cheap and easy to install. It will spoil you starting it up and having hot air blowing right off the bat. My block heater was the best $15 investment I've made for my rig.

[enaberif]

I'm Canadian so carbs are not cheap by any means... Second the carb works fine.. I just live in a cooler climate so 90% of the time the truck needs time to warm up unlike if you had FI.

[Greybeard]

There is a problem if you cannot drive it within a minute of starting it. No warmup required above freezing Fahrenheit. Easy driving is best until gauge starts moving. Helleck, I started and drove my old 64 Plymouth slant six in 50 below zero weather when I lived in Montana. No big deal if the choke is working right and the carb is otherwise adjusted correctly.

Three things necessary for combustion- air, gas, and spark...don't say nothin about warm air or warm engine.  Jokin.

Therefore, maybe it's not the carb. A marginal ignition system can cause cold start issues too.

[Stewart G Griffin]

Judging from the pics and videos ( i didn't see all the videos but some), it's not that bad.  i would paint over all the rust with POR-15 to stop it from spreading.  As far as places where there are massive holes, i would weld those up;   i want to make things as easy as possible and to me it would seem easier than to swap a cab.  Remember you still have to LOOK for a usable cab, bring it home, then take everything off the old one and put it on the new one etc. etc. etc....

The fact that i enjoy welding might have something to do with it, but i do want to make things as easy as possible and if swapping was easier i would do so, since there doesn't seem to be much sentimental value to the cab.

And really if the cab is safe, and it appears basically so, i would just leave it as is and get to welding when i get to it.

But that is just me.  i don't think there are any right or wrong answers here.  IF you're really interested in getting a new cab then by all means proceed.

[Stewart G Griffin]

More comments tonight, when there is more time.

[Greybeard]

I completely agree, it's what I have, why be wasteful? They are not built any longer, so fix it. I am not a good welder, I can stick two pieces of 1/4" together reliably with a $5,000 dollar Miller wire welder, sticking two 18 gauge sheets together with a 110volt welder is entirely different. However, I did practice some last summer on my mower conditioner. The knock-over bar (thin walled tubing) had huge rust holes in it and was cracked pretty badly on both ends so I welded them closed. It was good practice. But my new auto darkening helmet kept quitting and I got flashed about every other time I struck an arc. Come to find out the trip from China must have occurred in a submarine because the battery contacts were badly corroded. Scoured them clean and new batteries and it works like it should against the sun, haven't been welding much in the freezing temps we are having now. In the meantime I'm collecting different size wire and tips and other welding accessories like those I used at the shop at work. Now I just need to figure out the best source of/for the best quality parts to weld in. 

[Burkhalter]

They can be  expensive, but   has some pretty good stuff. You might even be able to find a new rocker panel for that driver side.