Project took a dump need your advice

[C10Slim]

So for the past several months I have been working on my project. Rolling chassis is complete. completley painted, power steering, power disc brakes, drop spindles, drop springs, trackbar, drop shocks, crossmember and tubular tailing arms, tubular motor mounts and trans crossmemeber, aluminum under bed gas tank with sender -- all brand new from CPP. I have 6k or so in the chassis.

Now the problem... Body was blasted inside and out, top to bottom for $1800. Get it over to the body shop today and my body guy said the cab and doors are trashed. The roof is rotten, pass pillar is rotten, piece that goes from drip rail to windsheild is rotten, doors had been covered in bondo so didn't realize the huge dents in it or that the bottoms were rotten. Basiclly the cab and doors are trash. Body guy told me I could buy another truck for what it's going to cost me to fix this one. So what do I do?

I have been scowering the net trying to find a cab and doors but have not had much luck. Unless I want to buy another truck for 3-6k, and whos to say it's not a rust bucket also...

I am just sick to my stomach. Part of me says stick with it and find a cab the other side says stop sinking money in to this pit. Sell or part out the cassis, recoupe some of my money and move on find another project in better shape from the get go.

What should I do?

[robby5323]

Hmmm.... Well, take a little break from it. Let the feelings of being mad and aggrevated at your project pass. Then take a second look and evaluate which way you want to go. I see you are in the Houston area. I think if you keep an eye on craigslist within a 200 or 300 mile radius from you, you could probably pickup a nice donor for a good price. Just some thoughts - rob

[markeb01]

Six or seven years ago I took my truck to a "professional" body shop to have NOS rockers installed. I did my homework, checked out the Better Business Bureau, etc. Long story short they absolutely trashed my truck to the point I was so despondent I made plans to get rid of it. The more I looked the more damage I found. Scratches, nicks, dents, primer all over the interior, doors hung crooked, ground the corners off the doors, unfinished work underneath - several pages worth of abuse. The truck sat untouched for over a month while I decided whether to keep it or not.

After I left it alone long enough, I realized how much it meant to me and the tremendous investment in time and money, and just started over. May or may not be the solution in your situation, but it's a shame to let it go when you're really bummed. Instead of looking for a cab in desperation, hang on, keep your feelers out there and see if something turns up before taking radical action that can't be undone.

[chevroletrestoguy]

Sounds to me like he didn't want to work on it. My advise is to look for another body guy.

[Alan's Classic]

Some great advice guys.

Do you have any pics to share?

Definately take a break before you make any hasty decisions. In the meantime look around and start networking to locate another cab. I'm too far away from you, but I have a restorable bare 1966 cab for $150 to give you an idea of a price for a cab.



Link to more pics

Good luck

[brawley]

this sounds like my situation, bought loads of parts ,rebuilt engine,trans. ect...paid alot to have truck blasted and then suprise!! im so far into this thing I feel I have to continue, im past the point of being pissed about it, so im taking it as a learning expierence, and trying to do alot of the work myself-instead of my original show type truck this will be a more of a rat/hot rod truck. my thinking is to finish up what I have and then later down the road if I come accross a nice cab maybe do a cab swap. Body work is the most expensive part of these trucks -so if you have to pay someone I might just cut my loses and find a better cab. Good luck.

[C10Slim]

Well guys the Lord does work in mysterious ways! I said my prayers and laid down to sleep on my delima. I kept tossin and turnin and something told me to browse ebay one more time. Well I found this and pulled the trigger:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CLASS...item35a89ed486

This one has all the body work done, driver quality paint if not better (in the right color I might add), new chrome bumper and grille, new tires, a bed floor, etc. It will drop right on to my frame and with a few odds and ends will be ready to roll! I think this might have just saved me several thousand in paint and body work. Plus there are a few things left over that I can sell and make some money back with. I think this turned out to be a blessing and will ultimately get me driving sooner.

Thanks guys for all of the advice!!

[markeb01]

Outstanding! I love a story with a happy ending. And my favorite color too!!

[Chevy Fleetside]

I look at my 66 and think to myself. Why did I do this. I have one truck already. Then I read a story like this and now think a rust free truck for $500 is a steal. I knew this already but it just puts it in a better line.
Happy to see you got a solution to your problem. Not only did it save you that money but also time. It would have taken over a year for a body shop to get that work done.

[chevyrestoguy]

What a great story! It goes to show you that even when the chips are down, don't get bummed out, because something is good right around the corner.

Now...go get it, call your buddies over to help swap the cab and get that thing on the road!!

[chevroletrestoguy]

I am kind of in the same boat. It's my grandfather's truck and it was in such bad shape no one else in their right mind would have taken on this project. The sad thing is that there was very little usable stuff on his truck, so when I am finished probably only 40% of the truck at most will still be original. So I am kind of hellbent on using his cab, when I should be trying to find a donor.

[Barn-core]

This is an important lesson for anyone. You should always know the condition of all your components before diving headfirst, or wallet first, into a project of this magnitude. Another important lesson is it is cheaper to buy a welder and figure out how to do it yourself, than pay some schmuck to screw it up for you. That's knowledge you can always use. I do everything in house, minus interior, and you'd better believe if I could find a sewing machine I could afford, I'd be doing that too.

[psycotruckr]

Stick with it! Take a break and come back with another way to do it. I have a 66 panel I have been working on for going on five years and it to was a rust bucket when I started and I soon had more money in it than I will probably ever get out of it but I still go out to the shop every chanch I get. I have done EVERYTHING myself with the exception of the machine work on engine, (383 stroker) I have learned alot and will ejoy riding in it for many years to come. I will rework some of the sheet metal again down the road as my skill set improves as well as my shop facillities. Most shops would have pushed my truck to the curb years ago but I stayed with it and am very excited to be looking forward to another ride this summer! Just because you can afford to have it done for you doesn't mean you can't do it your self and invest pride.

[Rannos]

I notice your in sugarland. I was surfung craigs list a few days ago and saw A 65 swb stepside for like $700 had been sitting for 20 some odd years. Was only missing the hood and from the pics looks like typical rocker/cab corner type damage. That maybe something to look into if it hasnt sold yet. I was thinking of buying it and getting it running and turning it around for a little money to finish my 64. I will drop the link here for you to check out.

http://houston.craigslist.org/cto/1674593600.html

[Captainfab]

Wow that is good news and a great deal IMO. That body and paint had to cost more than the selling price. It looks pretty straight too. You didn't go wrong on that....congrats!

Originally Posted by C10Slim

Well guys the Lord does work in mysterious ways! I said my prayers and laid down to sleep on my delima. I kept tossin and turnin and something told me to browse ebay one more time. Well I found this and pulled the trigger:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CLASS...item35a89ed486

This one has all the body work done, driver quality paint if not better (in the right color I might add), new chrome bumper and grille, new tires, a bed floor, etc. It will drop right on to my frame and with a few odds and ends will be ready to roll! I think this might have just saved me several thousand in paint and body work. Plus there are a few things left over that I can sell and make some money back with. I think this turned out to be a blessing and will ultimately get me driving sooner.

Thanks guys for all of the advice!!