Repairing rust

[enRo]

I'd like to repair some rust holes in my 1990 F350 real soon. I've done sanding and priming many times before, as well as minor body work, but nothing like a 6" long rusthole between a passenger door and the roof :shock: I'd rather learn to do these types of things myself, as my truck is the perfect candidate for trial and error. What I'm looking for is some tips, pointers, products, walkthroughs, links, and some experience in doing these types of things. The 6" rusthole is the most major... and there is two or three minor dime-sized spots around the cab. Thanks in advance.

[HardcoreZ28]

If it is more than just surface rust then you want to cut the section out with a cutoff wheel, make a new piece out of sheet metal...try to mold it to the same shape as your original. Tack it in with a MIG welder....then slowly weld it solid so you don't warp the hell out of it. Then grind your welds, skim with body filler, sand, prime, paint.

[enRo]

If it is more than just surface rust then you want to cut the section out with a cutoff wheel, make a new piece out of sheet metal...try to mold it to the same shape as your original. Tack it in with a MIG welder....then slowly weld it solid so you don't warp the hell out of it. Then grind your welds, skim with body filler, sane, prime, paint.

Perfect, thanks bro! I knew cutting was involved, but really never understood the steps afterwards. Although, this big one may be a bit tricky because of where it's located, which is around the rain gutter thingee above the passenger door. I may have to save that one for very last :-|

[WildBillyT]

If it is more than just surface rust then you want to cut the section out with a cutoff wheel, make a new piece out of sheet metal...try to mold it to the same shape as your original. Tack it in with a MIG welder....then slowly weld it solid so you don't warp the hell out of it. Then grind your welds, skim with body filler, sane, prime, paint.

Side note:

If you can get a section cut off of a donor truck that may work best for you.

[enRo]

If you can get a section cut off of a donor truck that may work best for you.

After replying to Paul's post, I decided to go out and uncover what I was told was 6" of rust so I could take some pictures to post up... I should've expected worse, because right now, I'm not a very happy camper. If the truck itself didn't have so much sentimental value to it, to me or my family, I would throw on some white duct-tape and slap a For Sale sign on it. I mean, for a truck that's sat for 10 years, underneath is pretty damn solid, its just this area and a small spot or two next to the back window thats making me scratch my head. :scratch: I recant my statement about fixing that area, I no longer want no part of that :lol: I just threw some fresh duct-tape on it to get me by.

So after searching Google, I see complete cab replacements are sorta out of the question because of conflicting VIN#'s, unless it can be done???.... so unless I could find a donor truck without the same problem, I guess I'm scewed, eh? Looks like I'll be joining some Ford Truck-nuthugging forums and asking alot of questions there :lol:

What's your expert advice guys? Getting rid of the truck is completely out of the question.






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[FoodStampsz]

7.3?

[NastyEllEssWon]

get yourself a clean parts truck and replace the whole cab?

[Mike]

i would start looking for cabs, the good thing is you have a TON of options, you can take something hit in the rear and the whole cab will be good, you can take something hit on the driver side, and cut and weld, or you can take something with a light front hit as long as its good from the fire wall back.

i will ask my dad tonight what they do at the shop about cab replacements and vin number legalities, they do a lot of fleet and truck repair, and i know they do a lot of cab swaps