Throwing money down the CUCV hole

[beetleswamp]

I had the bright idea of proving everybody wrong and patching up my rusted out CUCV with crappy welds and marine epoxy. Today I was chasing down some wiring gremlins and getting it ready for safety inspection and noticed a brand new crack running halfway down the windshield on the side where I "fixed" the rusted out roof post. Cab is done.

The funny thing is underneath the disappointment there is actually a sense of relief. It was supposed to be a fun project that quickly became overwhelming, but I pulled it off anyway and was just about to get her back on the road after four years in dry dock. New timing chain, tires, ip/injectors, radiator, rear main seal, electric lift pump, and lots of other goodies and now she's running smoother than ever which made me want to ignore the weak link which was the swiss cheese in the body that kept getting worse the more I poked at it.

Kind of at a crossroads right now. At this point I'm strongly leaning towards putting her on CL for $1500 so someone can at least use all the parts. It's been such a pain in the backside that I just want to forget about it and cut my losses. We'll see how I feel tomorrow after a glass of rum and a good night's sleep.

 

[dependable]

Sometimes they get so rusted, parting out is logical. Another choice is the old cab swap. Any chevy of that body style being a fairly easy match, including cabs from heavier series trucks, which are often less rusted than pickups. Then you start thinking... ''too bad I have to run this business(or farm) for a living, and not just mess with trucks all week''...practicality usually wins out.

 

[nyoffroad]

A cab swap is pretty easy although it does seem to be a bit more work now than it did 20 years ago. If it mechanically sound than a new cab from down south would be a good investment. Look around on out of town craigs list adds and then take a road trip, buy the whole truck and tow it back. Clean it up and add some paint and the swap it over.

 

[NDT]

He's in Hawaii hence the rust. Only place worse for rust is Guam.

 

[Subjock]

I bet Pacifica CA would be a close runner-up. That ever-present salt fog comes in every night and does it's silent damage...

 

[olly hondro]

Mine is a rust free AZ truck, I have ~$15K into it, and I'm not done yet. So I can only imagine how much a rusty truck could cost.