The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Complete Cab Floor Pan

I have a 53 3600 that I need to replace the floor and cab corners on. Does anyone have some better pics of the complete floor pan? It is really hard to make out any sort of details from the small picture on Classic Parts. Here is the link to it: Classic Parts Page

Here is a pic of the floor in my truck: Picture

The rockers are shot along with the inner cab corners. Does the complete pan resolve these issues, or am I better off getting the individual pieces and welding them together?

I don't like to discourage anyone, but I would be afraid that the cab pan would only be the beginning. You might look around for a better cab to start out with.

Good Lord man, I thought mine was a mess!

Have a look at the link in my signature if you want to get some idea of what a "bad as it gets and still be fixable" cab looks like. Like the cren sez, I hate to discourage you but that's well beyond a practical fix.

Find a new cab, or better yet have a real good look at the rest of the truck, like the frame and make a serious decision as to exactly how much is salvageable.

I should have mentioned this in the original post, the floor was cut out by my uncle 20 or so years ago, so it did not simply rust away. I've looked over the frame already, and it looks solid. The panels need the usual fixing for a truck that has spent it's entire life in CT.

As much as I would like to get a new cab, this truck as sentimental value to me. The truck was bought new by my grandfathers dairy and has been in the family ever since. It even has the original door art on one the doors.

I also added a few more pictures to my photobucket: Photos

As long as you have the will, there is a way. But that is a very ambitious project. Good Luck to you.
Cleon

Okay, that changes things somewhat, but here's the problem. In order to replace the entire floor and rockers you are going to have to some major league cab bracing to hold everything in alignment.

The main structural integrity of that cab is the door openings. Think of them as a ring of steel. If that ring is compromised by deterioration or cutting the door opening is free to move screwing up the door fit. Compound that with both rockers shot and you not only have door fit issues, you can also twist the cab in a way where it will not sit squarely on all four body mounts.

Yea, it can be done but unless you really know what you're doing you can get in over your head very quickly and never get it straight. On the other hand if you took this to a place that COULD do the work you would probably get off cheaper buying a new repo cab.

Personally, I would love to see you pull it off but you better proceed with caution and open eyes.

Thanks for the warning, I figured it would be a hard job, didn't realize it would be that bad. I know this is very much dependent on region and shop, any guesses on what having the floor put in would cost me? between shipping and purchasing a new cab I would be looking at around 2k, I wouldn't be against spending a bit more than that if the original can be repaired.

Of course this is assuming it isn't already warped beyond repair.

It's hard to assess the extent of the damage from the photos you have on lne but from what's already been said and from what I can see the floorpan is just the most obvious part of the damage.

If you say the rockers are bad how about the bottoms of the hinge and striker posts, cab corners, toeboard, inner and outer cowls, upholstery, paint, headliner, gas tank brackets, instruments, wiring, cab mounts and all the glass and door workings... you have to figure for all that too as well as the transmission and battery cover. Trust me, it adds up quickly.

I assume you are planning to use the existing seat riser because the floorpan you linked to is without one.

Oh, and that's just the cab. We haven't even gotten into the front clip, grille, bumpers, running boards, fenders and bed... or any of the mechanicals.

Do an honest assessment, get a parts catalog out and add it all up.

I don't know if it's better to wade into something like this oblivious or with full knowledge of what the reality of the situation is.

BTW, Is that $2k price for the cab include doors?

Ferndale 53 I know how much the truck cab means to you being it was your Grandfathers truck but that would be a tremendous undertaking for you if you do not have any experiance in doing body repair of that magnatuide. If the rest of the truck is in good shape I would find another cab to replace it and when it is all done dedicate the truck to him after it is all finished. I am sure he would appreciate your intentions but would realize the effort would not be worth it. But like someone said anything can be rebuilt with dedication and time.
62Blue
Don

If you haven't done it already check out Czechman's link "currently working on this". It will give you a good idea of what is involved in the repairs you are looking at. The cheapest way out is to learn how to cut and weld metal and do it yourself. That is if you have somewhere to work on it. If your rocker panels are still holding the door frame in place you should be able to brace the cab and repair it. The rear cab corners and inner and outer cowl repair isn't rocket science and several members have detailed instructions on what you have to do. You tube has several good welding and auto body repair videos. I have managed to mangle mine together with a welder I purchased for under $300. It isn't pretty but most of what you will need to weld will not be seen once everything is back together. The body shop can dig deep into your wallet and drive you crazy. It is also nice to stand back at the end of the day and admire what you have done.

You can check out my Webshots. I did the same thing on mine, perty much replaced the bottom 1/3 of the truck cab. Before removing anything, make sure you brace it first and take your time.

Have fun!

If the doors fit and close nice and the rear part of the floor is salvagable I would just work on one area at a time to preserve integrity. IMO A complete floor introduces as many challenges as it eliminates.

The drivers side door does opens and closes alright, although I did notice that the gap is not even all the way around the door. The gap toward the front of the door is very small while the top and rear gap is larger. I haven't been able to open the passenger door since the truck is parked right next to the parts truck my uncle bought years ago.

Here is the best pic I could find that showed the door gap. PIC (not the best picture, the door isn't fully closed)

As for the $2k figure, that was just an average of the cost of the cabs on eBay plus my possibly poor guess at how much shipping would cost.

I've been going through the catalogs and have been adding it up. I am still waiting for the truck to be trucked over, so that is pretty much all I have been able to do. Luckily, my uncle said I could strip down his parts truck and sell those parts to help finance this truck.

Also, Czechman, I will try and get you a good picture of the door art on the pass. door for your collection. As you can see in the door pic I posted above, my uncle already stripped most of it off of the drivers door.

The door fit right now is of little consequence. Getting the gap fairly even when you do the repairs is what counts. Chances are sloppy hinges could be contributing... the driver side is usually bad from more use.

You'll know a lot more once you get it cleaned out and start taking it apart. Pull the hood, front fenders and related sheetmetal and the make a thorough assessment of the cab damage. A good pressure washing is in order.

As mentioned previously, if the floor aft of the front of the seat riser is good, you'll be better off just replacing the front part. Just remember that the more stuff you cut out, the more problems you can create.

I appreciate the offer of the door art... the collection is growing and every day another is lost.

I have been through this too and I agree that a lot depends on the floor from the seat back. It would be difficult to replace the floor as a whole. I took it on as a project to build and learn. I now have a truck that I enjoy. It is not perfect but I amd proud of how it turned out.

Thanks for all the info, If I decide that the cab is salvagable, does the nose of the truck have any effect on the cab? I don't want to remove the nose and find out it was holding the cab together.

Thanks

No, the cab is a separate part unaffected by any of those parts.

I hate to say it, but I think Ferndale's truck is in better shape than mine!!! I'll have to post some pics but the poor pickup is rusted to pieces.

It's Here!!

A 15 minute flatbed ride later and it's now sitting in my driveway. I'm going to start cleaning it out tomorrow (there's plenty of dirt and feces in the cab to get rid of).

Picture 1
Picture 2
Picture 3

Nice find!! I'm sure Czechman would love a picture of the door as he collects door art. Good luck and have fun
Dan

Cool truck! Just a warning....hantavirus!
Be very careful when you're cleaning it out.
Read this and you'll see what I mean! There's some good advice.
Good luck.
Sorry I'm not trying to 'rain on your parade' but it is important.

Jock