Time for sheet metal work

[Speed]

Hi all;

   Taking a long hard look at my '81 Toyota 4X4 truck,it finally became obvious to me how much RUST is present. This truck was rolled at 128,000 miles,but everything still worked,at least marginally. The floor on the left side was virtually gone when I got the truck,but I patched it with a piece of old road sign. I know the bed is rusted out a little in the floor,but worse is that it's rusted out probably 1/3 of the perimeter of the floor/bed sides and ends. I figured I'd probably end up building a flat bed for it anyway,so I didn't worry. What I'm now facing is the fact that the ROOF is rusted out;it leaks on the gearshift,on the edge of the passenger seat,on the CB mike,and right behind the mirror. The one small crack in the windshield has spidered pretty dramatically. Since all the leaks are above the windshield, what would be the possibility of just cutting the roof at the bottom of the windshield posts and just below the rear window (the rear window opening is pretty warped too,the rear slider is not fitting well.)

I have a friend who can weld everything as needed,and I figured once that was done I'd have a new windshield installed;I don't especially care how pretty or ugly it looks since it's just a work truck.ugly's actually more in the truck's character. I also need to replace the left door since the rollover kinda "folded" the door,top to bottom, in line with the rear edge of the wind wing. The main reason I'm considering the roof job is because I was given a cab that was hit pretty hard on the right side,but the left door's good,the roof and glass/door openings measure out as intact. If I do a cab swap I'll have to buy one,and there'll be the issue of a different VIN to reckon with.

   Comments or suggestions?

      Speed

 

[Moses Ludel]

Makes sense...What came of the Willys Pickup body swap idea?  Too much work?  Poor fit prospect?  You were headed in that direction...

[Speed]

Seems like everything kinda blew up at the same time. I believe I coulda made it work but the Jeep body owner decided to keep it,another one surfaced but that guy wants more for it than for a NEW Jeep,finances changed,the VIN bailywick seems to get more complicated every time I talk to the "experts" at DMV ,etc. I decided instead to throw most of my effort and meager finances into just making the Yota run right,go down the road at a reasonable speed  and stop well. Then I'll figure out the cheapest/easiest way to keep it dry inside in the rainy season. (Probably still go with a flatbed with fold up sides though,)

  Speed

[Moses Ludel]

Gotcha...You also mentioned VIN numbers as a reason for not swapping another Toyota cab onto your frame...Understand!