79 King Cab questions

[Noel]

I've a 1979 King Cab (original owner). It has only 180K however it's been rode hard and put up wet (so to speak). Cab floor has been patched and is a quilt that won't stand any more patching. I've found an identical match (at a wrecking yard locally) and want to meld the two vehicles to make one that is truely road worthy. The wreck has an intact frame, intact cab and bed. It was in a front, drivers side collision and the front left quarter panel was peeled like a sardine lid. I'm imagining using parts from my good front end to rebuild the wrecked one. Since the vehicle is over 25 years old, it qualifies (in Virginia) as an antique. The wrecking yard will sell me the vehicle and are checking into questions of title (since they probably turned in the title). I won't know if I can even use the wreck until the title/registration question is answered some time later this week (I hope). If I can get a title, the purchase price is very good. The wrecking yard is recommending someone to do the rebuilding/melding.

Questions: How much money is it likely to cost to create this melded vehicle?

Is there a couple of days work or more like a couple of months before it is road worthy?

What are the most important aspects of this process to be clearly aware of to ensure that I end up with a useable vehicle?

Any and all responses are appreciated.

[datsunaholic]

If you can get a clear title to the wrecked truck AND the the frame and suspension is truly undamaged, then using your "front clip" on that truck would be the easiest bet.

 

However I would expect that even when done, you'd have to go through inspections and likely get a rebuilt title.

 

The other route is to use your existing truck as the "base". The VIN follows the frame, so you'd need no inspection. Remove your existing cab and the cab off the wreck, repair the wrecked cab with your "front clip" (basically all the sheet metal in front of the firewall), then reinstall the melded cab onto your old frame. Keep your old dataplates as they match the frame, and you're good to go.

 

Time to do this depends on your skill level. An individual COULD do it in a couple days if highly motivated and skilled at welding sheet metal, minus paint/prep, but a shop you're talking a month or so.

[pharouh]

Well,you certainly came to the right place!! Welcome!

I don't know what it would cost to have someone else do the work,but it wouldn't be cheap. probably more than the truck is actually worth. But then,what is the truck worth to you? You must really like it or you wouldn't have kept it all these years.

Have you thought about doing the work yourself? If you have a garage,basic hand tools and the time,you could do this. There's plenty of help here.

I'm no mechanic,but I'm taking my 1973 pickup down the frame and redoing it. These trucks are pretty easy to work on. If you get stuck there's always somebody here to give you advice.

Best of all,when you're done you have the satisfaction of knowing it's done right.

Get yourself some manuals get on Ebay (if you aren't already) and have at it!

And one more thing- We want pictures!

[BarryA]

....It was in a front, drivers side collision and the front left quarter panel was peeled like a sardine lid.....

 

If the damage to the yard truck is largely external (grill, bumper, fender & outer corner of the radiator core support), combining the sheet metal from your existing cab with the body shell from the one in the yard may be mostly a process of unbolting the damaged sheet metal and transferring the good parts from your existing cab after swapping the yard body onto your frame. Even if you've never done any body work, if the damage to the inner fender structure is fairly minor you may be able to straighten it yourself once the fender and core support are removed.

 

Depending on how bad the floors in your existing cab are, another option that might also be a possibility would be to use the truck in the yard as a donor, cut out the floors and have them welded into your existing cab - if that's all that's wrong with your cab structurally, it might be the quickest, easiest, and cheapest fix, since it involves little or no finish bodywork.

 

If combining the cab from one with the frame from the other turns out to be the best solution, I'd definately agree that IF you can make the combination work, it would be far easier from a paperwork standpoint to keep your existing frame and its current vin # / registration / title, swap the cab from the other truck onto your frame, and use your existing truck's vin plate on the swapped cab. Depending on your state's laws, the yard truck will very likely have had its paperwork turned in as a total, so if you try to put the yard truck back on the road you may be forced to apply for "salvage title" which will likely involve multiple inspections, and in some states can make it difficult to get insurance (some insurance companies are VERY reluctant to insure "rebuilt totals".

[Noel]

I've now got some hopefully worthwhile and additional information regarding the wreck. The photos will likely tell the tale and your responses are now even more important to the question of whether to proceed at all.

 

As it turns out the wreck is a 1977 (not a 79). Who can tell me whether even though the vehicles "look" identical, they're parts/frame compatible?

 

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Edited October 29, 2009 by Noel

[Z-train]

Body is the same.Mechanical differences mostly.

[datzenmike]

All reg cab and the King Cab 620 are the same body wise. '78 frames have different mounting points for the lower control arms/disc brake/ball joint suspension than the earlier frames.

[turbojunker]

I've now got some hopefully worthwhile and additional information regarding the wreck. The photos will likely tell the tale and your responses are now even more important to the question of whether to proceed at all.

 

As it turns out the wreck is a 1977 (not a 79). Who can tell me whether even though the vehicles "look" identical, they're parts/frame compatible?

 

 

?

 

 

 

The core support looks pretty tweaked on that.

[Noel]

Hi. I am asking a local mechanic to assess whether the "tweaked" issue on the 1977 KC will prevent using the front end from my 1979 KC, effectively melding the two vehicles to make one, road-worthy one. I'll know more next week when he gives me his opinion. I surely would like this to work and can only imagine that it would ultimately be less expensive to meld the two (if it's possible) than it would be to purchase someone else's used truck; and it wouldn't be a Datsun.

I've been looking at Toyota Tacomas as an alternative if this doesn't work out.

Any further thoughts on the "tweaked" issue? Is there anything in particular that I need the mechanic to check when he gets underneath?

I appreciate the responses.

Thanks