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Save it or replace it???

65 sporty

65 sporty

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Kingston, Mi
I did some work on my 98 Chevy 2500, repaired a fuel tank strap, oil change and just looked the truck over good. It's been in Mi it's whole life so it's getting the cancer bad. So here's the question do I repair it this summer or replace it?
It has 244,000 miles on it and would need a replacement box, inner and outer cab corners, LF rear cab mount on the bottom of the cab, inner and outer rocker panels, doors, fenders, paint, drivers seat foam and cover repaired, timing cover( seal is leaking and it's the throwaway plastic cover).
My thought is repair all this, replace the truck with a newer Chevy or Dodge 3/4 ton 4X4 and mount my plow or find a southern truck with a good Ext cab body with eng or trans problems and put cab and all sheetmetal on my 4x4 frame. Any thoughts? Comments?
 
Price out the cost of fixing vs the cost of a replacement and go from there. I like the idea of a rebody, but as 7mopar said, it all depends on how bad the frame is/isn't.
 
The frame doesn't look to bad, I did have to repair it by the front cab mount, behind the LF wheel, very typical place for rot on the Chevy frames. The rear needs a little repair where one crossmember meets the frame, lots of scale fell off when I air hammered off a rivet. I think it will survive for a while, if I strip it all down to the bare frame for new steel I will clean it and seal it.
 
Down here below the rust belt, that truck wouldn't be saved. Just too many nice rust free older trucks running around to bother with it.
 
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Not that I really like flatbeds, but I am toying with the idea of building a flatbed to replace my rotten box. Any one done it? Any idea's and comments welcome as I am still weighing out my options. The truck just gets driven to work and back 10 miles, plows snow and does some truck duties as required.
 
Might be cheaper to buy than build. Used one are available here for less than a bed replacement.
Have a brother-in-law that put an aluminum flat bed on his Ford years ago for the same reason and likes it. It has fold down sides.
 
I found a used/new to me bed for my truck, I pulled off the old one yesterday. It was really getting tough. Here is some pic's of what came off it.
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The bed liner was hiding the rusted wheel well and the hole at the back.

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I will get some pic's of the replacement installed tomorrow. If you can't wait you can catch a glimpse of the truck in the background with the bed in the second pic
 
Here is the new to me Facebook marketplace acquisition, not too bad for $175. I didn't want to spend a small fortune for a pristine southern truck bed, it would be like lipstick on a pig. It's solid where it counts, small amount of rust at the side supports that I will repair and some on the bed rails that I am not too worried about. It fits the rest of the truck really good and the color is the same.

A couple of pic's

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This is about the only damage that you can see
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I need to repair this next, cab corners and rockers on both sides. I need to figure out what to do with the rear of the cab floor and the mounts.

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The doors will need some love too.
 
I need to put on the fender flares, put in the bed liner. I had to order different tail gate hinges, I got the 98 hinges they fit 94-00, but my gate is older than the truck I need the 88- 94 hinges. 2 bolt verse 1 bolt. Why would you change the hinge bolt pattern?:screwy:
 
I thought the same thing when the Dakota went from a 5 bolt wheel to a 6 bolt and retained the same bolt circle and in the newer years, the Timken front wheel bearings got replaced by a ball setup. Why mess with something that's been working well to start with.....
 
I have this also I am going to put on.

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I am going to remove the tabs for the ladder rack and add mounts for my back up lights and beacon light.
Opinions wanted, leave it white, paint it black or body color, coat it in bed liner. My son says bed liner, I am not sure yet.
 
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