OldIHC

I've noticed this with my own vehicles. The tougher looking ones get more attention.

Goyanks1. Having gone through what you are facing, maybe I can add my 2 cents’ worth. My cab was worse than your R but much better than your L. I would recommend you proceed with using that front portion of the R cab. Here’s why. If you start to repair the L cab, you’ll find that the sub structure is just as bad as the outer surface. Because IH didn’t use primer under their paint and didn’t provide inner wheel well protection, the portion of the body you are dealing with received generous amounts of water and mud from the front wheels creating the rot that you are now confronted with. When I removed the outer metal to put patch panels on, I found that the supporting structures underneath were just as bad and the inner panels were heavily pitted. Patiently I fabricated replacement pieces for the inner supports as well as the outer patch panels on both sides of the truck. No small task. You may want to do whatever you’re going to do to the R cab while it’s off the frame and better accessible. You may want to consider cutting the R front portion in two and combine the best of the R with the best of the L. I didn’t have a second cab to offer replacement parts as you do nor did I have rust-out behind the weather striping. If you decide to go the Rustification route, I for one would not blame you. Repairing the rot on these cabs is intense and significant work. However, having completed the chore, highly satisfying.

You are definitely going to have rot back behind the front panel. It can be fabbed and replaced though.

If it was me, it'd be looking to start with and use my better cab in the end. Also, those panels aren't terribly difficult to fabricate.



54 IHC by isu_phi, on Flickr

54 IHC by isu_phi, on Flickr

54 IHC by isu_phi, on Flickr

54 IHC by isu_phi, on Flickr

bsievers1616, I think you and I have one thing in common. We do not say, "I can not do that." You are an inspiration.

Binder Mike, great reply. Funny I've owned my truck for around 5 years, although I've been acquiring parts through this time, it's always been on the back burner because life gets in the way. I finally made a decision this year to get the truck on the road. It's always been my intention to keep the rusty red, as-is look. I recently bought matching color fenders from a junkyard in Kansas and also why I picked up that R cab. I got the drivetrain just about road ready and now the cab is really my biggest hurdle. Still trying to decide how to tackle it

I was reading this earlier from my phone and for some reason I didn't see all the responses. You guys all have given great responses and been extremely helpful. WEW51L110 & bsieveres1616 really gave me some great inspiration in my quest to get my truck on the road! I already started to unbolt the front of the R cab so I will let you know my progress. Another question I have, are there welds that I need to drill out or is it just the bolts and seam sealer I need to worry about? Thanks so much guys, you've really been helpful

The only weld is in the rain gutter about 6 inches back from the top of the windshield. This weld is usually brass and ties the cab gutter to the cowl gutter.

excellent, big help, thanks Nikki

I'll be interested in watching your progress. I'm dealing with a rotten cab and don't have a donor cab. Therefore, the only option I have is to cut and paste. I should do as nikki recommended and take the cab apart and clean it but I'm too old and it's way up in the air.

So after all the back and forth, I decided that a full cab swap was the best thing to do for my L. As some of you suggested, I had even started to take apart the donor cab but the more I go into it, the more I realized original one is in much worse shape. Besides the outer front areas behind the fenders and cab corners, there is rot on the inside lower kick panels so that made my decision final. Over the past month I've been slowly stripping down the interior. There is only a few items left to take out of the original cab but it's off the frame! What you see in the pictures is how it sits at the moment. I reinforced the rafters in my garage and installed a chain hoist. The truck is on rollers so I can roll it off to the side then drop down the cab to get it out of the garage. It will be awhile before the donor cab goes in. I want to take care of a few things while the cab is off. One other thing I didn't bring up was the existing wiring, yikes. Thinking now is the time to do a complete rewire to a 12v conversion. I know it's a long standing debate with everyone.
Stay tuned, it's a slow process but at least it's moving forward.