Red_Chili
Hard Core 4+
Oh, sure... Monday morning quarterbacking...
You should have seen all the cheap flawless bodies I suddenly heard about for $200 after we started this project!
In fact, what you suggest is what a lot of guys do. However, consider this: we would be talking doing a motor swap with driveline relocation, axle swap, and all the bits I have done to the truck over the last 4 years. Doing this myself would simply not happen in a timely manner, because I no longer have the time (nor the space really). Paying someone else to do it would not be covered by insurance at all, and would be astronomically expensive.
A body swap is much easier despite all the infinite details. Lots of guys take this route too, as did Cheeseman (though he is doing all the swap work hisself
). It may be that mechanical work is not daunting to most of us, while body work is! The dark arts, as it were.
Terry is able to do this mostly keeping with the insurance estimate with some extras that would not be covered, which I expected. The 'pristine' donor body turned out to be needing almost as much work as the wrecked body (except the A-pillar already covered, and the fact that it was 'tweaked' and pushed down to the frame a bit - these can be fixed but corrosion protection will be compromised over the long haul. Not so with the donor body repairs). This was not planned and that chaps me mightily, but is still doable.
My goal is to keep the truck for a very long time, and keep it nice. I have found that I really don't like the scrape-the-truck-up kind of 4-wheeling. I'm a hot rodder/collector with a 4x4 more or less. I like a pristine vehicle. All the little dings, dents, rust spots, non-matching-paint and lousy-bodywork issues (done by moi) will be dealt with and I will have, essentially, a new vehicle which only happens to show 190,000 miles on the odo.
Just a start on its way to 500,000. No kiddin'. And why not? No part on it has 190,000 miles, except the frame. All the running gear and wear surfaces are practically new.
It ain't a mutual fund. Vehicles are not investments. It's payment for use and enjoyment, whether new or used.
You should have seen all the cheap flawless bodies I suddenly heard about for $200 after we started this project!
In fact, what you suggest is what a lot of guys do. However, consider this: we would be talking doing a motor swap with driveline relocation, axle swap, and all the bits I have done to the truck over the last 4 years. Doing this myself would simply not happen in a timely manner, because I no longer have the time (nor the space really). Paying someone else to do it would not be covered by insurance at all, and would be astronomically expensive.
A body swap is much easier despite all the infinite details. Lots of guys take this route too, as did Cheeseman (though he is doing all the swap work hisself
). It may be that mechanical work is not daunting to most of us, while body work is! The dark arts, as it were.Terry is able to do this mostly keeping with the insurance estimate with some extras that would not be covered, which I expected. The 'pristine' donor body turned out to be needing almost as much work as the wrecked body (except the A-pillar already covered, and the fact that it was 'tweaked' and pushed down to the frame a bit - these can be fixed but corrosion protection will be compromised over the long haul. Not so with the donor body repairs). This was not planned and that chaps me mightily, but is still doable.
My goal is to keep the truck for a very long time, and keep it nice. I have found that I really don't like the scrape-the-truck-up kind of 4-wheeling. I'm a hot rodder/collector with a 4x4 more or less. I like a pristine vehicle. All the little dings, dents, rust spots, non-matching-paint and lousy-bodywork issues (done by moi) will be dealt with and I will have, essentially, a new vehicle which only happens to show 190,000 miles on the odo.
Just a start on its way to 500,000. No kiddin'. And why not? No part on it has 190,000 miles, except the frame.
All the running gear and wear surfaces are practically new.It ain't a mutual fund. Vehicles are not investments. It's payment for use and enjoyment, whether new or used.
