I'm looking at buying a truck that got hit by a tree everyone is sold but the roof is badly dented I have 3 solution
1. Try to fix the dent with jacks and bondo
2 cut roof off and replace it with a different one ( would need to find one witch is hard)
3. Straighten the inside metal and buy a new roof skin ( can't find one for a 74 need help)

Take the survey

If you Know where to find a 1974 standard cab roof skin or roof or have a different idea on how to fix it give me a call text or email me thanks

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Minimum of a new skin IMO. That is if you want it to look descent.

 

Any ideas on where I can find a skin and if anyouther years might work

 

I'm not aware of any aftermarket availability, so it will have to come from salvage. Not positive but I think anything 1973-1979 would probably work.

 

Fabman has a few of them in Or. they are pristine,like new out there.



ROAD TRIP!

 

The only easy way out is what Ken said - do a cab swap.

The advantages are that you'll have a lot of spare parts out of the deal, if you get lucky you won't have to match the paint (supposing you find one the same color), scrap prices are at rock bottom right now - so if you find a non-running donor truck it's a buyers market right now, if you find one with a higher trim level you can upgrade yours. It's possible that you can E-Bay off extra parts you don't need, so there's a chance you can make back what you spend out.

ALTERNATIVELY:
You can go nuts trying to straighten that out - but with the sprung seam and a few other points I noticed in the pic's I personally wouldn't even try.
You can do a cut and re-skin, but then you'll be dealing with welding it up straight and seamless, have to finish paint it, and the interior would need re-doing because you can't cut and weld on it with the interior parts and headliner in place.

Put bluntly, the cab swap is ten times easier and has advantages.

There should be lots of 74's still out there.

Just watch out for one thing:
ANY cab that you get has to have a title for the whole truck. The VIN tag is in the corner of the cab window, and I don't think you can transfer the original very easily.

~And here's another wild idea just for the sake of it: If you're going to go that far - consider transmogrifying it into a dream street rod truck by transferring a 1950's cab and bed onto it!

Sure, why the heck not? The possibilities are endless - the rest of the chassis is 100% RIGHT?

QUOTE: "If any other years might work"

Take a few days and kick some ideas around. There's no actual reason that it has to STAY a 1974. It could become a 40's, or 50's sled with a cab and bed swap (but a considerably more modern drivetrain and suspension) just as easy as it can go back to stock - so think about potential dream trucks while you're also considering a basic repair.


Repeat after me:
SIX BOLTS HOLD THE CAB
EIGHT BOLTS HOLD THE BED

SIX BOLTS HOLD THE CAB
EIGHT BOLTS HOLD THE BED...





*Note: I'm not sure what the current rules in California are. When I was last there, you couldn't put an older engine into a newer vehicle. BUT! You can dang sure put an older body on a newer chassis with a newer engine and controls. The ideal way to build a slick street truck is to find a rolled new truck with EFI, and drop on a cab and bed as in the above.

~In fact it's just about the only way to roll old iron in the modern age anymore.

By that formula - the older the cab the better
~Never dream small


***Oh by the way - I think FABMAN has some vintage iron at his place that he might pass on to a brotha ford trucka on favorable terms.

 

Ok thanks

i search fabman in Google and I brought up a photographer do you have a business name address or website link I could use to find it thanks

 

We are a bit simpler than that...

"FABMAN" (Don) is a good friend, and also one of the moderators here, he lives in the high desert of Oregon and one of the wildest creators of amazing stuff you could want to meet:

https://www.fordtruckzone.com/members/fabman.256346/


"Believe in yourself. It's gotta come from YOU first"
~Wolfie
You can send a PM, or an email (maybe) or just talk at him on the forums here

I think I'll send him a note to look at this

 

Fabman is a member here on the site.

 

Don is an EXCELLENT member of the site, and ideas come out of the guy like few people I have ever met.

PM sent - I bet he can't resist a challenge like this.

 

just turn it into a convertible.

 

Serial number on that truck is on the door, so that's easy enough, just change the door

 

They used to make a kit, but it included the WHOLE top

You cut the top off, then put the kit on the top, and the truck. top was removed and installed with latches. I had a Yota that I did back in the day

 

I'm here........

Change the cab out for a used one. Fixing that one is possible, but not an easy job unless you have some serious skills. I don't know where the OP lives, but shipping would cost more than finding one locally. I don't have any spare dent side cabs right now (used the last one I had a couple months ago...) just a couple bump side cabs. The roof sheetmetal is stretched so much you would have to know how to "shrink" it back into shape. Much easier to just change out the cab.