HEY GUYS, THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO READ THIS FIRST OFF CAUSE IT HAS A FEW OF THE ALWAYS ASKED QUESTIONS THAT PEOPLE GET TIRED OF, BUT BEAR WITH ME. THERE IS A LOCAL 55 THAT HAS BEEN FOR SALE FOR A LONG TIME AND IT DOESNT LOOK LIKE IT IS GOING ANYWHERE, SO I THINK I MAY MAKE HIM AN OFFER WAY LESS THAN WHAT HE IS ASKING [$1000] IT HAS THE USUAL RUST IN THE USUAL PLACES, QUARTERS, FENDERS, ROCKERS, AND GUTTERS, AND ITS PRETTY BAD, ENOUGH TO PUT YOUR FOOT THROUGH IN AREAS. MY QUESTIONS ARE WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO FIX THESE AREAS? ALL NEW SHEETMETAL? THE REASON I ASK IS I REALLY DONT LIKE BODYWORK, BUT I WANT IT TO LOOK ACCEPTABLE. ALSO, IF I WERE TO BUY THIS, COULD I LIFT IT, FIT 35'S AND USE IT AS A DD/CAPABLE RIG? I NEED ROOM FOR CAMPING GEAR, BUDDIES, SUPLIES, ECT, AND MABYE ONE DAY IT MIGHT SE SERVICE AS A WELDING RIG. HOW LACK-LUSTER ARE THEY WITH THE STOCK DRIVETRAIN? I KNOW SOME POEPLE LOVE THE 6'S BUT CAN THEY MOVE THE PIGS DOWN THE HIGHWAY? I MIGHT JUST BE KIDDING MYSELF CAUSE I THINK I'M HEADED TOWARDS UNEMPLOYMENT BUT I STILL APRECIATE ANY INFO ANYONE MIGHT WANT TO PUT OUT...

MATT :)

On my 55... it had all the same rust... I cut out the rocker all the way to the doorsills and welded in a piece of 3"x1.5" tube on each side....
for the rear quarters I cut the rusty bottom off of each side and folded the inside and outside panels together... then welded and seam sealed them......it gave me more clearance in the rear and it sealed off the huge dust clouds that used to infiltrate the interior ( we drive gravel logging roads around here)

the windsheld frame on the drivers and passenger side neede some serious tricky patch work ( some funky compound curves there)
As it is....most of that work is going to be cut off the truck as My ultra-slow zero progress rebuild of the 55 is still ongoing....
:D

i dont have much to say about rust, i havent had to deal with much, but it all come down to how much you want to put into it i guess, for the final result.
mine was my DD for several years back in the early 90's and it was fine with 33" BFG skinnies. bout a year and a half ago i went to the other side with a SOA and 36" sx's, still have the 4:11 gears. it moves slower but once it gets going it does pretty good, good enough i havent swapped gears yet. you didnt mention the year, but the 55 is identical to the 40 in terms of drivetrain. i have the 2F and 4 speed, which i know helps alot with the bigger tires.
as far as camping and gear, yup it carries alot, especially with a full length roof rack.
morgans rig is similar to mine, maybe he'll respond with his input as well.

and you can sleep on them too!

The guy is obviously suicidal so, I think you should buy it, but don't hold me responsible down the road, when problems arise.

If you don't like doing body work..... don't get it. Mine has rust in, the front floor, both sides, the sills, the gutters are non-existent, therear lower quarter panels (It gets alot of beach work) (my guards are fibreglass) and that brings me to my next sugestion, cut all the rust out with an angle grinder, then cover up all the holes etc with fibreglass mat and resin sand it back to shape and paint. ( this stuff is easy for me as I repair surfboards)the holes in the floor I would repair with metal and make sure you tie in the front cab mounts also as they usually rust out.

Hope this helps.

THANKS GUYS, THAT'S WHAT I LIKE TO HEAR [CUT FOLD AND WELD] SUNDANCE, HOW DOES THE FIBERGLASS HOLD UP TO SNAGS ON ROCKS? I KNOW IT CANT HANDLE DIRECT SHOTS, BUT IT'S PRETTY DAMN WEAR REASISTANT RIGHT? APRECIATE IT GUYS
MATT

Done properly fibreglass is pretty darn tough. obviously rocks will scratch it up but it can take some pretty solid hits, and hey.. its easy to slap another coat on if it cracks :)

SUNDANCE, ARE YOU USEING AUTO REPAIR FIBERGLASS OF SURFBOARD STUFF?

MATT:)