Living in Chicago, we get a lot of salt on the roads, and it is really rusting my '03 DII.

I have a Turner engine in there, because I want the vehicle long term. So I have been making upgrades and fixes as I go.

For long term planning, am I better off letting her rust out, only investing in the engine, then swapping my engine into a DII that I salvage?

I could also just by a non rusted shell, as I really only need the frame and body. I have the interior, and electronics are good.

at this point there is rust behind the engine on the firewall, all the window frames, some on the roof. I also have damage from some jerk hit and running the rear bumper while parked and the front bumper is toast of course.

What say you? Anyone taken a simolar route?

 

IMHO I would, as best, try to recover the existing chassis and shell first. If this seems impossible then do a swap of the engine, gearbox and electrics/electronics et al but that is an awful lot of work in most cases.