Were those trucks krowned? My oldest vehicle on road here, is my wife's 2004 Honda accord. You can't kill it. So far no paint has been done. Still looks good.
needs another timing belt soon though, it's a v6. This time might be worth just gambling since repair costs more than cars worth 😂.
I have discussed the "Spray foam rockers" thing with a couple of mechanics and they each have their own opinion of whether that can pass a safety or not.
My last truck died died 2 years ago had spray foamed rockers and cab corners for its last 3-4 years of life and passed a commercial safety each of those years. The same mechanic would likely not pass it under the new rules though.
What happened to your buddy sucks. There will always be cheats.