Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks Boss!

Re: Rat repair.
 

So i have spent my life trying not to beat on stuff with a hammer, at work that runes parts :)

But sometimes ya just gotta say what the heck and start swinging, flattened the inner flanges, marked and re bent them, took a couple try's but got it close enough, then the top plate would not nest properly so i had to spread the legs a little and tap it down with a hammer a bit, the outer flanges had some crown so i had to beat that in as well, I test fit everything looks pretty good.

I have to cut a little bit of the floor out at the firewall and put a patch in so i bent a piece of .050 then called it a night so i could watch the second half of the Superbowl, Go Denver!

Tomorrow i hope to have the patch in before work, then if i have time i got ta think about how to flange some of the floor.

On a side note, I'm running outta Vice grips!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Harbor Freight has a air tool that can punch holes and step the edge of the sheet metal. I bought one for punching holes to spot weld in my repairs. It's slow at stepping the edge but get the work done.

Re: Rat repair.
 

You are doing a good job of making terrible fitting parts fit. Keep up the good work. I understand your frustration level with the aftermarket parts.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks Mike!

Well slow progress, nothing seems to happen fast with me LOL! as soon as i got started i had to stop and make a trip to the hardware store for a swivel air fitting as my straight fitting would not clear my bracing..

Got a couple assy pic's, looking at the inner rocker you can see my latest woops... I trimmed the front a little short... I should have also waited on trimming the inner kick panel too cause i trimmed it before i did my slice cuts and hammer work on the relief of the inner rocker and that changed how the two parts index.

Best part about doing something new is its like an extended Christmas, except i gotta pay for the goodies.

OK i have a question: Is it common to have to trim the bottom of the inner rocker?? I did not trim my stock inner rocker and you can see about 1/4" difference.

Re: Rat repair.
 

I'd install it as is then fit the inner to the outer rocker pinch weld seam don't trim to much or you may come up short. Ours didn't need hardly any trim at all either side on our C10 project.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Mike, your making great progress. Having just done a lot of what your dealing with on my k/20 I know how fun aftermarket parts are as well. I had to trim my inner rocker on the pssenger side but not the driver. All my patches were key parts and I'd rate them 7.5-8 out of 10.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Really coming along! Way to keep at it.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Got a question for ya, did you just temporarily tack weld the lower A pillar in place then fit the outer rocker? I know once welded in place you cant pull nothing apart.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Nope, we took the best measurements we could bolted it all together and welded it up. I think it would really be a trick to put all this inner stuff temporarily together and then pop a door in place for the outer rocker fitment. Not saying it can't be done but that's not what we did. Somebody told me to work from the inside out and that is what we did for the most part, I felt that was good advise.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Ok, Thanks for all the pictures they all help!

57taskforce and sboris: Thanks fir the encouragement, its much appreciated!

Just more cutting and fitting today, nothing to post a picture of yet.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Hey, you added a name to your signature - don't have to call you swamp rat anymore :lol: Based on my own 1st time doing much the same repairs, I think you are doing fine. I don't think getting every part right the first time (for a first-timer) is in the cards. But you learn from this and dial it in. After a retry, I'm sure you'll be satisfied with your result. Looking great Mike!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Yea when i came here many years ago i didn't think about adding my name, people started calling me swamp and swampy ect, that's my trucks name, i finally got around to adding it.

I'm realizing that things shift and move a lot if your not careful, i have added a few holes as locators to get back to the same spot before i start making scribes or pin marks to cut too, its all coming together, then when its done i will throw carpet over it and nobody will know. :lol:

Re: Rat repair.
 

Took the weekend off.. Aside form going to the swap meet Saturday and meeting Tim from "1968 Gmc ground up restoration" I spent the rest of the weekend with my wife.

Finished fitting the floor less the outside edge where i want to flange it to fit next to the outer rocker.

Taking my sweet time getting the floor brace and the lower A pillar aligned, measured and checked fit about a billion times, then i tested the outer rocker and its looking really close.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Looking good Mike I don't think you'll regret the flange type repair way stronger, IMO!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Looks great bud. If you're questioning fittment... Sheet metal screws are your friend before welding her home. Awesome job.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks 7dee2 and Molberg, Molberg its nice to see you on the forum again!

Yes planning on ether screws or pop rivets to hold it together when fitting the doors and welding.

[QUOTE=swamp rat;7488663]Thanks 7dee2 and Molberg, Molberg its nice to see you on the forum again!

I still "creep" the forums. No section for Nova restoration on this site. Lol
Posted via Mobile Device

Re: Rat repair.
 

[quote=Molberg;7488698]
Actually there is, the folder is called Alternate Tinkerings.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Nice progress on the cab repair. You doing a some killer work. Keep it up!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thank you Mike!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Ok so i don't mind saying the lower A Pillar is fighting me a little, i noticed when i tightened everything up with the 4 bolts that it pushed the inner kick panel in about 1/4" (picture) So that and the fact that i could see a little gap at the outer flange when held together without the A pillar told me my outer flanges needed to be massaged out a little with a hammer and dolly, I did that and got everything realigned without the A pillar real nice when holding everything together with bolts.

But now when i bolt up the A pillar it still pushes the Inner kick panel in about 1/8" maybe a little less, I don't want stress on that weld because it could start to crack after the repair is done.

The original A pillar has a bit of a joggle in it to account for the thickness of the inner kick panel, so far try as i might i have not been able to get the A pillar close enough...... Yet... This is the Tabco A Pillar so its a bit thicker than the black one..

Debating if i should just add a couple body washers into the mix to see if i can fudge the alignment...

I have the floor section flanged so with the exception of a few places i cant flange that will be butt welded, Have to do the final massage on the flanges to get everything straightened out and flat,

Re: Rat repair.
 

Had to step away for a couple days, just too much on my plate..

Back at it a little before work again..

I got the A pillar massaged about as good as i can get it, first two pictures are unbolted, looks great without the A pillar. 3rd pic, bolted up pulls the inner kick panel out of alignment. 4th pic, bolted up after some more fitting and adjusting its hopefully close enough.

Re: Rat repair.
 

I just hope i have the length of the A pillar close enough, DD1 has this pic on his build thread with the 7.5 dim, I'm within 1/8" but also a little concerned about making sure its in proper alignment.

Re: Rat repair.
 

I would agree with that measurement Mike here is another.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks for the pic, would you say the large hole is suppose to be split in half by the leading (front) edge of the A pillar then? If that's the case i may be off a bit? I'll have to check.

Re: Rat repair.
 

I took this shot right before we started to cut out the rot as a reference. You have some wiggle room in this area as it is behind the fender and there is enough material to adjust the hole if required for panel fitment.

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I'm probably a little more concerned about how the outer rocker is going to lay on the A pillar section I replaced. :)

Re: Rat repair.
 

Am i correct in assuming that the lower A pillar needs to be trimmed up so it does not interfere with where the bottom of the inner and outer rocker get spot welded together?

The bottom of the fender is going to need to be spaced outward about 3/16" from the hole to match the outer rocker.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Got a lot done today, Its beginning to look like a truck again, for a little while anyway.

Got everything fitted into place and secured with the exception of sheet metal screws along the top of the rocker. I need to verify that the outer rocker is in fact resting flat on the inner rocker along the length but ran out of daylight.

Have the door aligned as good as its gonna get, the back edge is consistent at about 3/16" like it was before tear down.

Front fender is aligned well with the front of the door, gap is a little wider than was there before, thats a good thing, still a touch less than at the rear..

Body lines look real good.

The only place I'm not happy with right now is the gap along the lower edge of the door, its wider at the front than in the back, and no wiggle room with the door to make it up. I tried to unscrew the back and lower it but the back is resting on the inner rocker, not sure about the front.

The front of the rocker will need some pie cuts to lay into the A pillar correctly, or i just fill it with seam sealer. (LOL)

I'm thinking 3 possible scenarios:

1) I may have to trim more off the Lower A pillar and raise the whole floor a little in the front.
2) Possibly just raise the outer rocker but this may create too much gap between the inner and outer rocker.
3) weld in some filler rod along the the bottom of the door.


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Re: Rat repair.
 

looks good! i had to cut and tweak the drivers side rocker for mine too. the passenger seemed to lay in better

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:agree: Looking good!

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Another couple days with too much on my plate, and a late start today.

I did a little investigating and fine tuning, then i crawled in the cab and with the door shut i took some rough measurements From the bottom of the door to the outer rocker (strike plate area) the front has around .050 to .075 more of a gap than in the rear, the rear of the door is as parallel to the cab as i can get it, i cant go any higher up or i'll hit the top of the cab, Plus the top of the window rail has an arch in it that i need to figure out how to flatten later, i cant go any lower because that will close the rocker gap at the rear of the door too much.

The inner and outer rockers are nested together with no gap between them along the strike plate area.

The hole on the A pillar is almost perfect so i don't want to shorten the A pillar.

I have the New Ft cab support clamped flat against the other body support rail

Tomorrow about the only thing i can try is to unbolt the A pillar from the floor and see if i can carefully jack the floor up about .050 and then recheck that gap at the bottom of the door. Hopefully this will be it.
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Re: Rat repair.
 

Did a little investigating, unbolted the A pillar and raised the floor up a bit, got the front of the outer rocker to come up enough to where I'll be happy with the gap at the bottom of the door, rechecked the clearance in the door jamb, looks good. I had to plug the holes on the A pillar so i can re drill, wish I had a plug coin punch to save some time. :) Of course this means i have to do an a couple adjustments to the inner rocker, kick panel and floor but now I'm happy and I'm going to run with it.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Sounds like persistence is paying off - glad its working out!

Re: Rat repair.
 

Not real happy with the little gap between the cab corner and rear of the rocker, not real sure if there is an easy solution or just fill it with seam sealer after all is said and done, the front of the rocker matches the front of the door pretty well.

Everything is fitted less the pie cuts on the rocker, i figured i would do them last after i have the floor, A Pillar and support welded into place.

Parts and cab are ready to be prepped for some weld primer..

Re: Rat repair.
 

Got a break from the rain and that means get after it when ya got welding to do outside..

On the truck i sand blasted the flanges for weld primer, then set up a heater under the truck and closed it off as much as possible to trap the heat, then went in the garage and did the same for the panels, then i prep sanded all the panels while waiting for temps to rise, wiped the parts clean with wax and grease remover and then sprayed weld primer on the parts and truck once they felt warm, the instructions state 70 degrees, that includes the metal, pretty sure i achieved that. I don't think it got above 55 today.

Welded in the front floor brace and the top plate then sprayed a little more weld primer on it, I have to put a slice in the outer rocker to get the outer flange to pull over to the flange on the inner kick panel where it gets spotted together, did that then called it a night.
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Re: Rat repair.
 

Got the A pillar welded on, then welded on the two lower nuts on the outer side before i realized that the two forward nuts are suppose to be on the inside, the rear two are suppose to be on the outside, oh well, don't know if i'm going to change it or leave it yet. And yes the welds holding the nuts look like crap, i was in a hurry and my legs were complaining loudly. :lol:

When i welded in the brace last night (learn from your mistakes) i didn't have it positioned exactly like it was during fit up, i had to persuade it a little but it will be fine.

Re: Rat repair.
 

Hey Mike, doing a fine job fitting everything. Will for sure end up better than factory.
Don't know too many that don't end up with a little seam sealer between the rocker and cab corner..

Re: Rat repair.
 

Thanks for the encouragement Shawn its much appreciated! I have been going thru a learning curve on this one, but knowing what i should do differently will make the other side better or faster at least.

I'm sure i'll be using seam sealer but this rocker has a lot to be desired on the inner flange where the door seal go's.