Questions about replacing rocker panels

[jlmerie]

I am talking to a guy about replacing the rocker panel below both the doors on my truck. He does a lot of work on street rods and makes most of his metal panels in his shop. I was planning on just getting the pre-stamped repair panels and having them replaced. Is there any reason not to do this? I don't do body work myself. He will charge me by the hour to do the repair. How long should it take a professional to cut out the old rocker and weld in the new one? Is it more involved than I think it is? Should I automatically expect to replace the inner panel while it is this far down? Thanks

[dwaite72lnghrn]

Depending on how good the guy is and exactly what he replaces, I would say labor would make his panel cost more IF he does the whole rocker. If he just does a cover over the old area his panel would be cheaper. How far is the rust on the panel? If it has moved to the front of the rocker under the fender the repair panel probably would be cheaper. I would say do the inners with the outers. Also check the cab mounts front and back because they rust about the same time as the rockers.

[ebfabman]

Have the shop take some pics after he gets the outer rockers off, post them here and give us a look.

Chances are very good that if it has rusty outer rockers, the inners are rusty too. But anything possible.

[jlmerie]

Well, the rockers are not real bad. But the rust bothers me. It is the only rust in the entire truck. Aren't the patch panels only about $25.00?

[ebfabman]

That doesn't look bad. I would want to replace them too. I'd still want to be sure the inners are solid. You may want to clean everything real good while the outer rockers are off. After the new ones are on, use the access holes in front to shoot some rust preventive coating inside the rocker cavity.

[72CSTC5]

Here are the problems you will encounter. The rockers go underneath the front fenders a bit so you will have to remove the fenders or risk bending them a bit when you unscrew them at the bottom and pull them out a bit. Removing the doors too will make it more accessible to weld near the front post area. You will have a lot of labor in removing the fender and removin and reinstalling the doors and realigning the panels. To actually install the rockers, I would say about 4-5 hours a side after your remove parts.

[Chevy Chef]

Originally Posted by 72CSTC5

Here are the problems you will encounter. The rockers go underneath the front fenders a bit so you will have to remove the fenders or risk bending them a bit when you unscrew them at the bottom and pull them out a bit. Removing the doors too will make it more accessible to weld near the front post area. You will have a lot of labor in removing the fender and removin and reinstalling the doors and realigning the panels. To actually install the rockers, I would say about 4-5 hours a side after your remove parts.

This is interesting. I have to replace one rocker panel on my '72 C/10 (passenger). The old owner threw one in for me, said he paid about 20 bucks for it.

Is this a pretty simple job for me to do myself? I've never welded a thing in my life and assume I'll have to weld to put the new rocker panel on. If I need to have a pro do it, is it pricey? (sorry about hijacking this thread, but I found it doing a search, lol).

[55chevy]

Originally Posted by Chevy Chef

This is interesting. I have to replace one rocker panel on my '72 C/10 (passenger). The old owner threw one in for me, said he paid about 20 bucks for it.

Is this a pretty simple job for me to do myself? I've never welded a thing in my life and assume I'll have to weld to put the new rocker panel on. If I need to have a pro do it, is it pricey? (sorry about hijacking this thread, but I found it doing a search, lol).

I'm replacing mine, got TriPlus panels from St Louis Auto panel ($45 shipped, including a rear cab support) there are 26 spot welds at bottom, and about a half dozen at each end, you will need to do some welding, the bottom welds would be easier with a spot welder. I found rust thru under the rockers, check your inner rockers from behind with a screw driver, chances are they're as bad as outers, my front cab pillar was also rusty.

[BigSky71]

I believe unless you go to the effort and cost to purchase OEM replacement panels [if available at all], then most parts dealers are going to sell you the Triplus brand panels. The rocker is probably to closest fitting panel I have used so far vs. replacement A/B pillars, floor and cab corners. But you can never assume that you are just going to cut out the old outer rocker and weld on a new one without some modification of the new parts. Also it is very likely the inner rocker will be rusted too.

Good luck and show us some pictures during the process!

[PanelDeland]

I think pre stamped rockers are about $15.00 ea. and the inners run about $8.00 ea.It's a no brainer to do inners while you're at it.You would have to do outers again to do the inners later on.

[AKChevyman]

My only suggestion is don't buy the prefabs ones form LMC mine were poop.

[69TowRig]

Originally Posted by AKChevyman

My only suggestion is don't buy the prefabs ones form LMC mine were poop.

I almost bought those from LMC on my last order with them. So who sells decent ones?

[Dean'smeanmachine]

Originally Posted by 69TowRig

I almost bought those from LMC on my last order with them. So who sells decent ones?

classic parts.com

[hugger6933]

I've got three trucks at my shop inline to build, all will be frame offs. The first 70 is in the shop now, I thought it was the best as far as the rockers were. I got one side off about what I thought, the other side that only exhibited a small sign of rust on the rocker was the worst one! it needed inners on both sides figure that ALWAYS and you can almost always also bet that the front lower pillar will need help as well. My rear pillars were good and all of the cab supports except the left front were good. Also you must check the floor over real good they are making a nice looking piece that goes from the pinch weld at the rear cab panel to the front floor board and over to the seat riser it is a nice floor patch. Jim

[AKChevyman]

I dont' know I haven't bought nrw ones yet but I was thinking GMC Puals since everyone speaks so highly of his stuff I have delt with him before but not for body panels.

[Putter]

You might PM Ghetocrewzer to get a definate answer, but GMan and I went to his shop to check out the progress on the "Lowmad" suburban, and he praised the great fit of the rockers he bought.....and I am 98% sure he told us they were from GMC Paul's. We checked them out and the fit was great!
Here is a pic....

[Jwill41]

I bought one from GMCPaul and one from a local place. The one from GMCPaul was about 500% better fit and a much cleaner rocker. The local one was much thinner and had a lot of very sharp edges. The next ones I buy will definately come from GMCPaul. They are Tri-Plus I think and I am sure some of the other vendors carry the same ones.

[Jwill41]

Also, I did not have to remove the fenders or the doors but removing the door would make it easier to weld and you could get to it with a grinder much easier.

[sboris]

This thread has cob webs on it

[kxmotox247]

Just installed inners and outers from GMCpauls... They were from Keyparts.
One note is that the factory rockers were not flush with the cab corners and front fender. If you attempt to perfect the fit and bring them flush like I did...then there is significant slicing and dicing to get the rest of it to fit and still be able to properly fit your weatherstripping.
As hugger mentioned above.... the outer floor/inner rocker pieces are about $60 a side and were a pretty good fit for me.

[NC_John]

Originally Posted by kxmotox247

Just installed inners and outers from GMCpauls... They were from Keyparts.
One note is that the factory rockers were not flush with the cab corners and front fender. If you attempt to perfect the fit and bring them flush like I did...then there is significant slicing and dicing to get the rest of it to fit and still be able to properly fit your weatherstripping.
As hugger mentioned above.... the outer floor/inner rocker pieces are about $60 a side and were a pretty good fit for me.

I just got a bunch of parts from Classic Muscle in Winston-Salem, NC and while I was there got outer rockers and cab corners. They were Key Parts. A fender rear patch panel was actually made in the USA but I didn't notice the brand.

As cheap as they were (rockers were $14) I figured if they didn't fit or look right, I'd just get a different set.

[54belair]

The problem you May have is--additional damage which cant be seen until the outer rocker is cut away. At the front edge of the rocker is the lower fender extension--these are usually toast as well. In addition, if you have a rust Hole--as your pic shows, you most probably Will have some inner rocker damage.

The original rockers (inner and outer) are butted together on the bottom and spot welded. No matter how good the fit, this allows water and contaminants to get in between the rockers----- what I did on mine was to weld the bottom joint solid---and coat everything with a rust preventer/encapsulator of your choice.

We started off on my build planning on a simple $400. rocker replacement(inner/outer/fender extensions)-----by the time we were finished we had 71 hours of labor in and replaced Muuuuch more than I was bargaining for. My initiation into 67-72 trucks cost me right at $3K--just to get the rust out of the cab. Plan for the worst--and hope for the best.

[Bigdav160]

It's only been 8 years. Let's hope he got them replaced by now

[volksworld]

depending where he lives they could have rusted back out by now...