new to the forum, help with sheet metal - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

69gmconfire · 10-07-2005, 10:36 PM

Hello everyone! Im new to the forum and I have a 69 gmc truck that I am trying to restore. and as I get into the project I find that this is a really big thing I am taking on lol. well my question is, I bought some new floor patch paneles from "classicheartbeat" and I went to line them up in my truck tonight and they don't fit vary well. it is looking like I will have to do a lot of bending and cutting to make them fit. what I was woundering is if this is a common issue? and if it is, dose anyone have any advice that will make this a little easyer? after i get the paneles in place, I plan on using some sealent and riveting them down to the floor. then i am gonna get some carpet later. I don't really have a whole lot of metal working tools, so I am gonna have to get creative with this. any help is welcomed! thank you!

justin,

shifty · 10-07-2005, 10:49 PM

All I can say is this: Patch panels generally don't fit perfectly. Goodmark here in GA sells replacement panels that are supposed to be GM certified or something and I was looking at a classic trucks magazine recently where they show their panel, a stock panel and a competitor's panel for a trunk and you can see how closely theirs is to the stock one and how much extra metal they give you to work with. I'll see if I can find it again...scan it, then post.

69gmconfire · 10-07-2005, 10:55 PM

alright thanks man, I will have to just work with what I got then. becuase I already spent a lot, on two new floor patches, and two kick panel patches. so I will just have to make them fit I guess lol. this kinda sucks, if I had known they would be this mutch hassil I would have probably not gotten them. but life is full of lessons! haha. well I will post some pics of my progress later on this month. thanks for the help!

shifty · 10-07-2005, 10:59 PM

too bad you're in washington. i just went to goodmark's website and they will do your rockers for $250 each and entire rear quarters for $650 each. not bad at all.

krue · 10-07-2005, 11:50 PM

Welcome to the board from South Mississippi. You need to do what I need to do...get a welder and practice, then watch ebfabman's videos and put the patch panels in the right way.

*72CSTC5* · 10-08-2005, 12:13 AM

I would not pop rivet those floor pans in. Those are safety items and are a structural part of the cab. You and your family could be at risk in the event of an accident. Please have them welded in. You can save yourself a ton of money the way you are doing it now. Line everything up and then take it to a bodyshop and just have them weld in. Tell them you will grind and clean up welds and seam seal and primer areas.

72orangepumpkin · 10-08-2005, 12:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 72CSTC5

I would not pop rivet those floor pans in. Those are safety items and are a structural part of the cab. You and your family could be at risk in the event of an accident. Please have them welded in. You can save yourself a ton of money the way you are doing it now. Line everything up and then take it to a bodyshop and just have them weld in. Tell them you will grind and clean up welds and seam seal and primer areas.

I agree on the "don't pop rivet" I bought a Lincoln welder with the gas attachment for under $500 at Home Depot and rented a bottle of shielding gas from a local auto parts store. You could always turn around and sell the welder when your done or keep it for future use. With a little practice you can do fairly well, I just learned that a grinder is a welders best friend. I also had the same problems with floor pans and cab corners no fitting right. I used parts from "Chevy Duty" and "Goodmark" and neither fit like a glove without cutting and bending, If you havn't already cut out the entire floor panels, consider just cutting out what you need to replace and then cutting the panel to fit This is what I ended up doing on the second side of my truck after major tweaking on the first side, the second turned out much better.

69gmconfire · 10-08-2005, 01:22 AM

alright, so rivets are a bad thing then. well I have a shop right next too my work, I might be able to get them to weld the stuff in cheap. it definetly sounds like thats the route I am going to have to go. thanks everyone for all the help! you saved me from a major headache! I don't know if anyone has had something like this done at a shop yet, anyone know a ball park figure of what I should expect too pay?

stllookn · 10-08-2005, 01:55 AM

I did a set of rockers, one inner rocker, one cab corner, "a" and "b" pillars, kick panels, one floor and parts of the floor on the other side for $1000. I primed it with DP90 when I was done. I then hung and adjusted the doors. This was a favor for a friend here in WA but it was quite a bit of work. It was in the summer and nice weather too. Now that it is nasty out and gets dark early it is a bit more of a pain. I don't know how you can just do a rocker. There is always more work to once you take the rocker off and expose whatever else has rusted. Just my $0.02. There is a shop not far from here that had about $2500 in one cab. They did sand and prime the entire cab however.

69gmconfire · 10-08-2005, 09:52 AM

alright, it sounds like I am going at this project all wrong. I think I am going to change my game plan here and start from the outside working my way into the cab. because if i get the cab looking nice without taking care of all the rust issues on the outside of the cab... then it will just start rusting agian in a couple years. so I am gonna start taking body panels off one by one and geting all the rust off of everything. I think that sounds better than wasting my time getting the inside cab looking nice. Am I wrong?

1STtimePRo'71 · 10-08-2005, 12:14 AM

Welcome to the board from MN. Dont get discouraged, it can be really easy to. We'll help you through it all.

shifty · 10-08-2005, 10:49 AM

Sounds like a good gameplan to me.

86swb · 10-08-2005, 11:19 AM

Welcome for Kentucky.

krue · 10-08-2005, 12:19 PM

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php3?t=139825

Here's a good thread with a lot of info you might enjoy.

FRENCHBLUE72 · 10-08-2005, 09:47 PM

Welcome to the board from southern oregon I do not know where in washington you live but if it is close-e-nuf to wes then I am sure you could get him to weld in the pannels for you.. Good luck on your project and keep us posted...

55chevy · 10-08-2005, 10:28 PM

Got one cut off so far, 27 spot welds along the bottom alone, uncovered A pillar rust and rust/bondo at edge of floor pan, will weld in new mtal and reinforce floors with fiberglass cloth, read a lot of the old posts here, lot of good advice.

69gmconfire · 10-09-2005, 12:36 AM

man 55chevy your truck is way worse than mine! I thought my rust was bad, you got rust everywhere! how do you even begin to work on that? I feel for you man, working on these things is not easy... here are some pics of what my truck looked like when I got it from my grandpa last month. tomorrow I will try and post recent pics.

10-07-2005, 10:36 PM	#1
69gmconfire Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: wa Posts: 10	new to the forum, help with sheet metal Hello everyone! Im new to the forum and I have a 69 gmc truck that I am trying to restore. and as I get into the project I find that this is a really big thing I am taking on lol. well my question is, I bought some new floor patch paneles from "classicheartbeat" and I went to line them up in my truck tonight and they don't fit vary well. it is looking like I will have to do a lot of bending and cutting to make them fit. what I was woundering is if this is a common issue? and if it is, dose anyone have any advice that will make this a little easyer? after i get the paneles in place, I plan on using some sealent and riveting them down to the floor. then i am gonna get some carpet later. I don't really have a whole lot of metal working tools, so I am gonna have to get creative with this. any help is welcomed! thank you! justin,

10-07-2005, 10:49 PM	#2
shifty Questionable Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Atlanta Posts: 13,376	All I can say is this: Patch panels generally don't fit perfectly. Goodmark here in GA sells replacement panels that are supposed to be GM certified or something and I was looking at a classic trucks magazine recently where they show their panel, a stock panel and a competitor's panel for a trunk and you can see how closely theirs is to the stock one and how much extra metal they give you to work with. I'll see if I can find it again...scan it, then post. __________________ If I've got anything up for grabs, it'll be here: 7-hole gauge cluster for a 67-72 p/u FREE (link) I can't check the forum daily. If I don't reply to you within 24 hours, drop me a PM! I'm (hopefully) still alive and will reply faster to a PM.

10-07-2005, 10:59 PM	#4
shifty Questionable Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Atlanta Posts: 13,376	too bad you're in washington. i just went to goodmark's website and they will do your rockers for $250 each and entire rear quarters for $650 each. not bad at all. __________________ If I've got anything up for grabs, it'll be here: 7-hole gauge cluster for a 67-72 p/u FREE (link) I can't check the forum daily. If I don't reply to you within 24 hours, drop me a PM! I'm (hopefully) still alive and will reply faster to a PM.

10-07-2005, 11:50 PM	#5
krue Designated A-hole! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: South Mississippi Posts: 36,450	Welcome to the board from South Mississippi. You need to do what I need to do...get a welder and practice, then watch ebfabman's videos and put the patch panels in the right way. __________________ "If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is!" Being stupid ain't illegal. We're Still Debt Free Except for the House!!! www.daveramsey.com 70 GMC SWB Stepside project "Green Booger" soon to be 6.0l/4l80e 93 S-10 "Poppaw's Truck"

10-08-2005, 01:55 AM	#9
stllookn Saving 1 truck at a time! Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Kent, WA Posts: 6,465	I did a set of rockers, one inner rocker, one cab corner, "a" and "b" pillars, kick panels, one floor and parts of the floor on the other side for $1000. I primed it with DP90 when I was done. I then hung and adjusted the doors. This was a favor for a friend here in WA but it was quite a bit of work. It was in the summer and nice weather too. Now that it is nasty out and gets dark early it is a bit more of a pain. I don't know how you can just do a rocker. There is always more work to once you take the rocker off and expose whatever else has rusted. Just my $0.02. There is a shop not far from here that had about $2500 in one cab. They did sand and prime the entire cab however. __________________ '68 C20 Longhorn 50th Anniversary 400/TH400 '68 C20 Longhorn 50th Anniversary 468/TH400w/buckets '72 C20 Halfhorn (Longhorn w/o cab and front clip) '69 Flxible Cruiser (look up ugly in the dictionary)

10-07-2005, 10:55 PM	#3
69gmconfire Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: wa Posts: 10	alright thanks man, I will have to just work with what I got then. becuase I already spent a lot, on two new floor patches, and two kick panel patches. so I will just have to make them fit I guess lol. this kinda sucks, if I had known they would be this mutch hassil I would have probably not gotten them. but life is full of lessons! haha. well I will post some pics of my progress later on this month. thanks for the help!

10-08-2005, 12:13 AM	#6
72CSTC5 Account Suspended Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Deer Park, Tx. Posts: 2,524	I would not pop rivet those floor pans in. Those are safety items and are a structural part of the cab. You and your family could be at risk in the event of an accident. Please have them welded in. You can save yourself a ton of money the way you are doing it now. Line everything up and then take it to a bodyshop and just have them weld in. Tell them you will grind and clean up welds and seam seal and primer areas.

10-08-2005, 01:22 AM	#8
69gmconfire Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: wa Posts: 10	alright, so rivets are a bad thing then. well I have a shop right next too my work, I might be able to get them to weld the stuff in cheap. it definetly sounds like thats the route I am going to have to go. thanks everyone for all the help! you saved me from a major headache! I don't know if anyone has had something like this done at a shop yet, anyone know a ball park figure of what I should expect too pay?

10-08-2005, 09:52 AM	#10
69gmconfire Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: wa Posts: 10	alright, it sounds like I am going at this project all wrong. I think I am going to change my game plan here and start from the outside working my way into the cab. because if i get the cab looking nice without taking care of all the rust issues on the outside of the cab... then it will just start rusting agian in a couple years. so I am gonna start taking body panels off one by one and geting all the rust off of everything. I think that sounds better than wasting my time getting the inside cab looking nice. Am I wrong?

10-08-2005, 12:14 AM	#11
1STtimePRo'71 Registered User Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Lake Crystal, MN Posts: 656	Welcome to the board from MN. Dont get discouraged, it can be really easy to. We'll help you through it all. __________________ -Cory 1967 2 Wheel Chevy

10-08-2005, 10:49 AM	#12
shifty Questionable Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Atlanta Posts: 13,376	Sounds like a good gameplan to me. __________________ If I've got anything up for grabs, it'll be here: 7-hole gauge cluster for a 67-72 p/u FREE (link) I can't check the forum daily. If I don't reply to you within 24 hours, drop me a PM! I'm (hopefully) still alive and will reply faster to a PM.

10-08-2005, 11:19 AM	#13
86swb Born a Chevy Man Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Navarre, Florida Posts: 10,221	Welcome for Kentucky. __________________ John or 86 (Viet Nam combat Vet-BIG RED ONE) '65-'66 1986 Chevy SWB Silverado 1984 Chevy Longbed Silverado New Kia Sportage (Wife's car and she loves it) CHEVY, American made w/pride! If you can read this, YOU NEED TO THANK A TEACHER! If you can read this in ENGLISH, PLEASE THANK A SOLDIER! GOD BLESS AMERICA AND BLESS OUR FIGHTING TROOPS

10-08-2005, 12:19 PM	#14
krue Designated A-hole! Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: South Mississippi Posts: 36,450	http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php3?t=139825 Here's a good thread with a lot of info you might enjoy. __________________ "If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is!" Being stupid ain't illegal. We're Still Debt Free Except for the House!!! www.daveramsey.com 70 GMC SWB Stepside project "Green Booger" soon to be 6.0l/4l80e 93 S-10 "Poppaw's Truck"

10-08-2005, 09:47 PM	#15
FRENCHBLUE72 PROJECT 7DEUCE Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: GRANTS PASS OR Posts: 21,608	Welcome to the board from southern oregon I do not know where in washington you live but if it is close-e-nuf to wes then I am sure you could get him to weld in the pannels for you.. Good luck on your project and keep us posted... __________________ GO BIG GREEN GO DUCKS MEMBER #6377 72 k-5 daily driver 6'' lift 35'' 350-350-205 slowly getting rust free. Project "7DEUCE" check out my build http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=267665 Tim Powell..R.I.P EastSideLowlife..... R.I.P..

10-08-2005, 10:28 PM	#16
55chevy Car Truck Bike Nut Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Suffolk Virginia Posts: 850	I did rockers Got one cut off so far, 27 spot welds along the bottom alone, uncovered A pillar rust and rust/bondo at edge of floor pan, will weld in new mtal and reinforce floors with fiberglass cloth, read a lot of the old posts here, lot of good advice. Attached Images __________________ Snow free Florida panhandle, don't miss Indiana winters Temp in Suffolk Virginia, Sentenced 2 to 5 years LOL 68 shortfleet project 94 3500 TD dually so many cars so little time 72 K2 CST 2WD Blazer



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10-09-2005, 12:36 AM	#17
69gmconfire Registered User Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: wa Posts: 10	man 55chevy your truck is way worse than mine! I thought my rust was bad, you got rust everywhere! how do you even begin to work on that? I feel for you man, working on these things is not easy... here are some pics of what my truck looked like when I got it from my grandpa last month. tomorrow I will try and post recent pics. Attached Images

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