Slip On Floor Supports: good fit?

[Miles B]

Hi

I have a 69 C10 that is overall very solid. The floor is just about perfect. The only bad part on the truck is the rear cab floor supports. Let me preface this by saying I have cut floors out of cars before, I'm a fairly skilled welder and floor guy. Normally I wouldn't think of using a product like a slip on support. However. The only damage to mine is about the bottom half of the supports: the horizontal piece furthest from the floor, and up to an inch up the "walls". Water and dirt obviously got in there and took out the bottoms. Above that, the original supports are completely solid. The interface of floor to floor support flange is pristine. I hate to have to pull out the interior to weld on new floor supports, and I don't want to claw the original floor up digging out those spot welds which are still 100% strength. I'm thinking about getting the slip on supports, and cutting off the support-to-floor flanges. Then cutting the original supports off 1" from the floor. Then completely clean out the inside of the stock support and floor, and use one of Fusor's body adhesives to glue the slip on support over the stock support.

My question is, how well do the slip on supports fit over the stock supports? Are they snug, or do they fit poorly? If I use the glue, I need a good snug fit. I live in Australia so I will have to mail order these. I can't cheaply or quickly take a look at them, they'll probably cost me a hundred bucks and won't be returnable. If anyone has used them, I'd like to know how snugly they fit over the originals, and if the bends on them look "stock" just bigger?

I've drawn a diagram of the situation I have, and my proposed fix. The OEM metal is black, slip on support green, glue red.

[Jrainman]

You might want to ask to have this thread moved over to Paint and body , you will most likly get your question answered by one of the pros here, I will say that most if not all aftermarket body parts will always need a little tweeking as far as fitment , and I would opt to weld though .

I do have a set in my garage that came with a part truck I bought ,they are very heavy gauge and I would say installed correctly they would make excellent supports

[Miles B]

Thanks. Normally I weld everything but in this case I'm thinking glue would be stronger and seal everything better.

How do I request a move?

[AussieinNC]

If you insist on using slip on mounts, they should be thru welded rosette style for strength...

I dont ever use slip ons...I always use full replacements...bit more work but always look original when done...not a mashup of attempt after attempt.

Make sure you spray copious amounts of bed liner into the inside of the mounts before mounting the cab back to the chassis...

Fellow aussie here....now retired in Cherryville NC...

havagoodweegendmate...

[AussieinNC]

LMC Truck carries OE replacements for $ 17 USD each plus shipping...

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/cb/full.aspx?Page=13

Look for item number 17...

[Miles B]

I was a weld everything guy. But the body glue does have its place. You can't beat the strength of an inch wide bead of 3000psi epoxy with a handful of rosettes or spots. Same way brazing or soldering beats fusion welding where you have a large contact area. Plus it seals out the moisture, and you don't get a bare spot between the flange and sheet like you do around a rosette. Is it a product that's abused? Sure. People glue stuff they shouldn't.

Would I normally cut the whole brace out? Yes. But in this case the floor and the tops of the braces are perfect and original. I hate to tear up an original floor, pull out the interior and exhaust etc. Plus the place where the braces are overlapped.. those would get all torn up. I'm literally missing a piece on each side about six inches long. Someone probably drove the truck in mud once, and it got into the base of those braces about an inch deep.