ANOTHER drip rail question. Its new though. I promise. - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

lyrikz · 03-01-2008, 12:23 AM

Working on the cab of my truck. Drip rails are in great shape. I do have one area that has some issues. I guess at one time the drip rail was leaking, the PO of the truck fixed that by putting bondo to smooth the seams and seal em. It worked, but looks hideous. I have one area were some rust is building up and its inbetween the drip rail and the cab. If you look at the picture you can see where the drip rail bows down a bit. THe bowing is caused by some rust/scaling thats pushing that down... THat metal is very solid there and i dont think i need to shave it completely.

I want to remove that drip rail, clean, rustproof and reinstall a new drip rail. My question is, is the drip rail held on by spot welds??? Anyone removed a drip rail and reinstalled new ones. I dont want to shave them, just fix what i have.... Thanks.

pat · 03-01-2008, 01:03 AM

Its not welded on as a separate piece. Its where the different pieces of the cab are squeezed and welded together. You should be able to cut the bad part of the old one off and put a chunk from another cab in its place.

lyrikz · 03-01-2008, 01:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pat

Its not welded on as a separate piece. Its where the different pieces of the cab are squeezed and welded together. You should be able to cut the bad part of the old one off and put a chunk from another cab in its place.

Ahh, so that drip rail isnt a spot welded on piece. Ok.. sounds good... So they are sandwhiched together the metal??

Just cut off that bad section, weld on the new.. Sounds easy enough...

BHyatt · 03-01-2008, 01:51 AM

Check out the FAQ section. Those side drip rails are actually separate pieces while the one above the windshield is not.

lyrikz · 03-01-2008, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BHyatt

Check out the FAQ section. Those side drip rails are actually separate pieces while the one above the windshield is not.

I did quite a few searches... Everyone talking about removing them.. I just want to replace em.. Will do on teh FAQ.

EDIT: I just looked through the FAQ, i cant find anything.. Any help here?

BustedTruck · 03-01-2008, 05:34 AM

I didn't find anything in the FAQs Either.

pat · 03-01-2008, 08:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BHyatt

Check out the FAQ section. Those side drip rails are actually separate pieces while the one above the windshield is not.

Forgot about that. You can see the layers in this picture. Three around the doors and 2 above the windshield.

**GSFMECH** · 03-01-2008, 05:18 PM

Those are spot welded on. I replaced mine. You can buy repop drip rails but they don't match the originals very well. I cut a nice set off a junk cab I had with a torch. I cut the cab back away from the drip rails with a torch so I wouldn't damage them and then took the pieces to my shop and drilled the spot welds out. A better way is to grind them loose from the back and then notch the lip they weld to and weld them from the back as well so you don't have as much body work. I blasted both sides and coated with weld through zinc and blasted the cab as well and welded them on. There are more pictures of the finished rails in my build thread in the build section but I don't know how to link this one to it. I wish I had taken photos of the job while I was doing it as this is a common problem on these trucks.

wldavis · 03-01-2008, 08:41 PM

As mentioned above, the drip rails above the doors are seperate pieces and they are spot welded on. I purchased a new set from GMC Pauls and I had no problems fitting them to the cab. I just drilled out the spot welds and removed the old drip rails. Placed the old drip rails over the new ones, marked the spot weld location, drilled holes in the new drip rails, clamped them in place and welded them up. To me it was one of the easiest repairs I made when replacing sheet metal.

67ChevyRedneck · 03-01-2008, 08:59 PM

So...

The drip rails can be COMPLETELY removed and the cab roof is still structurally held together (around the doors)???

**GSFMECH** · 03-01-2008, 09:13 PM

Yep, that's right, the ones above the door will come right off and will not affect the roof.

lyrikz · 03-02-2008, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GSFMECH

Yep, that's right, the ones above the door will come right off and will not affect the roof.

Thanks guys. I kinda figured after looking at it that the door ones were spot welded on, but i had nothing to disprove that. Luckily mine have very minimal rust and damage. Gettin the bondo out is pretty fun and not to bad, a wire wheel takes it RIGHT out.. Like butter.

I will post my build thread one of these days, as soon as i get a little further along...

BustedTruck · 03-02-2008, 03:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wldavis

As mentioned above, the drip rails above the doors are seperate pieces and they are spot welded on. I purchased a new set from GMC Pauls and I had no problems fitting them to the cab. I just drilled out the spot welds and removed the old drip rails. Placed the old drip rails over the new ones, marked the spot weld location, drilled holes in the new drip rails, clamped them in place and welded them up. To me it was one of the easiest repairs I made when replacing sheet metal.

Do you have any pictures? It looks like to me the spot welds would be easier to drill from the cab portion? Does anyone have some good pics of this?

03-01-2008, 12:23 AM	#1
lyrikz PITbut Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: monroe washington Posts: 3,052	ANOTHER drip rail question. Its new though. I promise. Working on the cab of my truck. Drip rails are in great shape. I do have one area that has some issues. I guess at one time the drip rail was leaking, the PO of the truck fixed that by putting bondo to smooth the seams and seal em. It worked, but looks hideous. I have one area were some rust is building up and its inbetween the drip rail and the cab. If you look at the picture you can see where the drip rail bows down a bit. THe bowing is caused by some rust/scaling thats pushing that down... THat metal is very solid there and i dont think i need to shave it completely. I want to remove that drip rail, clean, rustproof and reinstall a new drip rail. My question is, is the drip rail held on by spot welds??? Anyone removed a drip rail and reinstalled new ones. I dont want to shave them, just fix what i have.... Thanks.

03-01-2008, 01:03 AM	#2
pat Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Lindsay, TX Posts: 1,245	Re: ANOTHER drip rail question. Its new though. I promise. Its not welded on as a separate piece. Its where the different pieces of the cab are squeezed and welded together. You should be able to cut the bad part of the old one off and put a chunk from another cab in its place. __________________ 68 Chevy 383/350 w/shift kit, 380hp/425ft-lbs, 4.5/5 drop, 17" TT2s 64 Cadillac Sedan DeVille

03-01-2008, 01:51 AM	#4
BHyatt Registered User Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: New Castle, IN Posts: 199	Re: ANOTHER drip rail question. Its new though. I promise. Check out the FAQ section. Those side drip rails are actually separate pieces while the one above the windshield is not.

03-01-2008, 05:34 AM	#6
BustedTruck Registered User Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Braselton, GA Posts: 245	Re: ANOTHER drip rail question. Its new though. I promise. I didn't find anything in the FAQs Either.

03-01-2008, 05:18 PM	#8
GSFMECH On the road Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: NATCHITOCHES LOUISIANA Posts: 818	Re: ANOTHER drip rail question. Its new though. I promise. Those are spot welded on. I replaced mine. You can buy repop drip rails but they don't match the originals very well. I cut a nice set off a junk cab I had with a torch. I cut the cab back away from the drip rails with a torch so I wouldn't damage them and then took the pieces to my shop and drilled the spot welds out. A better way is to grind them loose from the back and then notch the lip they weld to and weld them from the back as well so you don't have as much body work. I blasted both sides and coated with weld through zinc and blasted the cab as well and welded them on. There are more pictures of the finished rails in my build thread in the build section but I don't know how to link this one to it. I wish I had taken photos of the job while I was doing it as this is a common problem on these trucks. Attached Images __________________ Mike Castro- 72 SWB. Ochre and White. 496/400 turbo, GV OD ,Dakota Digital dash , tilt, Vintage Air, PS, hydro boost, factory buckets, console, QA-1 Coil over suspension, 20/20"Billet Specialties Magnetos 72 SWB. Med blue. 454/400 turbo, tach, tilt, Stock AC, PS,PDB, factory buckets, console, ECE 4/6 drop w/ 2" blocks and C-notch, 20/20"Coys- Crashed and destroyed by drunk driver Sept 2019. New 72 build in the works. My new build thread "Castro" https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=820934 My old build thread, the blue truck http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=271489 www.louisianaclassictruckclub.com

03-01-2008, 08:41 PM	#9
wldavis Registered User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Winder, GA Posts: 25	Re: ANOTHER drip rail question. Its new though. I promise. As mentioned above, the drip rails above the doors are seperate pieces and they are spot welded on. I purchased a new set from GMC Pauls and I had no problems fitting them to the cab. I just drilled out the spot welds and removed the old drip rails. Placed the old drip rails over the new ones, marked the spot weld location, drilled holes in the new drip rails, clamped them in place and welded them up. To me it was one of the easiest repairs I made when replacing sheet metal.

03-01-2008, 08:59 PM	#10
67ChevyRedneck Hittin E-Z Street on Mud Tires Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Greenville, SC Posts: 23,090	Re: ANOTHER drip rail question. Its new though. I promise. So... The drip rails can be COMPLETELY removed and the cab roof is still structurally held together (around the doors)??? __________________ Jesse James 1967 C10 SWB Stepside: 350/700R4/3.73 1965 Ford Mustang: 289/T5-5spd/3.25 Trac-Loc 1968 Pontiac Firebird: Project Fire Chicken! 2015 Silverado Double Cab 5.3L Z71 2001 Jeep Wrangler Sport 4.0L 5spd 2020 Chevrolet Equinox Premium 2.0L Turbo 2011 Mustang V6 ~ Wife's ride American Born, Country by the Grace of God 1967 CST Shop Truck Rebuild! My 1967 C-10 Build Thread My Vintage Air A/C Install Project "On a Dime" Trying my hand at Home Renovation! 1965 Mustang Modifications! Last edited by 67ChevyRedneck; 03-01-2008 at 09:00 PM.

03-01-2008, 09:13 PM	#11
GSFMECH On the road Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: NATCHITOCHES LOUISIANA Posts: 818	Re: ANOTHER drip rail question. Its new though. I promise. Yep, that's right, the ones above the door will come right off and will not affect the roof. __________________ Mike Castro- 72 SWB. Ochre and White. 496/400 turbo, GV OD ,Dakota Digital dash , tilt, Vintage Air, PS, hydro boost, factory buckets, console, QA-1 Coil over suspension, 20/20"Billet Specialties Magnetos 72 SWB. Med blue. 454/400 turbo, tach, tilt, Stock AC, PS,PDB, factory buckets, console, ECE 4/6 drop w/ 2" blocks and C-notch, 20/20"Coys- Crashed and destroyed by drunk driver Sept 2019. New 72 build in the works. My new build thread "Castro" https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=820934 My old build thread, the blue truck http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=271489 www.louisianaclassictruckclub.com

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