Fixin Dixie - 66 Short Bed Fleetside

[msg]

After a long break away Ive been trying to get back to it.

I have been off and on getting things done but not updating this post, so I'll get a few posts going here and get the progress updated.

The cab I had taken back in February to the blasters in a rental moving truck with the help from my neighbor. Just enough room to transport it along with the hood and some other parts.



Then I got it back to the garage and got it onto the cart



and heres what it looks like




The next thing I did though was work on the hood. I'll post some pics in a bit on the work I did there.

[msg]

This is a recap from a different thread I had going where I had asked some questions about the hood corner patch repair.
(link to that thread http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=701476)

The things I noticed only weeks after they dropped off the hood.

The cab was delivered along with the hood, and hood was placed on work horses in my garage. They told me the paint wasnt blasted off since I took the braces off the middle of the hood and they were worried about warpage.
I was so distracted I guess by the fact I was gonna have to get my sander out and strip off the paint, that I didnt notice all the damage they did moving it around. If you look at the popped out areas of paint right in the center where the embossed area is that goes down the center thats where the forklift i guess creased and dented that area. Took me a full day to get that dents out there.





another dent, looked the same on the other side.



After sanding all the paint off I started to make cuts on the rusted corners..


Then took some rocker panels that I had ordered by mistake many years ago and used it to cut to fabricate the patch panels I needed. Turns out I needed a full inner rocker panel instead on both sides.



I cut out a section of the patch panel and flattened it out, then used a brake that I picked up at HF to get the edges formed



A dolly that I had was a good match to the curve of the original panel I cut that needed to form the new one.



After some pounding and bending I got one done.


Then I got to work on the other patch I needed






Then I got them epoxy primered..

[NevEno]

Looking good!

[msg]

Originally Posted by NevEno

Looking good!

Thanks NevEno! I dont see how you do it..Ive only got 1 truck going and its creeping on progress. Its my first time though so next time I hope goes smoother. Your thread is inspirational.

This stuff Im posting now is from March, reminding me of that progress graph you posted in your thread

Anyways here goes, the next thing was to get the patches in place, so I prepped the area behind the patch area, the inner brace that I could reach with wire wheel, then ospho, then degreaser and then slathered epoxy primer, 3 coats worth in there.



then took the patch I made and used the snips to get it to size, overlayed the patch to the hood, made a mark of where I still needed to snip a bit to fit, then tacked it in. These areas Im finding are tough since you cant get access behind to make the repair unless you disassemble the whole brace spot welds and all. More work than I was willing to do this time.

[msg]

Also did the same on the passenger side repair






Then I got going on the cab driver side





The rear pillar looked ok after a wire wheel spin



not so good on the front one, in fact Ive wondered after seeing how the fender brace does the same if there isnt a modification thats needed here on the new patch I put in. Cutting out a drain hole at the bottom maybe?



Then cut the rear cab driver section that was bad.

[msg]

Before I started cutting off the inner rocker, pillar, and kick panel I put a t square to work and marked off some spots along the way to measure how far the original edge of the inner rocker was. So i took pics and notes on all that.


The kick panel seemed like a good place to start, so I taped off an edge to make a cut.


Then I scribed off the area to cut out of the inner rocker panel and cab floor. Only marked to cut what was bad after reading from alot of guys never to remove good metal just because you have a new patch panel. The other thing I have been reading about is how others have used a method of cutting where they take the patch panel, line it up and overlay it onto the area to be cut, then use self tapping sheet metal screws to drill it in place and then make the cut. I have yet though been able to figure out for the patches Ive had to make, how to do this.

For example the inner rocker, how are you supposed to overlay it to begin with? Its got so many bends and curves and folds it just didnt seem possible to get lined up right to use the self tapping screws?



So without knowing how to use that method I just started making cuts.





After seeing how much rust was in that brace I decided to go ahead and cut an area back to the floor mount.

[msg]

So I cut it back and got to wire wheelin and cleaning it out the best I could.



Then got the degreaser/cleaner and scrubbed it out and then applied Ospho and neutralized with water cleaned it all off and let it dry.



Then epoxy primered it all up, but I think though for the inner braces that need work like this I'll use some POR15 I just got.



Then I had to recover the mounting disc/plate and clean it up and paint it.



I cut out a cardboard template of what I needed for the floor panel repair.



Got it all painted and lined up



Spot welded the disc to the panel



Lined it all up and welded it in

[msg]

Once that was done I took the inner rocker and started making marks on it from the cut off portions I had.



Then I clamped it in place and checked the measurements I had from before



Then welded her up

[msg]

Once the inner rocker and floor was done I started to snip the kick panel patch to fit in place. The bolt holes on the patch panel didnt line up, and I got a tip from a member here about not trusting the holes on the repops and instead just filling in the holes then after it's all in place and lined up..then re drill the holes.



After cutting it and getting a good fit I welded it in,



then re drilled the bolt holes and also learned a trick on getting spot welds done. I had seen Robert "MP&C" post this on the hamb site. Its post #7. Nice pics to help see the technique.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/t...er-wtf.818596/





Then moved on to getting the firewall fixed near the footswitch. No patch panels for this that I could find so I took some left over floor pan patch and had to make my own. Started with a cardboard template and then cut out the patch.




Then painted the flange area that butts up against the floor seam


Drilled out where the spot welds need to go



Got the painted areas where the spot weld happens cleaned up to fresh metal.



And welded it all together



Then I started on getting the pillar going but got derailed a bit once I started to see a pile of what I thought might be sand from the blaster pile up towards the rear of the cab (near the flashlight), but turns out the brace was plugged up with some crud and every time I pounded on the cab making fixes it dribbled out in a pile.



Looked up underneath and saw this



and took snips to that area in front of the brace and opened it up to clean it out,


had some mud daubers and i think a mouse nest?


Ive got that brace cleaned out the best I can now with a wire wheel attached to that drill extension and used a scotch pad to scrub it all out and prep it for some POR15.

[msg]

Next up was the passenger side.



The wrinkle on this side is the door mounting plate bracket rusted out at the base inside the pillar, and the plate just fell out from within.



Cut out the kick panel damaged area and saw just how bad it was.



Then decided how much firewall to cut out for repair



Then cut the rusted out pillar



Cleaned up the interior of the pillar wire wheel and degreaser. metal prep to get ready for POR15



Then got the cardboard template mocked up and the old floor pan scrap and cut out a new brace for the door mounting plate



Made use of the brake I have, but had to improvise and use the mounting plate itself to get lined up to make all the bends I could.



On the upper portion of the brace I had to use this tool to bend the top flange up that welds onto the pillar.



Now I need to get a stepped drill bit for the 3/4" holes and paint this stuff up and weld it all in.



Now, enough posting and time to get out there and get going again!

[msg]

Started making cuts so I can replace the rusted out areas of the passenger side
First had to loosen the bolts.



Then made a cut



Marked off the cab corner cut. Normally I wouldnt take out so much metal but in order to have room to make repairs on the back floor brace and weld in the inner rocker it had to be done



Once I finally cut out the damaged floor I could get to cleaning out the braces.
Forgot to take pics as I cleaned it out and applied the POR15



Then I had clearance to place in the inner rocker patch panel and from underneath scribe the line where it would meet the cut floor and trim it down. Oh and fill in the holes that were part of the patch panel, wish they wouldnt punch them out since they never line up.





And once I got it fitting right I pre drilled the spot weld holes and did that trick with the flattened drill bit to get to fresh metal on the brace through the POR15.



And if I hadnt removed the lower kick panel I would not have been able to drill the 2 front spot weld areas to clean metal

[84blaze]

Nice work so far. That rust repair seems so time consuming nice to see youre staying motivated on the project.

[msg]

Originally Posted by 84blaze

Nice work so far. That rust repair seems so time consuming nice to see youre staying motivated on the project.

Thanks and glad you stopped in! It is time consuming and all I can do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and try not to get overwhelmed.

I have been making some more progress, this time getting the inner rocker patch welded in place




Then I started on getting the floor section patch going with a cardboard template.



Then lined it up best I could on the patch panel



Then I did a rough cut and placed it in



The top portion that has to bend under to line up with the firewall was a pain. I just had to make marks and try and bend it into shape.




Finally after much trial and error and cussing I got it tweaked and positioned.



Then I scribed an area from underneath where the brace lines up and painted the POR15 in place to keep the rust at bay in the brace this time.



Then I drilled my spot welds locations out



Then welded it in place, took a full day



The next step is to weld in the pillar since the door hinge plate I have to repair is inside the pillar and needs to be welded in before I can deal with the kick panel. So again, I have to weld in the holes the manufacturer pre drills that dont line up and paint it over with POR15.



and then welded it in and drilled out the holes that actually do line up with the brace.



And thats where I ended up today. Gonna get the hinge plate brace welded in next and start on the kick panel.

[Grizz1963]

You are a brave and talented man.

I have all that pain ahead of me, as I discovered while dismantling my truck just how much filler, rust and demons it was hiding.

I will be using your thread as a guide when I get started on my bodywork

[RDrancher]

Good job on the repairs and a big thanks for taking the time to post so we can follow along. Subscribed to this one.

[msg]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

You are a brave and talented man.

I have all that pain ahead of me, as I discovered while dismantling my truck just how much filler, rust and demons it was hiding.

I will be using your thread as a guide when I get started on my bodywork

Happy New Year Grizz and thanks for checking out my build! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the pace and have a useful thread for you

Originally Posted by RDrancher

Good job on the repairs and a big thanks for taking the time to post so we can follow along. Subscribed to this one.

Glad to have you along for the ride RDrancher! Ill post an update now that catches things up from the holiday break.

I took a few weeks off and spent as much time as possible in the garage without upsetting the balance at home. My wife is very supportive and understanding but I dont want to push my luck. I got back on that pillar on the passenger side and began with the door hinge plate trying to get it welded in. I learned a few things during this part of the repair.

POR15 is pretty flammable stuff
It was a constant fanning of flames as I put down the welds. I guess most paints wil flame up and smoke a bit. If I had been able to sandblast the areas I used POR15 on I would have used the epoxy primer instead in hind sight.

Dont use a small drill bit for spot/plug welds
I have been using a 15/64 drill bit on my other patch panels but the little door hinge plate seemed like a smaller bit size would be fine to tack it in place. I tacked it in with the smaller drill bit hole and then tried getting the pillar a bit more flush with the inner rocker. I had to pound a bit and then I heard a clank. The hinge plate cage had popped off and fell. I'm so glad though it happened before I had welded over the kick panel patch or it would have been trapped in there.

This is the link I had above to MP&C's how to on drilling and prepping for plug welds. Somehow the link above got messed up, hopefully this works.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/t...er-wtf.818596/

So in the end I got it drilled out properly and got it in and touched up with POR15



The moved on to the kick panel. Of course I had cut more than the patch panel had on it.




So I took some scrap and welded it on to extend the patch and cover the gap.



Then took the peice I cut out and referenced it for thr spot welds to drill out



And then after alot of scribing and snipping I got it in place and started tacking it in



Then moved on to the firewall corner spot



I took some flat sheet metal scrap and did the same bit as I did on the other side.





Next was that spot on the cab edge that someone dented up. I took more flat scrap and fabricated a patch





Then welded and finished it out, also spent time grinding out the body filler in the one dented in hole for the trim clip. That area too a hit somewhere in the past and I hammered and dollied it back to shape. I'll need to re drill the trim clip holes in a bit.

[msg]

Back in November I did a lot of head scratching on the base of the back of the cab and what I would do here. I just hated having those pin holes and knew that there was a good bit of rust behind there and they dont make a patch panel for this. Least not that I could find.





So I decided to drill out the spot welds and take the snips and cut out the worst stretch and plan to scrub out the junk and re use it.



A bunch of dirt, sand, and rust all fell out as I went.



I took a wire wheel and ground out all the rust and dirt. Then ground down the spot welds, then prepped it with the degreaser, then metal ready, and then painted POR15.



Then I hammered and dollied to straighten, and wire wheeled the cut out piece and then came a lot of filling in holes with the mig.



Some spots were so eaten with rust I had to cut out a scrap piece and try and get a match to the contours



Many days later I got to this point, taking the salvaged piece...



Then I very slowly worked my way down keeping the patch flush as I tacked it in.



There was a stretch that was straight that I fabricated vs salvaged. That profile was tricky but I found a show molding strip that matched the profile. So I used it to hammer the shape.



Then clamped it to the edge and hammered the edge that wraps around the bottom



Then welded it in



I still have more to deal with towards the end where the cab corner patch just wont fill it all in, but here is where I ended up.



And also the driver side pillar I finally welded in




I hope I can keep things going, nice to see progress.

[msg]

Switched gears a bit and started on the driver side cab corner repair. First I cut out the area of the patch that I needed and had some trouble getting it to match the contour. So I cut a template from the piece I cut off and used it as a guide to pound the patch contour to match.



Then I clamped it in and of course I needed a little more of that base edge to fit across.



So I got another piece of scrap from the floor pan and made a panel that has the contour for the base edge of the back of the cab,





In the end it looked like this



and I cut a snip from that for the driver side bit I needed, tested out good.



Ill post more later. Gotta get some rest now.

[msg]

Forgot to post a pic of the floor bracket repair where the inner rocker covers it up, I had to clean that brace out of the rust and debris before. So now that I am trying to get the cab corner installed, I needed to first patch that spot up. Took the snips and cut out a patch, painted the back portion with POR15 and welded it up.



Im hoping to get to the outer rockers soon, but that means hanging the doors. To do that I need to get the hinges rebuilt. I had last year started taking a swing at removing the pins and did get 2 of them out. The other two that I tried but failed at I sent to a garage that helps me out. It took a while for them to get it done but I picked them up today. He told me they were abnormally stubborn but a lot of heat and pounding got it done.



On the outer rockers I had started another thread when I placed the driver side outer rocker on to check out the fit and it looked a bit long. My concern was that the pillar repairs I did weren't lined up too well. The best way to know is to hang the doors, which means I have to get the door hinges repaired

Heres a link to that thread.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...24#post7824524

[LostMy65]

So much appreciate your detailed postings and pictures.

[dodgiesdad]

What a lot of work in taking pictures of everything! Not to mention the rust repair. I did a lot of the same things on my cab and it took me nearly a year, including fixing the roof skin, and above the windshield. Your progress looks great, keep up the good work.

[msg]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

So much appreciate your detailed postings and pictures.

Thanks and let me say how awesome the thread you have on your 65 is! I havent finished it all but Im on p 11. So cool!!! Amazed you found it and the story all around it from how you got it originally to how you found it again.

Originally Posted by dodgiesdad

What a lot of work in taking pictures of everything! Not to mention the rust repair. I did a lot of the same things on my cab and it took me nearly a year, including fixing the roof skin, and above the windshield. Your progress looks great, keep up the good work.

Thanks dodgiesdad! I wish I could get this all done in a year like you did Taking me a long time but having you guys cheer me on really helps stay motivated, thanks for subscribing!

The only thing I can share today is that I bought some White Lithium grease for the door hinge repairs I want to get done tomorrow, in fact I started this thread below asking which is best to use. So I just got a reply from another meber saying maybe #2 EP (Red Chassis Grease). Maybe a few others will chime in and steer me straight before I put the wrong grease in there.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=1#post7825382

The the most exciting thing is the deluxe steering wheel I bought arrived today!!!! But as Im sure you all have noticed I aint even close to installing it yet. Just like me, getting way ahead of myself.

[dodgiesdad]

msg, it took me a year to get done with just the cab. It took me 3 years to do my truck. I am impressed with your progress.

[clemdaddy]

just read your build and I like how you figure out the way to fix a problem and then jump in and get it done. The photos and explanations you do are a guide for others as well as a scrapbook for you to revisit when your truck is done. I think you should be very proud of your efforts and one day soon you will be driving a beautiful and well built truck. Congrats...

[msg]

Originally Posted by dodgiesdad

msg, it took me a year to get done with just the cab. It took me 3 years to do my truck. I am impressed with your progress.

Thanks man! Well Im on year 3 now, maybe at this pace I might make it sooner than I think...i hope.

Originally Posted by clemdaddy

just read your build and I like how you figure out the way to fix a problem and then jump in and get it done. The photos and explanations you do are a guide for others as well as a scrapbook for you to revisit when your truck is done. I think you should be very proud of your efforts and one day soon you will be driving a beautiful and well built truck. Congrats...

Thanks Clem! Watching the work you do is inspiring, and that place you have...dang!!!! A Sinclair gas station, way cool. Dreamlike.

This thread I have going is what me and my wife call the Dixie Diary, much like a scrapbook for sure. I learned that taking pics helped me document and in many cases give me a reference. Like today when I was putting the door hinges together. I had to look at which ones I pulled from the driver side and which came from the passenger side. Having drilled a hole through the hinge into the cab for alignment I did do on the driver side hinges helped me remember. Made a difference in knowing which hinges need the pin dropped in the right direction. I only wish I remembered to drill the holes on the passenger side.

Here is how it went. I had cleaned out the sleeves from all the rust and plastic leftover and used ospho rust remover and neutralized with water and let dry. Then I took the white lithium grease and a brush and applied it in all the spots that needed it. Then I tapped in the cap parts that replaced the previous plastic ones. The pins were longer than I needed so I cut them down and used the cut off wheel to also grind that tapered end. For those who havent seen Gibson63 Youtube channel its awesome. Very handy! I remembered watching him do his hinges here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpT_...5s&spfreload=1



Next on the list I wanted to get that rear pillar worked on. I got a lot of clamps going and lined it up. Then I scribed the back side which was convenient since I had cut out so much of the cab corner. Then I cut it and clamped it in and checked the vertical alignment. Then I placed some tape on the edges of the pillar where it meets the inner rocker for alignment.



Of course the patch doesnt have the exact contours lined up, the original is the bottom one in the pic. More hammering and dollying.



The bigger issue I saw was that the welded in nuts didnt line up with the brace, so I was going to try and cut off the welds on the nuts, but it was much easier to cut it out entirely and take a portion of the pillar scrap that had the same gauge thickness and weld in a replacement. Of course now I need to find some hardware and weld it in place now once I get the holes drilled out that align to the brace. Also the bolts I pulled are not so hot so I need to shop for those.



I went ahead and welded up the three holes that I still havent understood why they are there. I did this after the pic here. Im trying to seal as many access points for crud and those stinking dirt dauber wasps as I can. Hopefully I didnt mess up by filling those. if so someone please let me know.

In fact if there is ANYTHING that you guys see as a potential slip up holler at me.

Like in that patch on the pillar, in the pic you can see a front and back. The side that faces the inner rocker is welded up and ground out, but I was wondering how much the opposite side should also have more welded through vs seeing a seam. I was putting a good bit of heat down and thought it was making it through properly.

Thats all today, more tomorrow.