72 C10 for my 25th wedding anniversary

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by MDPotter

Good forensic work and a nice check! There is concern out there about recovering from damages to our classics so it's nice to see someone get compensated fairly.

Thanks , I thought it was fair in my case. I have read other stories of fellow members, and their fight to get compensated fairly. That was my concern at first. But the adjuster met me at work, talked to me for quite a while about my truck, and some of his projects he has had over the years. He took a lot of pics of the whole truck, engine, frame, new fuel tank etc. I showed him my book of receipts, some pics of progress over the years , even gave him part numbers that I had. Perhaps this helped, he then knew the truck was important to me, I personally had done most of the work. I hadn’t bought it that way. Maybe it helped, maybe it didn’t, but in the end I thought it worked out ok!

[sfont66]

2020
This spring I wanted to repair the rust that I knew was lurking beneath the sill plates, I also would like new carpet. Before I could begin rust repair, I needed to install new hinge pins and bushings, so that I could more accurately align the doors & new rocker. My original gaps were not that great, so hopefully I can improve on that some. Installing New pins and bushings was far easier than I thought it would be. Heating the hinge body a bit with a torch helped a lot. That way I didn’t have to beat on the pin so hard to get it out. The rebuilt hinges made a big improvement in the doors alignment, and the way they opened and closed, even though the original pins & nylon bushings didn’t appear to be too worn.

[sfont66]

Moving on to rust repair on the passenger side, I found I needed more repair than I had hoped. I ended up replacing a portion of the inner rocker, kick panel, a section of door pillar & the outer rocker. I chose to drill out the spot welds with the hope that some portions of the underlying panels could be saved helping to align the new repair panels.
After mocking up the panels I did prep and apply weld thru primer in areas that would get plug welds and over lapped panels, such as the kick panel,inner rocker,door pillar area. I had the door on and off many times checking the fit and gaps before final weld. Hopefully I can remember to take better and more progressive pics on the other side.

[sfont66]

The driver side rust repair was much like the passenger side, needing the same panels replaced. Portions of the kick panel,inner rocker,door pillar, and of course the rocker.
One thing I did on both sides was pre fit the replacement rocker with the door and fender still on the truck & before any additional metal was cut out. This was only possible because most of the original metal was still there. This helped to prove how good the replacement rocker did or did not fit,
The passenger side fit well, however the driver side needed work to fit the factory metal. Making the rocker fit before more metal was removed helped reassure me before I cut out the rest of the rust & mocked up the rest of the replacement panels.

[Scurry67]

Nice job on that panel replacement. I'm following along. Keep the updates coming!

Al

[sfont66]

Few more pics

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by Scurry67

Nice job on that panel replacement. I'm following along. Keep the updates coming!

Al

Thanks, and thanks for the encouragement to stay at it. I checked out your build as well, great work! It’s awesome to have an auto supply store in the family, and a dad that has shared interests. So cool you can rely on him for quality information and guidance on products as well as help with the project!

[sfont66]

Before reinstalling the fender, I had noticed a pin hole from rust and pitting in the fender cup . Sandblasting the area revealed more. I hadn’t bought a repair panel for this area, so I formed a patch from a piece of scrap metal. I pounded out a rough form with a round head body hammer on a bag of sand, then a little more forming on the anvil. Not perfect, but it will work.

[sfont66]

With just a little bit of plastic filler, and I think it will be ok. The passenger side needs to be done also, but for that side I will need to order the fender cup patch panel.

[cornerstone]

Nice work! The aftermarket fender cups are thinner metal and don't have the best fitment. If it is at all possible, I'd hand form the passenger side as well.

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Nice work! The aftermarket fender cups are thinner metal and don't have the best fitment. If it is at all possible, I'd hand form the passenger side as well.

Thanks, and thanks for the heads up on the after market fender cup quality and fit. Hand forming the passenger side may be beyond my ability. I will have to see how bad it really is, I know it was worse than the driver side just visually, and then when I sandblast to clean up the rust pitting, it reveals more damage, but at nearly $50 for the ill fitting,low quality patch, I may have to try

[sfont66]

Haven’t had to much time for the truck this week, I have been called back to work. It seems our business is “essential” during the covid-19 crisis. Hopefully I will have a bit of time in the evenings and weekends. The Fed-EX truck dropped off a few items the other day, cant wait to install them. Also had to order a fender cup patch, hopefully it won’t be too bad, even if I have to cut it up it in a few areas.
The original fender needs a little too much rust repair for me to form with simple tools.
Going to try a use a wideband air/fuel gauge, I think I have the carb dialed in pretty good right now, this should help prove whether I do or not.
Here’s a few pics. Not sure why the one pic loads upside down,I’m not sure how to fix it, sorry

[sfont66]

While waiting for parts, I decided to remove the box and repair the passenger side cab corner. I wanted the box off anyway, thinking it would be easier to modify/cut out for the 4” wider wheel tubs, which should have been here days ago, but due to covid-19 are delayed...
I only used a small portion of the Cab corner patch panel, saving as much original metal as possible . The patch panel needed some work to fit, the flange at the door was too narrow, and needed to be wider.It also needed to be twisted and shaped a bit to be acceptable.
Next on the list is the fender cup on passenger side.

[cornerstone]

Very nice. I like your approach, leave as much original metal as possible.

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Very nice. I like your approach, leave as much original metal as possible.

Thanks again, I have never liked doing body work much, but the more I do it , the more I start to enjoy it. It always seems to take twice as long as I thought to make each repair. But in the end I’m happy I did it myself, I certainly can’t afford to pay a shop to do it.

[sfont66]

The parts I ordered finally arrived, seems to take about 10-14 days longer than usual. The box that the wheel tubs came in was in bad shape, I thought they would be damaged, but other than a slightly bent corner on a flange, all is well.

I really wish I could figure out how to post under each photo so I could explain things better, I have searched, but can’t find an answer.

Before starting on the passenger side fender cup, I decided to install the wide wheel tubs from AMD. I had already removed the box and set it on a small trailer so I could move it around if needed. I had made a frame out of some old angle iron and c channel to attach to my engine crane to lift the box off, this worked a lot better than straps and 2x4s. Hopefully I can take it apart and modify it a bit to use in the future to lift the cab.
The wheel tubs did need some work to fit, the pry bar points to the small portion of flange that needed to be removed from each end, also most of the bolt holes did not line up, it would have been better if they didn’t put the holes in the tub at all.

[sfont66]

The box needed to be cut 5” and the ribs in the floor needed to be flattened, shaped a bit and welded up.
The wider tubs should allow a 12” or possibly 14” wide wheel so now I am in search of a 12” wide rallye, possibly from wheel vintiques, or even some used centerlines. I think a 8” backspace would be correct, but need to confirm that.
Will also have to see if the parking brake cable is going to be a problem.

[sfont66]

The passenger side fender cup had more rust damage than I could fix with a simple hand formed patch. I ordered a fender cup patch , and it was exactly as cornerstone had advised. This thing was never going to fit as is, it was probably 5/8 too small, the metal was not as thick as an original fender. In order to make it work I decided to drill out the spot welds and separate it into pieces, and only use as much as necessary. After cutting out the rust damage, using the piece as a pattern, I was able to lay the pieces on top of the patch panel and scribe out the shape and size of the needed patch for the area needing repair. Working in sections & comparing the old, damaged area to new & tacking all parts together before final weld, seems to have resulted in a successful repair

[sfont66]

Few more pics ..

[cornerstone]

Nice work!!!

[Scurry67]

Nice work! Looks like you were definitely able to save a lot of original metal by cutting that patch panel into pieces 👌🏽

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Nice work!!!

Thanks again, still too cold here to actually do body filler and primer, but I am trying to make the most of my days, next week I have to go back to work full time

[sfont66]

Originally Posted by Scurry67

Nice work! Looks like you were definitely able to save a lot of original metal by cutting that patch panel into pieces 👌🏽

Thanks, I follow your thread, and you have skills. Looking forward to seeing your truck in paint soon!

[sfont66]

Quick update.
After a skim coat of body filler on the repaired areas, and a couple coats of epoxy primer, I attempted to blend the repaired areas into the old paint. This color match was worse than the previous ones. The local O’Reillys tried to mix a closer match, but it’s not close enough. They suggested I take off a part and bring it in, so they can match to that, rather than to the color code. They are telling me the new paint formula doesn’t crossover well with the old. That and 48 year old paint.
I keep telling myself one day, when most of the body work is done, I will paint the truck hugger orange, so this look is only temporary.
I finally installed the new carpet, it fit very well I thought, I let it sit in the sun sun for several hours first, which I think helped. Next came the sills, and glue on door seals from Precision ( only because I already had them), the glue was kind of a mess, I think in the future I will try the push on Honda Civic door seals. That said the glue on seals work well, no complaints.
After that, when the weather is decent, I have been driving the wheels off!

[sfont66]

Last week the radiator gave up, it was a cheap replacement with a aluminum core and composite tanks(maybe spectra) installed by the previous owner. The tanks started leaking, I believe the seals/ gaskets failed.
After a quick search, I found many members that recommended a Champion aluminum radiator, the price was right, so I ordered a 2 row core, #EC369 from Jegs. $179.99... after tax $193.27 shipping was free.
I am happy to report it arrived quickly and packaged well. The fit is good, nice welds, and the tanks were even polished!
It’s been hot the past few days,( at least for Minnesota) in the 90’s, and the truck stays perfectly cool.