Rocker Panel Install Details

[SouthpawGarage]

Hello folks,

I searched through several posts about rocker panels looking for some more detailed info on exactly how to get those aftermarket rockers to fit. Most of what I saw were pictures of a truck without a rocker and then in the next picture a truck with a rocker. I was looking for some more insight on the process, and saw a tidbit here and a suggestion there, but nothing specifically dedicated to this problem. (Not to say it’s not out there, there’s an awful lot of knowledge to sift through on this forum.)

To that end I decided to share my experiences with fitting my first one. I wouldn’t say it’s a how-to – every situation is different – and I’m no expert (as mentioned, it’s my first time), but maybe this will help someone. You more knowledgeable folks feel free to make any comments or suggestions.

The panels I’m using are from Key Parts. Not sure which major vendor sells these, I got mine at a swap meet. I’ve read where other guys have had good luck with this brand, but I’m not impressed.





First thing I did was bolt the door back on temporarily and get it lined up. I won’t get into that process here, that’s on other threads. Mostly time and patience.





The rocker did not fit well at all. It’s almost as if it were slightly too long. Maybe I messed up when doing the door/pillar work? Driver’s side was the same way.







Looking at the trailing edge of the panel I could see it wasn’t quite right.





Ground it down a bit and it improved the fitment at the rear.





At the front, made a relief cut at one corner. Turned out to be the first of many, which are visible in subsequent photos.





After another trial fit and manipulating the panel around some I decided I needed to trim down some of the edges on the cab as indicated on the pictures.







This is a new floor pan, I had to trim it even all the way across the bottom. NOTE: Don’t forget to cut the new notch in for the rocker drain. Despite telling myself this I had to do it at the end from underneath with a dremel.





Some relief cuts at the back. Did some hammering in the corner while it was clamped in place.





Relief cuts at the front. I had to make a new bend because the one that was there was nowhere close. Sorry, no pics of doing that. I ran a relief cut through the badly positioned crease, put in a new crease with a pair of needlenose pliers, flattened out the metal where the bad crease had been and welded it back up.





Once I was reasonably happy with the fit I prepped the rocker and the cab for installation. Drilled the holes in the rocker for the plug welds and cleaned the corresponding locations on the cab to bare metal.









Before starting with the welding the door was put back on to make sure the gap was okay.





Got a few plug welds in.







After a bit of hammering to get the rest of the creases lined up I welded up some of the relief cuts.







Didn’t like some of the gaps left by the relief cuts so I borrowed some metal from the old rocker and use it to fill in.











All ground down and hit with a flap disk.











A coat of cheap paint to protect the bare metal until the cab goes off to be blasted.





The finished product. Not perfect but after the seam sealer and skim coat should look good enough. Like I said, this is my first rocker.









Let me know if you found this helpful. Or useless. Any input from more experienced users is more than welcome. Thanks for reading.