Looking for 47-53 rear cab panel replacement tips

[jd.marshall]

It looks like I am going to have to replace the whole rear cab panel due to some very poor patch panel installs. The rear panel is bowed and buckled around these patches due to welding distortion.

I am first going to cut them out an inch around the haz to see if the metal relaxes but even the bow tie light patch panel installed is warped due to heat.

Looking for any links or posts that detail this rear cab panel replacement. As it will be one of my first jobs if the metal don't straighten up on removing the old weld and patches.

[FarmerSid]

Here is a link to my rear lower panel replacement.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=629438

Post some pictures so I can see what your up against.

[jd.marshall]

Here's a pic I thought I had attached.

Lots of distortion around the patches and bow tie patch that can't be clearly seen in this photo.

[mr48chev]

It looks like they overlapped the panel with the patch panel rather than butt welding tht em.

Study Farmer Sid's thread and see if you want to change panels or attempt to fix what you have.

[dwcsr]

I have some links with back panel work in them

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=569491 this one has just about every panel you can replace

This has the top panel done
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=625724

From your picture I think I'd try to fix whats there and not replace the entire panel.
Post up some other pictures so we can see the door edge and inside the corner. This may be very fixable without the head ache of doing a panel.

[FarmerSid]

What shape is the rest of the cab in? Have any other patch panels been installed? Reason I ask is when I got my truck, it had never been touched and still had all it's original sheet metal holes and all. It had the typical cab corners, floors, inner and outer panel rot. My rear lower panel had tons of dents that had been hammered out a bit and filled with filler.

When I cut the old panel out and ground away all the millions of tack welds, the lip on both the upper and lower panel where the panels meet looked good other than a few areas that I would have to weld in a new piece. Once I started that, it was apparent that the inside of the lip on the upper panel was worse than I could see. I ended up replacing the whole lip on the upper panel.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that you really need to determine how good that panel really is before you do anything. It's an expensive panel and will take a lot of time to replace BUT in the end you will have all new material and will be rust free.

If your cab is in really good shape, don't replace it and do as Dave suggested.

[jd.marshall]

Thanks for the links and suggestions fellas, I am going to start by cutting out the corner panels and bow tie insert to see if the metal will straighten out.

All can is blasted to white metal and the rear cab panel is clean albeit very wavy and distorted from the poor patch panels welding job.......

I can easily see replacing the whole panel instead of refitting both corner panels and trying to shrink the waviness out.

Remember this is my first run at automotive sheet metal work so art skills like torch shrinking large flat surfaces will be hard to get a feel for.