A Pillar replacement

[Scottri]

Hey Guys,

I opened up my floor today to start prepping for new floor pans and found I need to replace the bottom of the A piller. Can anyone give me a step by step on how to do it as well as any special considerations? I haven't cut the rocker out yet. I just opend up the floor and saw the crumbling A Pillar base and stopped. The floor support is good but the kick panel and rocker are shot. Someone cut a speaker hole in the kick panel and stuffed the entire compartment with fiberglass insulation years ago and it acted just like a sponge. I managed to fix the area that he cut to fit the speaker but the bottom of the pilar is a memory.

Thanks!

Scott

[1971Stepside]

Scott, this is not a bad fix but like all of them it takes work. As you know you can get the replacement piece to weld in so it makes it that much easier.

What I did on mine was remove the rocker, kick panel, bad part of the floor and the front floor support. All of this had rust in it on mine.

I then took several measurements of the pillar. (I kept the passenger side in place as a reference) I even took a couple digital pictures of it for later reference.

I cut the old one off below the door hinge holes and then measured the new piece to be the proper length and then cut it just a little longer the first time. I then ground everything down and cleaned it all up. I tacked the new piece on and measured. The big trick is to get the piece at the right angle (in/out). I measured some more and adjusted until I was satisfied I had the piece where I wanted it.

Weld it in solid and then put in your kick panel. After the kick panel do your floor pan, then rocker, then floor support.

[Scottri]

ttt

[our64]

I would LOVE to see some photos if anybody has

[gonebad2]

I wouldn't cut anything until I had the replacement in my hand. That's what I do with all body panels I replace (weld on). Use a cutoff wheel or plasma cutter to cut the bottom of the A pillar off. Drill out the original spotwelds on the A pillar flange that mounts to the body. After carefully and correctly measuring the new piece, cut it to fit. Transfer the position of the drilled out spotwelds to the new flange. Then, drill holes in the new flange. The top section will be butt welded. The rest of the welding will be done where you drilled the spotwelds out. Use deep visegrip welding clamps or cleco pliers with pins to line it up (visegrips would probably be a better choice for this job). Tack it in very lightly, check and double check the fit and make sure everything lines up perfectly. It helps to mark a fixed position before the original piece is cut out. Take a few measurements, write them down. This will help to have reference points to compare measurements to when fitting the new panel on. After a little light grinding, it will look like new..BTW don't forget to keep it cool. If you don't, it is likely that it will warp on you.