Kick Panel Rust...

[mrein3]

Originally Posted by mbgmike

We have done many,many of these trucks through the years.In fact there is not one panel that I have never worked on.
You are correct. This can be a tough area. I don't ever recall one however that rusted through just above the floor. Rust has shown up in some areas that are unusual but here I can pretty much say its at the floor. It is a water trap. Their is no easy fix to do it correct. None. Usually they can be replaced when doing the rockers and the pillar. Thats normal.
If the pillars are fine and the rockers are to, the only way to get to it is to cut a section of the floor to get access to the bottom of the kick plate. Then weld the section back in. If you have the skill its a part that you can make with limited tools and skill. You may want to make the replacement panel go up a little higher than the rusted area for ease of welding and saving your back. I lay on my stomach all the way across the cab. I can't twist around and weld anymore.

It is a water trap AND back in 1967 - 1972 you didn't have a galvanized sheet metal that was then dipped in epoxy primer like you have in today's modern assembly facilities.

The back side of EVERY panel on our trucks that didn't get overspray, and isn't in the desert southwest is rusty. It is only a matter of time before you see it come bubbling around or through. Up here in the rust belt it is only accelerated by the application of salt spray six months out of the year. This is why ALL rockers eventually rust out. There isn't any paint on the back side of them! What happens to sheet metal that isn't painted after 40 years? Yup. Rust.

I recently drilled out all the spot welds on a bed side and separated the inner from the outer because I sould see surface rust in there. Not for the faint of heart. I'm afraid you desert guys would faint if you saw what I saw in there.

That kick panel area is a common rust out area in the rust belt. When you walk across the street in your boots, all that slush and snow you pick up is full of salt from the road. You get in and it all falls on the floor and melts from the heater. All that salt water runs into that seam.