Cab corner/rocker gap

[Jaysonb]

When I replaced the rockers on my truck, the triplus rockers seemed to be to short! I did what I could to get them to fit, but I ended up with a pretty big gap between the rockers, and the cab corners. On the drivers side it was worse, so I just welded up the gap, this is a pic of how the passenger side turned out. Not super bad. Will seam sealer be ok in this kind of gap? My plan for the driver side is to just cut a gap with a 1/8 wheel in the grinder, as I don't care for the way it looks welded up smooth. Any input would be great!

[tr69c10]

That's what happened when I did mine that's why I got rockers is You never now but every thing else lines up doors fenders ect

[Jaysonb]

Yep, the doors and fenders line up fine. I'm just not sure what to do with the gap! I put the outer floor sections that have the inner rocker, the outter rockers, and cab corners on this thing. I braced the door opening so nothing wouuld move. It sucks to put all that work into it, and have the gap look ike crap!

[8mpg]

Mine was short as well..Triplus part. I have been thinking of just going smooth and welding the rocker seams.

[Jaysonb]

I welded up the drivers side, and I dont think it looks that great. I am thinking of cutting a nice 1/8" gap through the weld to make it look right, but at this point I am looking for some advice.

[slowgo72]

mine were a little off, so i filled them in.. looks better to me..

[StingRay]

In all of the rust you find in a lot of these old trucks the fact that the cab supports are bolted to the inner rocker is often lost. The bottom of the A and B pillars on an original truck can actually be adjusted in relation to each other with the rocker removed. As a part of the repair/restoration process this is one adjustment that might need to be made before the new rocker is welded on. This adjustment can also be a part of door alignment or be the cause to need to realign the doors.

[hddavis]

maybe you could weld it solid also, and use die grinder on both of them it would look good

[19673ontree]

that's just the way part's fit if you want it better you have to MAKE IT FIT !

I forget who it is but one member has the answer for this in his sig

BEAT IT TO FIT ! THEN PAINT IT TO MATCH !

[mbgmike]

We have done ALOT of these through the years. I was doing panel replacement in 1969. Remember its a 40 year old vehicle. You will not find one of these that everything lines up perfect. People expect perfection these days for some reason. A lot does depend on the stamping but we really have never had much of an issue with the rockers. Many people here have to slit them and other stuff but we never had to do that to a single one. It is hard to tell what happened from a picture. first thing people will do is blame the part. I have done that to. No patch panel is perfect. None. These trucks can varie considerably in measurements. Close but not the same. Yours is not that bad. Sometimes we have to pull the pillar in sometimes not. Body work and metal working is a skill thats learned. You have to work with parts its not a bolt up everything fits kind of thing.. Cars,trucks,motorcycles it's all the same. Here is the exact same part from Triplus and it has less of a gap. You should see all the gouging and marks they made at the factory to get stuff to line up back then

[Jaysonb]

Thanks for the input. The gap is less then 1/4", will seam sealer fill that kind of gap ok?

[mbgmike]

Originally Posted by Jaysonb

Thanks for the input. The gap is less then 1/4", will seam sealer fill that kind of gap ok?

I would verify the door opening again. I have NEVER had a 1/4" gap. if correct you may want to check a different rocker and replace it. Are you positive its a Triplus? I would get another one from whomever you purchased it from. It would not look good filling it in with seam sealer not that many people would really pay that much attention. Some people would notice however

[Jaysonb]

It was for sure a triplus rocker. I very well could have done somthing wrong in the process. This is my first attempt at a project this size, and I had no idea that you could adjust the front and rear piller, so I may have been able to make it fit better along the way. I am just trying to make a nice driver out of it, and learn somthing along the way. I did the front and rear cab support, the outer floor section that has the inner rocker on it, the rocker, and the cab corner on bolth sides. When I was done I was glad that the doors fit back on at all! I read kevins rocker replacment deal in faq and I thought it would be a breeze, but I learned that it isn't as easy as looks! I think that I will weld up the gap, and then cut a nice small gap with the die grinder, seam seal it, and move on to the next part of the project.

[70cst]

Originally Posted by mbgmike

We have done ALOT of these through the years. I was doing panel replacement in 1969. Remember its a 40 year old vehicle. You will not find one of these that everything lines up perfect. People expect perfection these days for some reason. A lot does depend on the stamping but we really have never had much of an issue with the rockers. Many people here have to slit them and other stuff but we never had to do that to a single one. It is hard to tell what happened from a picture. first thing people will do is blame the part. I have done that to. No patch panel is perfect. None. These trucks can varie considerably in measurements. Close but not the same. Yours is not that bad. Sometimes we have to pull the pillar in sometimes not. Body work and metal working is a skill thats learned. You have to work with parts its not a bolt up everything fits kind of thing.. Cars,trucks,motorcycles it's all the same. Here is the exact same part from Triplus and it has less of a gap. You should see all the gouging and marks they made at the factory to get stuff to line up back then

Excellent points!!