rust prob on 64 stepside

[blemaire]

Now that i have my electric demons out of the truck almost entirely. it is time to start working on the rust that i can while the weather is cold and i have a small garage. I haven't done any gas welding so im pretty new to the whole idea but i do have a steady hand and decent eyes so it shouldn't be to diff to get into it.
and in the area there is enough spare sheet steel i can learn on scrap rather than my truck. cus she is also my daily driver

pics of most of the issue spots are here
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=372405

there are a few i couldn't get the camera into like under the drivers side fender at the bottom of the door jamb its almost gone

what do you guys recommend to deal with some of the more complicated rust spots? find kits that are pre fabed and then weld on or but sheet and do myself?

[1965]

Id do it my self on all that stuff, but I do have a little experiance haha

Take your metal and form it perfect around the area I circled, then cut out the rusty rocker panel. Cut you replacement to fit and weld it in. Dont weld a continous bead, spot weld all the way around until its filled. That will prevent distortion of the patch. Grind it smooth, primer and your ready for paint.

sorry about the paint pic its the only way i could think of to explain.

[1965]

here is the pic

[1965]

This next picture is the same, just make you replacment fit perfect. Cut out the cancer spot install your replacement. Spot weld, primer and your done.

The next picture is going to be a PITA. There is one or two more layers under the surface metal. So depending on the damage you might have to patch all the layers.

And as for the surface metal I think youll have to make the whole piece. For this start at the bottom and work up. Bend your metal to fit the area you cut out. Get that to fit and just spot weld a few places. (incase you have to remove for any reason) Then make the squared metal section. And spot it in place. Weld er all up, primer, and your good to go.

Oh and good luck, dont get disapointed, this stuff takes some time.

[Captainfab]

Making your own patch panels is a good way to go....if you have both the skills and the equipment to make it happen. if you do, then go for it. Another option is to find other similar damaged, or rusted out parts that you can cut a patch panel from. Such as your rear fender and inner fender. You may be able to find another one for cheap or free, that you could cut a patch from. With some areas these two options are your only choice since no one makes patch panels for many of these areas. Of course there are many premade patch and replacement panels available from several vendors. However they don't always fit perfect and will require some modifying to make them fit well. Either way take your time with your fit up and the welding as this will make for less work in the end.

BTW gas welding probably isn't the best method to use on sheet metal for a beginner....real easy to have some serious warpage issues. I would suggest looking into a 120V mig machine.

[Bugeyev8]

2nd the gas welding idea.....I can do it and had been using gas for alot till I got my first mig 20 years ago...now the torches are just for heating and cutting...don't even own any welding rod anymore, get a used 110v mig...stay away from the cheapo Harbor Freight ones

[blemaire]

Thanks for all the input. It def helps and it also gives me some ideas. So now its just time to take the cold months to prep for the serious patchwork.
On average what is the sheet metal gauge used on the body and support areas?

[blemaire]

after a bit of poking around this morning i noticed that the existing floor in the cap is a really poorly done patch held on with almost a metric ton of sheet metal screws. they are covered by the rubber floor hence why i didnt see them. so now i need to redo the entire floor at least the front end to include the bottom of both A pillars so now my idea of looking for a second cab is sounding better every minute

[Bugeyev8]

the sheet metal is almost all 18 gauge but inner rockers and door pillars are 16, its not all that hard to replace the floors and rockers, I just did it in my 62 as well as tons of rust repair in the roof...just take your time and do one side at a time and brace and measure the door jambs before and while your working, get everything all clean/properly fitted and then start welding, get some practice metal and give it a shot, remember with sheet metal you are not really looking to run a continus bead but more lots of little tacks alternating between areas to avoid warping, I suggest 0.23 gauge wire for the sheet metal, you are also going to want to do alot of plug welds to replicate the factory spot welds, take your time and don't get frustrated and you can do it

[Bugeyev8]

after looking at the pics of your truck on the other thread, your truck is not that bad...I have fixed worse and I am in the "rust free CA state"
The repair panels are reasonable as far as money goes and used parts are availible on this board, the ubder hood rust I would just replace the inner fenders, patch panels for the fenders are no big deal to install I would just start poking around the truck with a sharp awl and see how bad it really is, check the roof and cab rear corners, if those areas are good I would go for the repairs

[blemaire]

the roof is great, but the inner cab corners are not. the out side corners are solid. all in all i priced out steel and pre-fabed panels to replace my real bad spots im lookin around 700 not including the tools i have to rebuy (long story that starts DIV ends ORCE) to patch the entire truck unless i find some hidden rust on the frame but yea its time to start whacking away with the hammer to see how fore the rust really goes.

[LostMy65]

Almost three years later, and it seems stepside patch panels for the fenders are still unavailable?
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