Rear cab panel replacement?

[SCHRUMGMC]

Awesome work, I am in the same situation but not as bad

[dunce79]

Well this is a fun one for sure but not going too bad thus far. Just the first fit and about 4 hours of slowly tweaking it. The drip rail section near the door on both sides is not formed just right and will take some work to get it so that the door edge gap is right on top (currently just a little wide). My gaps are a little wide at the bottom at this point too but I think I can work that out. Overall the panel isn't bad. Like all aftermarket stuff, nothing is as sharp as the original but it beats what was there.

I replaced a section of the inner panel window channel on top, about 12 inches at a time to avoid changing anything and the new panel opening lines up well with the inner panel, so that's encouraging. I ordered another window rubber gasket that I can cut pieces out of to check the window fit without the whole thing installed. I may even try installing the whole window once.. not sure yet.

At this point I'm letting it sit before I go back and fit a better set of doors and add the front fenders. Plan is to get the gaps as good as i can before I pull the back panel off to prep it for spot welding back in. Going to spot weld it everywhere and use some 3m drip chek sealer on the drop rail when done. Then I'll fine tune the gaps. I've had good luck adding rod to door edges on another project to close gaps where necessary so I think I'll aim to have wider gaps in some spots if it means fixing areas where its just too tight.

(bottom of door edge on passenger side is loose from rust damage)

[thebebop]

Looking good

[dunce79]

Started fitting the rear window. Looking good so far. I have some trimming to do to the edges where the panel is bigger than factory, also have to to raise the top channel just a touch to allow for enough gap between window and weatherstrip. Overall, I'm kind of impressed. Keeping the rear panel intact and matching the outter to it should be just about right.

However, anyone out there have the big window out of their truck and could give me an edge to edge measurement between the pinch welded seams of the window channel? My old one seems to be about 15.5 inches but it was pretty far gone.

Right now I'm going off of that, eyeballing it with sections of weatherstrip installed and the dimensions of the inner panel. Shooting to have the same gap all the way around between window and cab that seems to be around 1/4 inch, maybe 3/16.

Window and rear panel shape match up nicely.

[dwcsr]

1/4" is good. You can always grind down the pinch weld if it needs a little more room.

[dsraven]

here is the link to the old car manuals project for 1956. scroll back a couple pages from where the link takes you and it will show you the actual dimensions for the window opening. otherwise just play it by ear like the rest of us poor saps, ha ha.
good looking work so far. I wish I had time right now but hopefully feb will open up the calendar for some free time.

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...esto/56134.htm

[dunce79]

Thx - not sure what to make of that diagram for 56.. or the 59 one. Looks like 14.07 tall but it appeared my old panel had a 15.5 wide opening.. another user commented 15.5 is what he saw on his truck. I also think 15.5 is about right after fitting the window and trimming so there is a 1/4 gap all the way around. Perhaps the measurement in the picture is the width measured between the edges of the weatherstripping? Doesn't seem quite right for just the glass height either. Or am I missing something?

Originally Posted by dsraven

here is the link to the old car manuals project for 1956. scroll back a couple pages from where the link takes you and it will show you the actual dimensions for the window opening. otherwise just play it by ear like the rest of us poor saps, ha ha.
good looking work so far. I wish I had time right now but hopefully feb will open up the calendar for some free time.

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com...esto/56134.htm

[dsraven]

not sure either. that is the manual from gm but the numbers don't seem to make any sense compared to the glass. I have set my window in with pieces of the old weather stripping as well, just to check fit. my window opening is 15 1/2 top to bottom from inboard edges of pinch weld. it is hard to measure the sides because they taper in at the top.I think you just need to start with a stock window and adjust the pinch weld to fit well. add or subtract material as needed from the pinch weld. my rear panel fit was terrible so the pinch weld is really quite small on the lower rear corner of the drivers side. i may need to either trim the glass or rework the panel in that area so it looks right and fits/seals. keep u posted on yours, with pics of course. ha ha.

[dunce79]

Well, I pity the fool that gets to replace the rear panel next time ; ). Started with 70 spot welds around the window, then did the drip rail and down the passenger side door jamb. Should be able to wrap up the rest tonight before moving on to dressing the welds a bit. This sure has been a fun one.

I went with a 1/4 inch gap between the window and truck with pieces of weatherstrip in place. Basically just trimming the new panel to match the inner panel seems to be the ticket if it is in good shape.

The drip rail is quite a bit thicker than it needs to be so I'll have to knock that down a bit to make it look right. Mainly around the corners where it turns towards the doors.

[dsraven]

hey, that looks great. and the body lines and door gap look good. wish mine was like that. good thinking on the top to bottom brace in the rear window opening. my panel left a bit to be desired, plus building an ex cab adds a little flare (ya, thats a good word for it. flare. like distorted......ha ha).
have fun and watch out for welding sparks in your pockets........
Dennis

[oldman3]

You've done a great job, I doubt if that panel will ever need to be replaced again. I'm sure it will be better taken care of now, compared to years ago...Jim

[octanejunkie]

Very impressive work!

What's the condition of your front door pillars?
Even in "rust free" California I've got a pile of orange dust in the bottom of mine and the bottoms of my doors are gonna need some work soon.

[dunce79]

Pillars weren't bad except for some rust around the lower hinges. You can see in my build thread here that i just replaced the area from the to top of the lower hinge on down:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=648712

Originally Posted by octanejunkie

Very impressive work!

What's the condition of your front door pillars?
Even in "rust free" California I've got a pile of orange dust in the bottom of mine and the bottoms of my doors are gonna need some work soon.

[octanejunkie]

Originally Posted by dunce79

Pillars weren't bad except for some rust around the lower hinges. You can see in my build thread here that i just replaced the area from the to top of the lower hinge on down:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=648712

Just read that thread. Nice score on the engine and trans!