Replacing floor pans, rocker panels, etc.

[rockdogg2020]

Where did you find the unpainted one, so I can order it when i do the other side?

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by rockdogg2020

I agree. The tabs were shorter than expected. I already installed it on my truck but if you like i could try to take a pic.

No need.

I was just curious if Classic Parts was selling the one with the tabs already bent like the pic I provided above.
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[Heater63]

hey wilkinst, it's been a year, what did you end up doing? did you farm it out or do it yourself?

[wilkinst]

Completely forgot I started this thread, but here's an update (2 years later). I don't have pictures of the finished product, so I'll have to add some later.

After removing the door, I used this process:
1. Cut everything out (support cab as necessary)
2. Tack in new main cab support (that runs roughly parallel with the frame)
3. Drop cab back down on mounts
4. Tack in new bottom A-Pillar
5. Hang door and make sure it latches correctly
6. Tack in new outer rocker panel using the bottom edge of the door as a guide
7. Tack in new cab corner
8. Tack in inner rocker
9. Tack in cab support (perpendicular to main cab support)
10. At this point I double checked by door latching a gap then filled in welding between some of my tack welds to make things a little more solid.
11. Tack in floor pan.
12. Tack in misc. places that the patch panels didn't cover.
13. Fill in between all my tack welds after triple checking that my door latched correctly and the gaps looked good.

After taking some measurements of the door opening I started on the passenger side. I started out using a combination of floor jacks to hold the cab in place, but eventually took them off as they got in the way of my cutting:


Main cab support and perpendicular support welded in. Inner rocker tacked to perpendicular support:


Fitting floor pan after everything else is tacked in and all I just need to fill in and grind off welds:


Some lessons learned:
-Get an air compressor that will keep up with your cut-off tool. I did all the cutting on the passenger side with a pancake compressor...talk about patience!
-Don't think you're going to get away with taking the doors off once...I think I ended up taking them on and off at least 6 times.
-Measure 100 times and cut once. Try as you may, those patch panels don't stretch to cover a 1/4" gap.
-Use a 40 or 60 grit flapper disc on your grinder to grind down the welds. I didn't realize how much grinding I'd have to do. I would highly recommend radio earmuffs while doing this job.

It is very rewarding to do it right though. I enjoyed it so much I did the driver's side! Probably took half as long to do it than the passenger side.

That's a very broad overview and makes it look way easier than it really is, but that should give somebody a general idea of what to do if they come looking.

[scottofksu]

Nicely done!

To follow-up on earlier comments regarding the front cab support, I purchased off of the forum two front cab supports of the non-bent tabs type. I too noticed that the drivers side support is actually a copy of the passenger side. As others have mentioned, I found this type of support to be slightly too short (i.e., the bent tabs did not contact the lateral cab support when the front cab support was bolted to the inner rocker). To account for this, I bent the tabs at a wider angle than the 90 degree angles of the original support. I then welded in a couple small pieces of 18 gauge to allow the part to mount flush. I've attached a couple rough pic that show what I am talking about... Note: I am new to welding and the second picture was taken prior to my finish grinding all the welds.

[1963chevyshort]

That is alot of work but you did a great job

[WEBBY1]

holy cow.. im not sure if I'm ready to tackle my rust bucket..

[msg]

Thanks for following up, nice job and inspiring. I have just bought a Hobart mig welder and going to start learning how to fix what I have which looks like this

[wilkinst]

Thanks for following up, nice job and inspiring. I have just bought a Hobart mig welder and going to start learning how to fix what I have which looks like this

You're very welcome. Looks like you'll have to fix someone else's attempt at a repair. I'm sure somebody's told you this already, but get some scrap pieces of sheet metal and dial in your welder by practicing on those. I'd never welded before either and with some patience mine turned out great. Best of luck, keep us posted!

[Railroadman]

Just wanted to thank the guys who started and contributed to this thread way back in prehistoric times. Your advice and experience are STILL a big help all these years later. Hopefully some of you who have BTDT are still available for questions. Here's what I'm getting into:

[wilkinst]

Of course, just ask away!

If it's anything like my experience, in the very beginning it'll feel good just to cut out all the rust back to solid metal and start with a clean slate. Have fun!

[Railroadman]

Originally Posted by wilkinst

Of course, just ask away!

If it's anything like my experience, in the very beginning it'll feel good just to cut out all the rust back to solid metal and start with a clean slate. Have fun!

At this point it's still in the early stages. First thought was to sandblast the cab first, but the bottom is so compromised it's in danger of separating from the rest of the cab so we're trying to get enough stability and integrity to allow removal. The pics in Post #8 were helpful, I had already put an X in each door but if we do try removal that's a good idea to go across the cab as well.

This is where we are so far. It's just tacked and clamped to check fit obviously, not for good. But it's a start. I'm going to have to find someone with one of these in good shape, or post a photo request on here, when I get to the supports down below. It's so far gone we can't be sure exactly what goes where!

[IMG][/IMG]