My LQ4/T56 build thread

[Low Elco]

No need for a torch. it's pretty common to have to splay them open a bit. Bad part is you've hard welded in your back cab corner. Lotsa times you have to "tulip" them open at the front. Slice with your zip wheel along all the ridges at the front top side of the corner, anywhere it touches on a vertical plane. tip the petals back until your front drops where you want it. tack it all in and hang your door. Line everything door wise up with the door jamb and case and lower body line. See where you're at. Lotsa times you have to slice the rear curve of the upper rocker as well. Tack and move rocker till you line up with door bottom and cab corner. View all patch panels as a close approximation. If you're halfway where you want it, start tacking. weld up the gape in your tulip.

Gap Welding Tip: Lay your gun down until you're aiming your wire on a very shallow angle at the face of the cut, not perpendicular to the panel. This will throw the heat into the meat of the panel, not just the edge. Pop your trigger to build material. I've welded up BIG gaps this way.

Hot Tip: while you have your door in, go to the top and lay a standard Sharpie against the cab and trace onto the door. Your gaps should be pretty close, but where you're tight, you'll leave a mark. take the door off and slice right down the mark favoring the door side. Then weld the door edge back solid. Wha-la, nice door gaps.

[ChuckLee]

Originally Posted by Low Elco

No need for a torch. it's pretty common to have to splay them open a bit. Bad part is you've hard welded in your back cab corner. Lotsa times you have to "tulip" them open at the front. Slice with your zip wheel along all the ridges at the front top side of the corner, anywhere it touches on a vertical plane. tip the petals back until your front drops where you want it. tack it all in and hang your door. Line everything door wise up with the door jamb and case and lower body line. See where you're at. Lotsa times you have to slice the rear curve of the upper rocker as well. Tack and move rocker till you line up with door bottom and cab corner. View all patch panels as a close approximation. If you're halfway where you want it, start tacking. weld up the gape in your tulip.

Gap Welding Tip: Lay your gun down until you're aiming your wire on a very shallow angle at the face of the cut, not perpendicular to the panel. This will throw the heat into the meat of the panel, not just the edge. Pop your trigger to build material. I've welded up BIG gaps this way.

Hot Tip: while you have your door in, go to the top and lay a standard Sharpie against the cab and trace onto the door. Your gaps should be pretty close, but where you're tight, you'll leave a mark. take the door off and slice right down the mark favoring the door side. Then weld the door edge back solid. Wha-la, nice door gaps.

Thank you very much for the time you spent teaching a novice. All of what you said helped and made sense to me. My one major question at this point is what to do with the inner rocker panel height because without the outer rocker on, the inner rocker touches the door bottom. I see what you mean by already having hard tacked in the cab corner. I already have to replace the door bottoms on both sides of the truck because they are roached. Should i just tack my outer rocker in place as low as i can using the tulip method as described knowing that it won't allow me to close the door and then fix that problem when i cut the doors up? I could just shorten the inside of the door "cup" area at the bottom to make up for the problem with the "too high inner rocker". The other option is to somehow lower the inner rocker a half inch before even messing with the outer rocker fitment. Basically, there's no way to make the rocker fit with any method until i address the height of the inner rocker since that's what the outer rocker sits on. The only way around this problem i see is shortening the inside of the door cup

What you think?

[gage78]

It's a little late now but a trick to getting that sound deadened off is to set a few bricks of dry ice on it for a few minutes, then whack it with a mallet, it will shatter like glass and come right off

[Low Elco]

Originally Posted by ChuckLee

Thank you very much for the time you spent teaching a novice. All of what you said helped and made sense to me. My one major question at this point is what to do with the inner rocker panel height because without the outer rocker on, the inner rocker touches the door bottom. I see what you mean by already having hard tacked in the cab corner. I already have to replace the door bottoms on both sides of the truck because they are roached. Should i just tack my outer rocker in place as low as i can using the tulip method as described knowing that it won't allow me to close the door and then fix that problem when i cut the doors up? I could just shorten the inside of the door "cup" area at the bottom to make up for the problem with the "too high inner rocker". The other option is to somehow lower the inner rocker a half inch before even messing with the outer rocker fitment. Basically, there's no way to make the rocker fit with any method until i address the height of the inner rocker since that's what the outer rocker sits on. The only way around this problem i see is shortening the inside of the door cup

What you think?

The inner should be lining up with the kick in the front and the little curve down flange in the back. The door should be outboard of all this. If you still have a side together, measure how far it is from the skin to the cab structure at the front. Hang a fender, if you have to. My bet is you're too far in on your door at the bottom. No biggie you can move it out at the bottom hinge. Basically, the vertical planes should not be crossing between the door and the inner. Your flange for holding the weatherstrip in on the outer rocker, that should tell you how far out your door needs to be. its easy to jumble the placements of all this, so relax. you're gonna fit up a lot. tacks, sheetmetal screws and Clecos are your friends. Do yourself a huge favor and read the crusty rusty leaky squeaky thread and look at the metalwork there.

[ChuckLee]

I tacked in place the outer rocker. I really appreciate the help guys. I was able to get the door cup clearancing the inner rocker and outer rocker via hammering.

Here's the door and fender in their somewhat close to proper place...I'm not going for a show truck here, so I suppose i'm happy with the gaps for now.
Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

Alignment in and out seemed to be easy........
Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

Until I realized the front of my outer rocker is in way too far, ugh. This pic is exaggerated because the angle and also the bottom bolts are not even in yet on the fender or the bottom of pillar.
Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

I don't know what to do about that right now, any ideas would be much appreciated. Sometimes the best thing to do is to quit. I quit on that till someone gives me a good idea and some encouragement.

Moved on to the drip rail on roof. Passenger side looked a little swiss cheesy but really wasn't that bad actually.
Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

Used fiberglass to fix this area
Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

then smoothed the whole drip rail with some seam sealer.
Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr

Was curious how bad the rot is on my passenger door.....so i started rippin into it with the dye grinder....
Untitled by FlickrAccount83, on Flickr
there was a hunk of body filler the size of 2 golf balls in the bottom corner. I was wondering why the truck always seems to lean to the right!
Not sure what options are out there for metal replacements for my door, but i would think there is something easy out there.


Lot of work to do, but I had fun in the nice weather. Hope all you guys in Florida have gotten out of dodge! Irma is knockin!

[builtbyKane]

That's crazy. Truck looked really slick when you first got it.