56 Chevy (RIP)

[Snake72]

Work continues on the cab. The last rust repair is above the windshield on the interior side, I could never figure out why this area was so rusty, it doesn't seem like a place for water to collect. After cutting into it, I found out why it rusted so badly. It was absolutely packed full of mouse nest, mouse skeletons, peanuts, sudflower seeds, etc. The whole top portion of the windshield frame will have to be replaced but the rest of the frame is perfect.

Also noticed this red and blue paint on the bottom of the windshield frame that was under the gasket, is this a factory paint marking for something?

[Snake72]

Progress. The upper windshield frame repair was not my favorite, a lot of fitting that had to be precise for the windshield and gasket to sit and seal correctly. But its done, and came out pretty well. I ordered both the inner roof patch panel and outer roof skin support panel. The hardest part was drilling out and cutting the spot welds free from the outer roof skin without damaging the roof skin itself. I cut an oversized section from the inner roof and elected to butt weld the patch on the sides but spot weld the upper seam to hopefully avoid warpage along the long top cut. A little filler will cover the overlap. Prior to welding, I treated the surface rust inside the roof and used weld through primer on all overlap surfaces.

Also, without a rotisserie, I needed a way to flip the cab up to clean and prime/undercoat the bottom of the cab. Came up with a simple extension off the front of the wooden dolly I'd made. Simply tip the cab onto the front firewall and support from the rear. Super easy, one man can lift the cab and it balances perfectly on the firewall, but I still used a brace to keep from tipping back down.

[Snake72]

I'm sure someone has done this method of cab flipping before, but in case someone needs a cheap way to flip cab by yourself, cab is surprisingly light.

[dagnabbitt]

Wow, great work.