Trying to make Junky perhaps just a little bit Funky...

[swamp rat]

Progress is progress, keep at it!

[DD1]

I usually don't have a problem ordering parts from Classic Parts, but I was hoping to get my door pillar last week Friday, and it did not arrive until Monday when I was traveling for work. I get home today and open the package only to find I got the wrong part (their fault, not mine). Guess I won't be working on the door pillar this weekend, unless they want to send it overnight, which I am sure they won't.

Oh well. Mistakes happen, but it sucks.

UPDATE: I emailed Classic Parts and they responded very quickly. They are sending out the correct part. I had also asked them how many bolts came in a package I had ordered because the bag was open and I wanted to make sure I had the right amount. Instead of telling me the number of bolts, they are just sending me another set so I don't have to count or worry about it.

I don't need to send back the wrong part, and you never know - if I need a piece of metal for something, it might just come in handy.

Great Customer Service!

[DD1]

While I am waiting for the replacement parts from Classic Parts, I decided I need to find something else to do in the meantime. I turned the cab around, and went back to work on the left side.

I dropped the floor just enough to get the inner cowl panel between the floor and the door pillar. It actually went easier than I expected. Then with the help of the wifey, I realigned the rear of the floor, and with the help of a jack and jack stand, got the trickier parts of the front back together.



Here is the inner cowl panel. It needs a minor adjustment, but I should be able to do that with it in place. I really don't want to have to drop the floor, take it out, and repeat.

It is just hanging loosely in this image. It's not installed against the cab. It's actually a tight fit; I may need to shave some off with the Dremel.


I think the door pillar I installed might be a bit too far from the floor. I may have to try and bend it in place a bit. But that has to wait until tomorrow.

[DD1]

I worked on the inner cowl today and realized that the A pillar job I did on the left side was not the best. After I had the cowl panel pressed up against the floor, I saw a nice gap between the A pillar and the floor. Great job - I managed to weld the A pillar at an angle away from the cab.

Here is the gap:


I cut the A-pillar on the sides so I could adjust it. I left the front center intact so it is not completely removed. The good thing about this is I am now able to remove the cowl panel and make adjustments so it fits properly.



So now, it seems to fit well. I need to do a couple more minor adjustments to the cowl panel, but I think I can make some tack welds tomorrow.





The question I have is, is this gap supposed to be there? Did I do something else wrong? Do I need to cut the part out and get a new piece?

[DD1]

Decided that something was not quite right with the A pillar. Not 100% sure, but it could be pointing too much to the front. Decided to remove it and start again. Not sure if I will reuse the same part or get a new one. I am certainly keeping the parts stores in business.

The cowl panel is still good. Putting some weld primer on the areas that meet with the floor, then will tack in place.

[DD1]

Okay, I could really use some help here. I would like to move on front this part of the cab, but I am confused. I wrote a couple of posts ago about the gap on the side of the A-pillar. I also posted about it in the body section and someone responded that I might have cut the part too high.

I have the inner cowl panel all lined up, and drilled holes to match the holes on the floor pan.

the first pic shows as brand new in-cut part with no gap; it's way below the floor.

The second pic shows it lines up more or less properly with the gap. Am I doing something wrong?



Here is a close up of the gap. I don't see this on any of the pics that other people have shown about their pillar install on a cab.

[swamp rat]

I think as long as the arc from the inner rocker and the lower A pillar match up then you should be ok, think ahead to the outer rocker slipping over it, that will cover a lot of it up.

I would absolutely cut below that nut plate this time and remember that pic you posted with the lower A pillar dimensions, heres one, 7.5" , the other showed i believe a 3/4" dimension? (I think its posted in my build thread), bring the pic's back out on the table too then start removing loose ends

EDIT: If you can pull the inner kick panel out of the way, then get the A pillar set where the 7.5" dim is close, also check that 3/4" dim with a straight edge, clamo in place, then mark it with a sharpie on the inside, slowly start trimming away some of the excess material, refit, clamp, check , measure, trim a little more, repeat ect.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

I think as long as the arc from the inner rocker and the lower A pillar match up then you should be ok, think ahead to the outer rocker slipping over it, that will cover a lot of it up.

I would absolutely cut below that nut plate this time and remember that pic you posted with the lower A pillar dimensions, heres one, 7.5" , the other showed i believe a 3/4" dimension? (I think its posted in my build thread), bring the pic's back out on the table too then start removing loose ends

EDIT: If you can pull the inner kick panel out of the way, then get the A pillar set where the 7.5" dim is close, also check that 3/4" dim with a straight edge, clamo in place, then mark it with a sharpie on the inside, slowly start trimming away some of the excess material, refit, clamp, check , measure, trim a little more, repeat ect.

Thanks! I did not weld in the kick panel; I wanted to be able to move it and mark the new piece. I see the same gap in the photo on the top right that you posted. When I looked at Dan's photo (top left), it looks like his is all sealed up right against the kick panel (maybe he bent the metal in), but it's hard to see that side from the angle in the photo.

So, I am not going to worry about it, and will just move forward. I will leave the gap and not worry about it. As you said, it will be covered by the rocker panel. You have answered my question - Thanks!

[DD1]

While I was waiting for feedback on my A-Pillar issue, I decided to take a closer look at the bed. This is why I don't like taking things apart - I'm probably not going to like what I find.

The p/o did a really good job hiding stuff with the bondo. While I figured I would find something like this, I had no way of telling from looking at the truck from the top or under the bed.

I removed the right side wheel tub and this is what I found...

Overall view:


Close up:


Wheel Tub:

[DD1]

I think I made some progress on the door pillar today. We will see tomorrow when I try to weld it. I took Mike's advice and lined it up over the part and made a mark. I used a white marker to outline it, removed it, fitted it again, and them used a yellow marker to make sure it was still in the same position. Checked to make sure it was 7.5" away from the top mounting hole, and then went to cutting.

Tomorrow I hope to weld the cowl panel and the door pillar in place. It would be great to move on from this.

Here is the marked up piece.


Next using the Dremel and the angle grinder I cut it up as carefully as possible, going after small pieces at a time, rather than cutting the whole thing at once.


A bunch of small touch up cuts and grinding on the part, and this is what I am left with:


I may have to do a little banging and pressing to make it line up, but I think it's pretty good overall. Checked for the 7.5" to make sure it was still good (did this repeatedly throughout the process), marked the outline of where it sits on the floor pan for reference tomorrow, and marked the holes to drill for the bolts.

[DD1]

Ok, so today I got to use my spot welder that I purchased around 3 years ago and have used maybe once to probably do something stupid on the old cab that I ended up junking. On the plus side, I (think) I actually got something done today, so please tell me if you see anything wrong before I weld everything together.

To my credit, I actually read the manual, watched a video online, AND PRACTICED, before I used the spot welder on the truck. That practice part is a big deal for me - I tend to not have the patience for it and end up screwing stuff up.

I installed the kick panel and the door pillar. Still have to weld everything up for good.

Here is the spot welded kick panel. The nice thing about the spot welder is that before I got used to it, I held some of the welds a bit long, and one of them burned through a tiny bit. However it still holds the weld. I did a quick tack weld over the spot welds to fill in any gap.

In the 4th photo below I filled in part of the gap on the kick panel and did a quick tack weld.


After I was done with the kick panel, and waiting around to find any excuse not to do the door pillar (because then I am beyond the point of no return), I finally tack welded the door pillar. My welding sucked, but what else is new? I need to spend a day practicing on scrap metal. I want to work on the R/S Cab Corner next. That should be interesting; I really can't afford to screw that up.

[swamp rat]

Are you going to try and spray any kind of Rust Mort or Phosphorus acid Or Ospho up the A pillar? If you are i would do it while you can access the inside. Its Up to you of course to do this, many don't. I did mine with a Pump up sprayer and i cut the brass wand and put a length of clear plastic hose between the trigger and nozzle. The chemical you use has to be a liquid of course.

Your spot welder welds on the kick panel to firewall do look to be way too hot on the amperage, the rest looks good to me.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Are you going to try and spray any kind of Rust Mort or Phosphorus acid Or Ospho up the A pillar? If you are i would do it while you can access the inside. Its Up to you of course to do this, many don't. I did mine with a Pump up sprayer and i cut the brass wand and put a length of clear plastic hose between the trigger and nozzle. The chemical you use has to be a liquid of course.

Your spot welder welds on the kick panel to firewall do look to be way too hot on the amperage, the rest looks good to me.

You are right about the spot welds. When I let up on the power early, it was not long enough, so I over-compensated. Even though I practiced, it was tough getting the right amount of time down. I hit the inside with a quick tack weld as well just to fill it in a bit and give it a little extra support, I should probably do the same on the outside. It is holding together very well as it is now.

It was still way easier using the spot welder, than trying to spot weld with the MIG. But, I really do need to practice my welding more.

That is a great idea that you did with the pump sprayer. Wish I had thought of something like that. I do plan to paint the inside. I purchased a can of Eastwoods' internal frame coating which comes with a flexible nozzle spray tube. I am hoping to re-use the nozzle in the future with other cans of paint assuming it does not get clogged and damaged. I used it once before and it works pretty well from what I can remember; I just can't find the old can or spray nozzle. If it does not work out, your pump sprayer fix is my Plan B.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by DD1

You are right about the spot welds. When I let up on the power early, it was not long enough, so I over-compensated. Even though I practiced, it was tough getting the right amount of time down. I hit the inside with a quick tack weld as well just to fill it in a bit and give it a little extra support, I should probably do the same on the outside. It is holding together very well as it is now.

It was still way easier using the spot welder, than trying to spot weld with the MIG. But, I really do need to practice my welding more.

That is a great idea that you did with the pump sprayer. Wish I had thought of something like that. I do plan to paint the inside. I purchased a can of Eastwoods' internal frame coating which comes with a flexible nozzle spray tube. I am hoping to re-use the nozzle in the future with other cans of paint assuming it does not get clogged and damaged. I used it once before and it works pretty well from what I can remember; I just can't find the old can or spray nozzle. If it does not work out, your pump sprayer fix is my Plan B.

Yep i have a can of that too but was planning on pulling my visors and spraying it above the windshield, but tape the crap out of any seams to keep any mess at bay.

[DD1]

Has anyone had any issues with the fender mount reinforcement not lining up properly, and does it matter? Since I am using an aftermarket door pillar, should I get after market reinforcements?

The holes for the bolts line up okay, but when they are lined up the large hole is not lined up. Should I just make the large hole larger? Should I get the part aftermarket? Is this indicative of my making a mistake with the door pillar?

Or should I just line up the large hole and drill another hole for the top bolt?



This is with the bolt holes lined up.


This is with the large hole lined up, but the top bolt hole is off. Maybe I should have taken this photo from the back of the pillar - well, trust me the top bolt hole is not over the top bolt. I'll edit the photo later maybe.

[DD1]

Got the internet access back, so I edited this post.

Working on the cab corners. Taking a dinner break and thought I would post this. Our tv and Internet is down so I can't post more than one pic from my phone anyway.

My friend suggested I check the door and see how well it lines up. It lines up okay, it's a bit too close in the upper right hand corner. I messed with the adjustments; but it's hard trying it by yourself. Took it down and will try again after the other stuff is done.

Not my area of expertise (then again none of this stuff is); please let me know if you see anything worth mentioning.

UPDATE:

Here are the close up pics of sections of the door. I need to get someone to help me adjust it properly. When the rocker panel is ready to go on, I'll do it again.

The upper right is definitely too close. When I pushed the door back, it messed up the left of the door.


Here is the lower section.


With the help of the wife, I cut out a section of cab corner. There is still tape in the photo because originally I was going to use the entire part. I decided to go with the advice I got on this forum and other people and cut the part to fit the cab cutout, and not cut the cab to fit the part. Can someone explain why the latter is a bad idea?

She was supposed to come and help me mark where to cut the part, but "In a few minutes, I just ate," turned to "I'll be there in a little while," which turned to me sitting in the garage twiddling my thumbs waiting for her. I gave up and called it a night. I don't think she wanted to go out in the rain.

[DD1]

The wifey came through for me today and helped me get the Cab Corner marked and cut. I am actually surprised at how well it worked out.

I read on another post that it's a good idea to install the door when you do the cab corner to make sure it's lined up well. I will probably give it a shot. I have to weld and grind some more of the door pillar before I can install the corner.

She marked it while I held it, and then she taped over the line. Then I cut it nice and slowly, taking my time. I started using the 3" air cutter instead of the grinder. I don't think it spins as fast, and I am able to control it better. Plus since it's vertical, I am closer to the part being cut and can see it better. For me, being two-for-two on cutting parts is a big deal.


It needs some minor adjustments and grinding, but it seems to be pretty good. I have to figure out how to clamp it in place. Maybe using screws is a better way to keep it together? I'll search some more to see how other people did theirs.

[DD1]

I did some more welding on my A pillar today. There were some spots that had to be sealed up. I switched to 0.24 wire because I ran out of the 0.30 wire, and the 0.35 wire I had was not working well.

I found that the 0.24 seemed easier to use. I had a much better time welding with it. The pillar is not finished by any means, and I am not done grinding it either. Some of my original welds were so crappy, I had to grind down the knobs to make sure they were not hiding a hole somewhere (they were).

I also need to do a little bit of work on the left side (2nd pic) where the small piece of metal is not quite lined up right, and I need to bang in the vertical seam on the right side that attaches to the kick panel. Also need to maybe use the dremel grinder on the left side since I can't get a regular grinding wheel inside the curve.

It's by no means perfect, but as a friend of mine would say, "it's good enough for government work."

[swamp rat]

Absolutely take your time on the grinding, no reason to rush.

Can you put your front fender back on or is the radiator core support moved?? I had a miss alignment problem with my reinforcement plate too so i put the fender on to see what it looked like before i did any further mods, as long as the hole in the A pillar is centered enough then modify the reinforcement plate to fit in the dish and oblong the bolt holes as necessary, as long as its captured by the bolts, washers and nuts it will be fine.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Absolutely take your time on the grinding, no reason to rush.

Can you put your front fender back on or is the radiator core support moved?? I had a miss alignment problem with my reinforcement plate too so i put the fender on to see what it looked like before i did any further mods, as long as the hole in the A pillar is centered enough then modify the reinforcement plate to fit in the dish and oblong the bolt holes as necessary, as long as its captured by the bolts, washers and nuts it will be fine.

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking about lining up the fender. The core support is installed, but the cab is not on the frame, and it would be a pain to get it there right now. Maybe I can have someone hold it in place while I check the hole?

What did you decide to do with that truck you were thinking of buying?

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by DD1

Thanks for the feedback. I was thinking about lining up the fender. The core support is installed, but the cab is not on the frame, and it would be a pain to get it there right now. Maybe I can have someone hold it in place while I check the hole?

What did you decide to do with that truck you were thinking of buying?

I cant tell you if holding the fender will be helpful to check the alignment of that hole on the lower A pillar, the door will have to be in place and adjusted as well as possible then install the bolt at the top of the fender, try and get the gap close and the body line in place, then maybe install the second bolt, then hold it in place while you check the hole, but this is where geometry kicks in, a little adjustment can move that lower hole a long ways so its hard to know for sure until everything is back on the frame with new cab and core support mounts properly installed.. Also be sure to check your outer rocker fit against the new A pillar as soon as you can if ya haven't already.

Per the door adjustment, i have found that if i keep the bolts to the cab barley snug, just enough to hold a little surface tension, i was able to take a 10" long brass drift and a hammer and make small adjustments to the hinges one tap at a time. Also the top forward edge of the window channel on mine is also closer to the cab A-pillar when the door is in its best alignment, i don't know if this is due to the skin being installed a little crooked or if its just the window frame itself.

Per the cab corners, you can use strong magnets to hold it in place. How i would do it is first drill a couple holes into the back support that you painted grey, then place the cab corner on and use the magnets to hold it into place along the top (another option instead of magnets are the butt welding clamps you can buy at harbor freight) then transfer the holes to the new corner with an automatic center punch or pencil and drill them out, then use sheet metal screws and screw it in place, once its set i would figure out the spot weld spacing along that support and drill them with 1/8". Actually when i spot weld i like to drill thru both panels with a 1/8" but then over size the side i'm going to weld from to about 1/4" with a spot weld drill but if you don't have a spot weld drill you can just remove the corner and drill the pilots up..

http://www.harborfreight.com/spring-...punch-621.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-piece...mps-60545.html

I have to do the same with my wheel wells too and I'm not looking forward to it .

I think you will find the the .023 wile will make a huge difference

I never contacted the guy, i have been too busy, i would love to have it just for the parts alone but I don't think i could ever piece that one out, way too nice, i may call sometime in the future to see if its still available when things slow down for me.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

I cant tell you if holding the fender will be helpful to check the alignment of that hole on the lower A pillar, the door will have to be in place and adjusted as well as possible then install the bolt at the top of the fender, try and get the gap close and the body line in place, then maybe install the second bolt, then hold it in place while you check the hole, but this is where geometry kicks in, a little adjustment can move that lower hole a long ways so its hard to know for sure until everything is back on the frame with new cab and core support mounts properly installed.. Also be sure to check your outer rocker fit against the new A pillar as soon as you can if ya haven't already.

Per the door adjustment, i have found that if i keep the bolts to the cab barley snug, just enough to hold a little surface tension, i was able to take a 10" long brass drift and a hammer and make small adjustments to the hinges one tap at a time. Also the top forward edge of the window channel on mine is also closer to the cab A-pillar when the door is in its best alignment, i don't know if this is due to the skin being installed a little crooked or if its just the window frame itself.

Per the cab corners, you can use strong magnets to hold it in place. How i would do it is first drill a couple holes into the back support that you painted grey, then place the cab corner on and use the magnets to hold it into place along the top (another option instead of magnets are the butt welding clamps you can buy at harbor freight) then transfer the holes to the new corner with an automatic center punch or pencil and drill them out, then use sheet metal screws and screw it in place, once its set i would figure out the spot weld spacing along that support and drill them with 1/8". Actually when i spot weld i like to drill thru both panels with a 1/8" but then over size the side i'm going to weld from to about 1/4" with a spot weld drill but if you don't have a spot weld drill you can just remove the corner and drill the pilots up..


I have to do the same with my wheel wells too and I'm not looking forward to it .

I think you will find the the .023 wile will make a huge difference

Wow, that's a lot of information. Thanks!

I think my next steps will be:

1. Finish the R/S cab corner & remaining work on pillars
2. Work on the L/S A Pillar & kick panel
3. Work on the L/S B Pillar
4. Work on the L/S cab corner
5. Put cab on frame
6. Test fit doors and fenders.

I did check the rocker panel and it seems okay. I think I may still buy a new rocker panel to fit. I have a bunch that I bought off someone on this board, and I did not realize that most if not all have already been cut off a truck. I think I would like to test fit with a complete panel. I have to double check and make sure none of the ones I have are complete. However, the ones I have are good enough to do a quick fit check.

I had forgotten about the butt weld clamps. I have those already, and will use them for the cab corner. The only question I have is whether the side of the cab corner is spot welded to the side of the floor pan? I know the back of the cab corner is, but not sure about the right side that sits over the rear door pillar.

Thanks for the spot welding tips; I will have to try it out. I do have a spot weld drill (love it); I used it to remove the spot welds on the back of the cab. I already have a bunch of holes in the cab where I removed the old spot welds and plan to make new ones. I also want to use my spot welder to make additional spot welds in between them.

It helps to hear that you are having similar issues with the top of the door (misery loves company), and it's not just me or something I am doing. The doors also don't belong to that cab; they are from my original cab which may or may not be part of the problem.

With the wheel wells for the bed, I might get a cut piece from a board member, although they do sell the aftermarket wheel arch brand new (LMC surprisingly has the best price I can find). It can't be any harder than doing the A pillar, just going to unbolt the bed side and do it off the bed.

Thanks for the tip on doing the door adjustment. That will really help.

[swamp rat]

Yes it is spot welded to the rear of the floor pan, probably about 8 places but not sure exactly

[DD1]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Yes it is spot welded to the rear of the floor pan, probably about 8 places but not sure exactly

Thanks, but I mean on the side of the floor; not the rear. Not sure if that's what you mean. Right under the Rear pillar on the side.

[DD1]

I got home late today, so did not really get to do anything with the truck. I went in the garage about 9pm, and started to mess around, but it was way too hot with the door closed, and I did not feel like getting bitten by bugs coming inside if I left it open.

A few days ago, I received my down pipes from JEGS. The description says they are made for trucks with the angled ram horn exhaust manifold, and the go from 2" to 2.5" which is perfect.


Of course nothing can be simple, as I found that on the R/S, the pipe is too close to the starter and the brake line prevents it from moving to the right. I very gently moved the brake line under the frame. Hopefully I managed not to damage it.