My 1970 GMC “Project Splice”

[Kronald_70GMC]

Originally Posted by gmc684x4

Nice work

I have seen cardboard as backer for bondo on rusty trucks seen a bronco where the fellow rivited the patch panels over the rust spots

My aim will be after i get a mig to make my work look close to yours
Practice will help

I seen a trick one fellow showed me make the patch and the panel trimmed close to same size tack the two together use zip disk cut at a 45 degree angle back tack the fresh cut flush make the next cut and continue until you have the patch completely flush fit finish welding and watch how much heat you drive into the panel

That sounds like a pretty cool trick. And thanks for the compliment

[Kronald_70GMC]

Spent the evening doing a much needed tidy in the shop. After that I used my rust and paint wheel to smooth up the door and half of the cab back. I also got the rocker pulled out so that I can clean it and prep for welding that in. Its really starting to look like a full cab again......Finally

[Kronald_70GMC]

Well shoot, its been damn near a month since my last post. Figured I'd better make time this evening and get some progress in. I have removed the fender and door to gain access to the inner rocker area. I spent the evening cleaning up some rust and welding up those holes where the bolts held in the cab support. I wanted to eliminate them so that the inside of my rocker will be nice and smooth and easy to clean in the future. Here's hoping that it won't be a month until I make the next post

[chewychevy67]

Looks good.

[Kronald_70GMC]

Well so much for that. Another month gone and still nothing overly big to post about. On a positive note, my dad and I managed to get my square body front end all apart without getting hurt by the springs. Now I have alot of floor space back in the shop. I have been very occupied with home renovations still and it is taking up all my free time. I have just recently removed the single door at the back of my house and replaced it with a nice set of garden doors. Im glad that is complete before winter has shown up. Hoping to make some more shop time soon.

[TA_C10]

Truck looks good just sitting there bare skin.

[cornerstone]

Originally Posted by kronald_70gmc

i have been very occupied with home renovations still and it is taking up all my free time.

there are a few of us who have been in this same boat!

hoping to make some more shop time soon.
i'm right there with ya man... Hoping for a fairly mild winter here in texas so i can get back to being productive again.

111

[Kronald_70GMC]

Well another month has gone by and tonight I decided that it was time to get another evening in. Im aiming to be back to at least one night a week on the ol girl. Tonight I have mostly got my rocker prepped and ready to weld in but im having a few issues with it fitting to the inner rocker so I will need to address that first, it also needs the usual slice and dice at the ends. Ive spent almost the whole evening playing around with panel gaps. I think that I have found the sweet spot though, it will be getting some more refinement in body work stage as well. The only gap that is not that nice is the lower door to rocker gap which is currently at 3/8". Not a big problem though as I will be re skining the lower door and can add my 1/4" to the door at that point. I even threw the cowl panel on just to see how it would line up. It appears to be wide but I'm not sure on that one yet. I also ended up having to dimple in a small recess into the windshield pillar as the front of the door was touching the cab there. I just traced the door line onto the cab and slowly chased it with a hammer and chisel until it looked right. I think it worked out nicely and I do not think it will be at all noticeable.

[Getter-Done]

Those gaps are looking good I know you will get them spot on.

Time and patience pays off.









.

[Kronald_70GMC]

Thank you sir. Im excited to get this rocker in but I can't rush or I will make a mistake. It will happen soon enough.

[Kronald_70GMC]

Well my evening did not go as planned. I was trying to clearance my door gap at the top a bit more and I blew it. I ended up running the metal too thin and now I am back to square one on my door jamb. Not too horrible though, I started to weld up my issue and it is going ok. What is horrible is my welder! I'm just losing my mind over here. The thing will not weld hardly at all like it should. I keep having the wire melt and drip off the gun before I can make contact with the metal. I think it might be time to replace this old relic. Then maybe I can actually get something done in an evening other than waste all my wire on the floor.

[TA_C10]

That sucks about your welder. It's looking good though!

[Kronald_70GMC]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

That sucks about your welder. It's looking good though!

Hey thanks man! I'm thinking my welder will no longer be a problem soon....

[Kronald_70GMC]

Well this will help me out im sure.

[Scurry67]

Originally Posted by Kronald_70GMC

Well this will help me out im sure.

Great choice! I have the same one and have been really impressed with it.
Keep up the progress!

[Kronald_70GMC]

Originally Posted by Scurry67

Great choice! I have the same one and have been really impressed with it.
Keep up the progress!

Oh man I'm VERY happy with it. I didn't get a whole lot of welding done by the time I got it all set up, but I did do a bit and I'm impressed. I welded a handle onto my welder cart so that is great.

[May70]

I have the 210mvp and it is incredible. Very happy with Hobart

[desertnick69]

I just have to say I have to hand it to you guys that have to repair the whole floor and the door pillers, You have got to have a real love for these trucks or is it just the challenge. Anyway it looks real good.

[Kronald_70GMC]

Originally Posted by desertnick69

I just have to say I have to hand it to you guys that have to repair the whole floor and the door pillers, You have got to have a real love for these trucks or is it just the challenge. Anyway it looks real good.

Thank you for the compliments, its a bit of both really.

[Kronald_70GMC]

Tonight was a good night. I got the rest of the upper door jamb welded shut as well as fixed my hole that I made the other night.

[Kronald_70GMC]

Tonight was rocker fun time. I had to make, yep you guessed it, relief cuts to accomplish the proper fit. I had one in the rocker itself and two on the lower pillar repair panel. As I had guessed, the missing curve from below the lower body line caused me a small issue. I had no backing for the three plug welds that go in that area. So I added the curve back in using two relief cuts. Looks much better now. Next task will be at the front pillar. I may have to do something along the floor as well but only time will tell for sure.

[TA_C10]

Precision.

[Kronald_70GMC]

One of these days I will have this rocker welded in. I have now fixed the fit to both pillars so the hard part is out of the way. Well maybe. I'm not sure how to address my next issue. I have about a 1/4" gap between the rocker edge and the cab floor but it is only bad like that near the front. At the rear, it sits flush. I have not decided on what to do with this issue yet. I was thinking about using some sort of a shim to get what I need but part of me wants to section the floor pan yet again to get it where I need it. What are your guys thoughts?

[Kronald_70GMC]

Originally Posted by TA_C10

Precision.

Thank you sir. Sometimes I feel like I'm going way to overboard but I just don't want to be unhappy with it in the end.

[1971Stepside]

You have came this far. Re-section the floor and make it perfect. You sound like me and if that is the case it will drive you nuts to do anything but the right thing....you are just way more patient than I am and a better welder, a better grinder, and better rust repair guy