Fixin Dixie - 66 Short Bed Fleetside

[msg]

Originally Posted by 84blaze

Nice work so far. That rust repair seems so time consuming nice to see youre staying motivated on the project.

Thanks and glad you stopped in! It is time consuming and all I can do is keep putting one foot in front of the other and try not to get overwhelmed.

I have been making some more progress, this time getting the inner rocker patch welded in place




Then I started on getting the floor section patch going with a cardboard template.



Then lined it up best I could on the patch panel



Then I did a rough cut and placed it in



The top portion that has to bend under to line up with the firewall was a pain. I just had to make marks and try and bend it into shape.




Finally after much trial and error and cussing I got it tweaked and positioned.



Then I scribed an area from underneath where the brace lines up and painted the POR15 in place to keep the rust at bay in the brace this time.



Then I drilled my spot welds locations out



Then welded it in place, took a full day



The next step is to weld in the pillar since the door hinge plate I have to repair is inside the pillar and needs to be welded in before I can deal with the kick panel. So again, I have to weld in the holes the manufacturer pre drills that dont line up and paint it over with POR15.



and then welded it in and drilled out the holes that actually do line up with the brace.



And thats where I ended up today. Gonna get the hinge plate brace welded in next and start on the kick panel.

[Grizz1963]

You are a brave and talented man.

I have all that pain ahead of me, as I discovered while dismantling my truck just how much filler, rust and demons it was hiding.

I will be using your thread as a guide when I get started on my bodywork

[RDrancher]

Good job on the repairs and a big thanks for taking the time to post so we can follow along. Subscribed to this one.

[msg]

Originally Posted by Grizz1963

You are a brave and talented man.

I have all that pain ahead of me, as I discovered while dismantling my truck just how much filler, rust and demons it was hiding.

I will be using your thread as a guide when I get started on my bodywork

Happy New Year Grizz and thanks for checking out my build! Hopefully I'll be able to keep up the pace and have a useful thread for you

Originally Posted by RDrancher

Good job on the repairs and a big thanks for taking the time to post so we can follow along. Subscribed to this one.

Glad to have you along for the ride RDrancher! Ill post an update now that catches things up from the holiday break.

I took a few weeks off and spent as much time as possible in the garage without upsetting the balance at home. My wife is very supportive and understanding but I dont want to push my luck. I got back on that pillar on the passenger side and began with the door hinge plate trying to get it welded in. I learned a few things during this part of the repair.

POR15 is pretty flammable stuff
It was a constant fanning of flames as I put down the welds. I guess most paints wil flame up and smoke a bit. If I had been able to sandblast the areas I used POR15 on I would have used the epoxy primer instead in hind sight.

Dont use a small drill bit for spot/plug welds
I have been using a 15/64 drill bit on my other patch panels but the little door hinge plate seemed like a smaller bit size would be fine to tack it in place. I tacked it in with the smaller drill bit hole and then tried getting the pillar a bit more flush with the inner rocker. I had to pound a bit and then I heard a clank. The hinge plate cage had popped off and fell. I'm so glad though it happened before I had welded over the kick panel patch or it would have been trapped in there.

This is the link I had above to MP&C's how to on drilling and prepping for plug welds. Somehow the link above got messed up, hopefully this works.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/t...er-wtf.818596/

So in the end I got it drilled out properly and got it in and touched up with POR15



The moved on to the kick panel. Of course I had cut more than the patch panel had on it.




So I took some scrap and welded it on to extend the patch and cover the gap.



Then took the peice I cut out and referenced it for thr spot welds to drill out



And then after alot of scribing and snipping I got it in place and started tacking it in



Then moved on to the firewall corner spot



I took some flat sheet metal scrap and did the same bit as I did on the other side.





Next was that spot on the cab edge that someone dented up. I took more flat scrap and fabricated a patch





Then welded and finished it out, also spent time grinding out the body filler in the one dented in hole for the trim clip. That area too a hit somewhere in the past and I hammered and dollied it back to shape. I'll need to re drill the trim clip holes in a bit.

[msg]

Back in November I did a lot of head scratching on the base of the back of the cab and what I would do here. I just hated having those pin holes and knew that there was a good bit of rust behind there and they dont make a patch panel for this. Least not that I could find.





So I decided to drill out the spot welds and take the snips and cut out the worst stretch and plan to scrub out the junk and re use it.



A bunch of dirt, sand, and rust all fell out as I went.



I took a wire wheel and ground out all the rust and dirt. Then ground down the spot welds, then prepped it with the degreaser, then metal ready, and then painted POR15.



Then I hammered and dollied to straighten, and wire wheeled the cut out piece and then came a lot of filling in holes with the mig.



Some spots were so eaten with rust I had to cut out a scrap piece and try and get a match to the contours



Many days later I got to this point, taking the salvaged piece...



Then I very slowly worked my way down keeping the patch flush as I tacked it in.



There was a stretch that was straight that I fabricated vs salvaged. That profile was tricky but I found a show molding strip that matched the profile. So I used it to hammer the shape.



Then clamped it to the edge and hammered the edge that wraps around the bottom



Then welded it in



I still have more to deal with towards the end where the cab corner patch just wont fill it all in, but here is where I ended up.



And also the driver side pillar I finally welded in




I hope I can keep things going, nice to see progress.

[msg]

Switched gears a bit and started on the driver side cab corner repair. First I cut out the area of the patch that I needed and had some trouble getting it to match the contour. So I cut a template from the piece I cut off and used it as a guide to pound the patch contour to match.



Then I clamped it in and of course I needed a little more of that base edge to fit across.



So I got another piece of scrap from the floor pan and made a panel that has the contour for the base edge of the back of the cab,





In the end it looked like this



and I cut a snip from that for the driver side bit I needed, tested out good.



Ill post more later. Gotta get some rest now.

[msg]

Forgot to post a pic of the floor bracket repair where the inner rocker covers it up, I had to clean that brace out of the rust and debris before. So now that I am trying to get the cab corner installed, I needed to first patch that spot up. Took the snips and cut out a patch, painted the back portion with POR15 and welded it up.



Im hoping to get to the outer rockers soon, but that means hanging the doors. To do that I need to get the hinges rebuilt. I had last year started taking a swing at removing the pins and did get 2 of them out. The other two that I tried but failed at I sent to a garage that helps me out. It took a while for them to get it done but I picked them up today. He told me they were abnormally stubborn but a lot of heat and pounding got it done.



On the outer rockers I had started another thread when I placed the driver side outer rocker on to check out the fit and it looked a bit long. My concern was that the pillar repairs I did weren't lined up too well. The best way to know is to hang the doors, which means I have to get the door hinges repaired

Heres a link to that thread.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...24#post7824524

[LostMy65]

So much appreciate your detailed postings and pictures.

[dodgiesdad]

What a lot of work in taking pictures of everything! Not to mention the rust repair. I did a lot of the same things on my cab and it took me nearly a year, including fixing the roof skin, and above the windshield. Your progress looks great, keep up the good work.

[msg]

Originally Posted by LostMy65

So much appreciate your detailed postings and pictures.

Thanks and let me say how awesome the thread you have on your 65 is! I havent finished it all but Im on p 11. So cool!!! Amazed you found it and the story all around it from how you got it originally to how you found it again.

Originally Posted by dodgiesdad

What a lot of work in taking pictures of everything! Not to mention the rust repair. I did a lot of the same things on my cab and it took me nearly a year, including fixing the roof skin, and above the windshield. Your progress looks great, keep up the good work.

Thanks dodgiesdad! I wish I could get this all done in a year like you did Taking me a long time but having you guys cheer me on really helps stay motivated, thanks for subscribing!

The only thing I can share today is that I bought some White Lithium grease for the door hinge repairs I want to get done tomorrow, in fact I started this thread below asking which is best to use. So I just got a reply from another meber saying maybe #2 EP (Red Chassis Grease). Maybe a few others will chime in and steer me straight before I put the wrong grease in there.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...=1#post7825382

The the most exciting thing is the deluxe steering wheel I bought arrived today!!!! But as Im sure you all have noticed I aint even close to installing it yet. Just like me, getting way ahead of myself.

[dodgiesdad]

msg, it took me a year to get done with just the cab. It took me 3 years to do my truck. I am impressed with your progress.

[clemdaddy]

just read your build and I like how you figure out the way to fix a problem and then jump in and get it done. The photos and explanations you do are a guide for others as well as a scrapbook for you to revisit when your truck is done. I think you should be very proud of your efforts and one day soon you will be driving a beautiful and well built truck. Congrats...

[JohnJ@RideTech]

Coming along nicely!

[msg]

Originally Posted by Vinceg

Looking good msg! Nice work it's awesome to see your progress. I'm looking forward to seeing how your rockers line up once you get those doors mounted. I don't know how many times I felt overwhelmed thinking about working through all the rust repair myself. Your thread will help many in the future. I thank you for taking the time to do such a good job documenting your work.

Originally Posted by JohnJ@RideTech

Coming along nicely!

Really appreciate the feedback! At first I felt overwhelmed too, still do a bit at times...but I find if I just keep plugging away I focus on the now vs the when. So since last post, I noticed that the front pillar was missing two spot welds to keep it in place so I drilled out 2 spots and welded it.
Then I finished painting the rear pillar I modified.



Then I got it in place, what I found helped was threading the 2 bolts in to secure it to the inner rocker and then clamped it all together and started welding it up. Here is how it looks now, oh and since the back side of the pillar was accessible since the cab corner is still out I added some extra strength. Ill just leave it since Ill never be looking at it.



Then I placed the outer rocker on to see how it might fit and did a happy dance.



So now a question, in order to mount the door It seems like I need to remove the bracing. Any way or reason not to remove the bracing and fit the door?

[Vinceg]

Nice work. There is no reason for the brace's at this point. Once you have the bolts in the inner rocker your good to go. Tighten down your bolts and everything will be secured to the inner rocker. Mount the door and see how the gaps are and line the rocker so the gaps are the same front to back. Once the rocker is on you can work on the cab corner. Line the bottom of the corner to the bottom of the rocker. Looking good!

[msg]

Originally Posted by Vinceg

Nice work. There is no reason for the brace's at this point. Once you have the bolts in the inner rocker your good to go. Tighten down your bolts and everything will be secured to the inner rocker. Mount the door and see how the gaps are and line the rocker so the gaps are the same front to back. Once the rocker is on you can work on the cab corner. Line the bottom of the corner to the bottom of the rocker. Looking good!

Thanks Vince, I had planned to move onto hanging the door and remembered that I botched that door repair a while back. So I need to redo it, this time with a full door skin vs the base. What happened to me was I had lower door rust and thought I could just cut across the base amd replace it, but I had applied too much heat and because of how low the repair was I couldnt get to the base of the door on the inside to planish. Here is the thread on that.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=690647

Even though the base edge of the door would be the same when I repair it, I think the right approach is get the door fixed first and then hang it. Sound right to you guys?

Until then I went ahead and started a firewall/windsheild/dash rust repair that for a while I wasnt sure how I would approach it. I just knew that to cut holes and try and fix things without removing that air vent side panel was not gonna work. But then I thought maybe I can just cut out a section big enough to deal with the trouble spots and not have to drill out all the spot welds around that entire panel. The area I cut should be accessible from behind to planish as I use my mig spot for spot. The top of the panel to the left has an opening so I will be able to stick my arm through there and hold the dolly while I smack it from the top as I go to keep it straight.

First issue I was having was that I have been using a harbor freight spot weld remover hole saw tool and I usually have trouble with that. Even with a punch to mark a pilot hole to sit the tool in it always seems to get away from me. Or I end up drilling too far and go right through both panels. So I read this thread about spot weld cutters

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=727222

In that thread MP&C and Martin cover tools and methods and for me I think that the Wivco is worth a shot. So I ordered one but it wont be here for a few days. Until then I looked at MP&C's approach of using the grinder, but since I need to salvage the top piece I'm cutting I used my dremel with a tiny disc instead of a 3 inch disc. Worked out good.



After I got that top portion off I taped off an area of the under side that was rusted out where the seams meet and cut it out. Then of course there is an area in the windshield channel that decayed into the back of the dash, so I used the dremel and cut it out, hoping that I can get it patched up properly. That whole area where this rusted out in that seam really bugs me, it looks like the seam is supposed to act as a channel for the rain to run down and ultimately rot out. I guess seam sealer failed?



From the inside there is a brace that I went ahead and removed cause its all rusted from behind. So I have since wire wheeled, de-greased and used metal ready to prep it. In fact all the rusty spots I did this too as well and plan to POR15 them up next.

[Vinceg]

Wow you do have your hands full! That is going to take some patience dealing with that area. Also sorry about the doors. I learned a lot from my mistakes as I went also. Just think at how good at all this stuff your going to be when it's all done. When you think that some of these areas were unprotected bare metal it's impressive that they held up as well as they did. Be careful with that POR-15. I went with a weld through primer when I was working in areas that needed protection and still had welding required. IMO the POR-15 is a better protection but I found that burning it gave me really bad headaches. I also worried about what it might be doing to my welds. The bottom of the door can be a bit of a tricky repair because of the relation to the rocker. A guy did a door repair on my brother's 69 c10 with out looking at the door gap (door was removed and on a stand) with the rocker. Long story short he has a huge door gap in the bottom of his passenger door. It really sucks when your paying what you think is a pro and they butcher your stuff. Have you tried mounting the doors to see how the gap was before you cut out all the cab structure? I'd mount the door and just see where everything is at at the moment. If it looks good proceed with the rocker instal. Then when you redo Your door repair you will have something besides measuring to line it up with. I hope what I'm trying to say makes sence. Just finished working nights not a lot of sleep.

[MP&C]

Originally Posted by msg

......Then I placed the outer rocker on to see how it might fit and did a happy dance.



So now a question, in order to mount the door It seems like I need to remove the bracing. Any way or reason not to remove the bracing and fit the door?

One method of making a "door friendly" brace system is to use cut off pieces of angle in the door jamb area to get you farther inside the cab, then add the cross braces to the inner portion. Position the angle so it doesn't interfere with a door closing...




If you want to bolt the door back up for positioning panels, add your new bracing first and then remove what you have now that is interfering.




Now as to the rocker panel. the unfortunate part of using a cab dolly is that all your adjacent panels are missing. The cab corner is gone, so we have nothing to match up the rear of the rocker, the fender is not installed so same for the front. The door is missing to adjust gaps. You could hold the fender up temporarily, it would help to get a more accurate location for the bottom of the rocker so that it better aligns during reassembly. If the opposite cab corner is still intact (or your previous profile templates were marked with bottom of rocker location) you could use that as a measurement for the rear of the rocker. If both cab corners are removed, you may have better luck comparing to the front of the truck bed (except step side) And just like everything else made reproduction, nothing is perfect. If you decide the rocker may need some "tweaking", it's much easier to do if it's still loose and you can access the back side.

[msg]

Originally Posted by MP&C

One method of making a "door friendly" brace system is to use cut off pieces of angle in the door jamb area to get you farther inside the cab, then add the cross braces to the inner portion. Position the angle so it doesn't interfere with a door closing...If you want to bolt the door back up for positioning panels, add your new bracing first and then remove what you have now that is interfering.

Thanks for this Robert, but I may have slipped up on the driver side. I removed the bracing since the door posts were completed and the bolts were installed before I cut the bracing off. On the passenger side Ill be giving the angle iron a try.

Originally Posted by MP&C

If both cab corners are removed, you may have better luck comparing to the front of the truck bed ..If you decide the rocker may need some "tweaking", it's much easier to do if it's still loose and you can access the back side.

Unfortunately both cab corners are removed. I had planned to hang the fender and get the front part of the rocker aligned. Looks like Im gonna be needing some luck getting the door and rear cab corner lined up and gapped properly.


Until then, here is my update. My time has been spent trying to get the driver side firewall/windshield area finished up. I had switched to the SEM weld thru brush able paint vs using POR15 to cut down on the flare ups and smoke clouds in the garage. Maybe its overkill but did it anyway. Got it all welded up and planished as best I could in the tight spot it was in.




I prepped the inside of that whole area down to the kick panel vent with a degreaser, Ospho, then water to neutralize. Then I mixed up the epoxy primer and brushed on 2 coats, but on the edges I used the SEM stuff. I brushed it all into the kick panel side vent cavity. Then after waiting a day I was going to use some seam sealer on the overlapped part I repaired. It was a tube of seam sealer I had used back when I made repairs to the bedside panels, but the tube was already solid. So that sent me on a search for what seam sealer to use. After reading some threads on this site I decided to go with a 2K instead and ordered it along with a dispensing gun. Now Im just in a holding pattern til it gets here.



In the meantime I had to make rust repairs to the top portion I cut out. I had a scrap piece that had the right angle I needed so I cut from it, and with the help of some magnets I tacked the repair parts I cut with the snips and had hammered to get the right arc needed.



While waiting on seam sealer I dealt with the gas tank spot where someone I guess used some screws to try and pull a dent out. I hammered outward/upward from the inside with a large rounded flat head screwdriver and also the rounded end of a combination wrench. Then hammered and dollied and welded in the holes.

[graymage]

looks like a lot of work, takes a lot of talent, good job

[Alberta65]

I feel you pain friend looks like you are making some big progress in the battle on rust! Keep fighting the good fight my friend I'm subscribed

[msg]

Originally Posted by graymage

looks like a lot of work, takes a lot of talent, good job

Thanks Graymage, it takes a very understanding wife too. Ive spent way too much time in the garage but I am determined, to a fault sometimes.

Originally Posted by Alberta65

I feel you pain friend looks like you are making some big progress in the battle on rust! Keep fighting the good fight my friend I'm subscribed

Thanks for subscribing Alberta65! Rust is so mean. I'll do my best to keep up the fight!

Since last entry I have been continuing the fight. Went ahead and repeated the cut out resto on the passenger side this time. There was a good bit of rust that opened up the upper dash that I felt I had to make the cut. But, what I did different this side was so not worry about the overlap seam and just patch the panel area as continuous. That saved me the effort of 2 panels that overlap and the seam to deal with. So I took cardboard and found some more scrap metal and cut out a patch.



I didnt take any pics of the in progress part, but here is what it ended up looking like and then I painted it with epoxy primer. I also fixed the rusted out windshield seam area.



Also the part I cut out of the firewall had some rusted out spots along the flange so that had to be fixed.



But this is what took most of this weekend, the windshield wipe motor mount opening. I really wasnt looking forward to this, the spot is hard to maneuver in. Pretty holed up with rust so it had to be done. I tried the self tapping sheet metal screw approach but dang.. it didnt help me like I had hoped. Ultimately I had to cut out the section, get the cardboard out and trace out a patch.




The center hole was a concern, I wanted to make sure it was aligned right and the right sized hole. I think I got it right, the hole I was surprised that I was able to use the snips to get cut out. You can see the little staggered pattern that the snip for snip motion created.

Now its a second coat to apply of epoxy primer on the left side in the air vent area as well, then I will try out the 2k seam sealer stuff I bought and then weld up the cut out areas I did. Thats all I have for now, later on.

[msg]

Had to take some time off to deal with a few life curve balls. Started things off with the driver side, I really wanted to get the rocker panel started so I put the door on and its fitting pretty good.








There is though an issue with the lower right corner of the door bowing out.
If I apply some pressure with my hand it tightens up to be more flush, but I recalled from the original pics I took of alignments before I disassembled that this was already a prob.



Original pics






I may start another thread on what to do about the bowing, I hope I can tighten up these panels as I go.

The rocker panel though once I got the door hung wouldnt fit under the door no matter how I angle the door and tried to slip it up underneath.

The issue with that rocker also is the length is a bit too long. I was looking at pics to see if the base of the door width should be the same as the width of the rocker panel so the gaps line up right. Looks to me like that is whats is supposed to happen, so I am thinking to cut the rocker in half and take nearly 1/4 of an inch out of the center. Hopefully it will help the fit and match the width of the door better. Hate to do it really, what a PITA.!!!

[Vinceg]

Hey msg,
Good to see that your back at it. Hope all is well. As far as your rocker goes. Don't cut it in half just yet. The rear portion where it attaches to the rear pillar looks good. The front on mine was the same. I had to slit that upper rocker portion and hammer it in nice and tight. Just the upper portion. This is where your going to want to get some self tapping screws. Fit the rocker into place. Hold it in place with the screws. Put your door back on. Check your gaps on the door all the way around. In your pictures it looks like your door is adjusted back (closer to the rear of the cab) this will make the rocker look longer than it should. With the door on find something to support the front fender. Fit it in place. It should line up with the rocker along the bottom. It should be touching the rocker and at the same time line up the front door gap. I don't know how many times I had this stuff on and off my truck while I was doing mine. Your door also looks like it might be a little on the low side. This could give you problems rubbing on the rocker itself. Once the door and fender are in place you will be able to see how the rocker is for length. I cut one of mine thinking it was to short. I added about 1/2 inch. When I put the door and fender back on my lines were a mess! I had to take the 1/2 inch back out. I was fitting it to the cab and my cab had sprung a bit due to not properly bracing it before I started cutting things out. You really need to kinda get a feel how all the parts fit together as a whole. Sorry to be so long winded.

Vince

[msg]

Originally Posted by Vinceg

Hey msg,
As far as your rocker goes. Don't cut it in half just yet. The rear portion where it attaches to the rear pillar looks good. The front on mine was the same. I had to slit that upper rocker portion and hammer it in nice and tight. Just the upper portion. This is where your going to want to get some self tapping screws. Fit the rocker into place. Hold it in place with the screws. Put your door back on. Check your gaps on the door all the way around. In your pictures it looks like your door is adjusted back (closer to the rear of the cab) this will make the rocker look longer than it should. With the door on find something to support the front fender. Fit it in place. It should line up with the rocker along the bottom. It should be touching the rocker and at the same time line up the front door gap. I don't know how many times I had this stuff on and off my truck while I was doing mine. Your door also looks like it might be a little on the low side. This could give you problems rubbing on the rocker itself. Once the door and fender are in place you will be able to see how the rocker is for length. I cut one of mine thinking it was to short. I added about 1/2 inch. When I put the door and fender back on my lines were a mess! I had to take the 1/2 inch back out. I was fitting it to the cab and my cab had sprung a bit due to not properly bracing it before I started cutting things out. You really need to kinda get a feel how all the parts fit together as a whole. Sorry to be so long winded.

Vince

Thanks for the tips Vince! I will be onto the door/rocker again soon because I finally got the 2 cut outs on the upper front portion of the cab repaired!!!! The driver side needed that seam sealer applied first on the overlapped panel I did on that side that I was covering back up. I used the 3m heavy bodied seam sealer 2 part epoxy. Had to invest in the gun to apply it, but Ill be getting use out of it along the way.