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

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

hmmm. That is NOT the original rocker panel, it should be spot welded to the inner rocker across the bottom and it looks like it is either taller than the inner rocker or the inner has been trimmed up when they removed the old rocker but it looks like they drilled out the old spot welds where you see all those holes across the bottom. the front looks decent but you will see the real story once you take the rocker off. i would say just the rear half but i dont want to judge it without seeing the "a pillar". that is the lower front section of the pillar that is hiding behind the front of the rocker. It still looks better than what I started with. Surprised it isn't worse for a NYer land of the rusty trunk lid.

Thanks! I did notice the outer rocker was replaced. And it does not look to me like they did a good job of it. It looks like it was placed over the pillar instead of attached to it. I will have to order a new outer rocker panel and then see what the deal is. I don't want to cut off the current one until I have a new one to size up.

The front of the cab floor looks okay to me as well, although the middle does have those holes in it where you could see the light shine through. I think I will probably go for the whole floor section. At least this way, I will know it is all solid, even if it is more work.

I'll send more pics when I start to take it apart.

[67c10rustbuket]

Progress report please!?!? You snowed in up there?

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Progress report please!?!? You snowed in up there?

Hey, thanks for reaching out. No, we are not snowed in over here. We have actually had a rather mild winter, although it has fluctuated from 80 degrees to low 30's to mid 50's. Of course, very few of the 80 degree weather actually happened on the weekends and if it did, I was probably out of town.

I have been really busy between work, some volunteer work I do, some other stuff, and the welding class I was taking. I finished the welding class a couple of weeks ago, and taking the advice of the teacher as well as several people on the board, returned the Flux Wire welder I purchased and exchanged it for a MIG/Flux Welder.

Of course, that leads into new issues, such as my having to add a 220 volt outlet in my garage, which is not an easy task since it is not attached to the house. I need to switch out the 12 gauge wire in the garage to 10 gauge and am hoping I will be able to make the switch without too many problems.

I am looking forward to getting the welder up and running and making some progress on this thing. The only thing I have done since my last post is strip down the original cab so it is ready to be removed from the frame. The only thing left to remove is the windshield (which is almost done), the back window, and the steering column which is removed from the gear box, but not from the cab.

I was in Kansas City for a weekend in early March and stopped by the showroom for Classic Parts. Pretty cool setup they have. It was nice to be able to see some of the body panels in person before actually buying them.

Thanks for checking in. I hope to start posting again soon. On the plus side, I have not been spending money on the parts board or anywhere else for a while, so I have not had to hear my wife groan in quite a while.

[DD1]

Ok, so my friend from TX was in town yesterday and we decided to play with the truck a little bit. Real curious to see what you guys think of this job we did. The problem we decided to tackle was the gap between the floor pan and firewall on the "new" cab I purchased.

Now, I thought the best way to go about fixing this was to simply cut out a piece from my old cab and weld it into the new cab with the seam all nice and perfect. Both of my friends who I discussed this with think I am better off heating the metal and banging it into shape. So that's what we did. Let me know who's idea you think would have been better.

So, first I am going to re-post the BEFORE photos... then i will post the after photos showing the work we did.

[DD1]

Now here are the AFTER photos. we used an acetylene torch and banged the metal back into shape as much as possible. Then we clamp the floor board and firewall together from the outside using Vice grips. Then we drill holes in one side of the metal and tried to spot weld it into place. It seems to be holding, and I think we did a pretty decent job.

I think next I will fill the remaining gap with seam sealer, or maybe place a small strip of metal in between and weld it in place.

As I am uploading the images, I realize I don't have a good AFTER shot. The shot with the hammer in it is after we did some banging and bending, but not a final shot. So I included some shots of us working on it - my friend was doing the drilling (I kept shooting right through both pieces of metal) and I did the welding.

I will go shoot a final AFTER shot and post it in a few minutes.

[Jimbabwe]

Nice Job!

[67c10rustbuket]

Good job on the repair, That cab looks pretty slick especially for being in NY. Congrats on the welder upgrade. I upgraded my setup too but all I had to do was buy a kit and get a bottle since my hobart was made with the option of adding shielding gas. It is so much more user friendly than flux core on sheet metal. I had to replace that part of my floor and I am going to put a few short beads across the top of the seam as well because every one of these trucks I and my friends have owned the spot welds were separated. Later

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Good job on the repair, That cab looks pretty slick especially for being in NY. Congrats on the welder upgrade. I upgraded my setup too but all I had to do was buy a kit and get a bottle since my hobart was made with the option of adding shielding gas. It is so much more user friendly than flux core on sheet metal. I had to replace that part of my floor and I am going to put a few short beads across the top of the seam as well because every one of these trucks I and my friends have owned the spot welds were separated. Later

Thanks! The repair job is nowhere near perfect and to be honest, I am not 100% sure I would be comfortable driving it like that. What I wanted to do all along, and I think I am still going to do this, is cut a section of the floor from my original cab, and replace the damaged part of this cab with it. Hearing you tell me about it separating does not make me feel any better.

My theory is that if I cut and weld in a piece of metal from my original cab floor along with part of the firewall, retaining the original seam between the floor and firewall, that is probably better than what we already did. What do you think?

The work has been intimidating me a bit, but I have finally brought myself to see that it is only the floor and cab corners, and not really that big of a deal when you really think about it.

I did discover that there is a little more work than I thought, although it is not surprising, and I am going to post with photos in a minute.

Working with heating the metal to bend it has been a learning experience, and my friend and I got to try some stuff we have not done before, so it was pretty cool, even if I am going to basically cut out everything we did.

I am learning that welding the truck and practicing welding on scrap metal are two very different things as you will see in my next post.

[mcbassin]

Nice project. Oh man, I love me some rust just kidding, me and old man rust have gone round and round the last 4 months. I feel your pain. It looks like you did upgrade with the new cab. By the way these old trucks weren't built to last 40+ years. So, we give them new life. Subscribed.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Nice project. Oh man, I love me some rust just kidding, me and old man rust have gone round and round the last 4 months. I feel your pain. It looks like you did upgrade with the new cab. By the way these old trucks weren't built to last 40+ years. So, we give them new life. Subscribed.

Yeah, the new cab is much better than the original. Gonna try and work on the floor over the next few weeks. I am new to welding so it will be a slow go, but the job will hopefully get done.

Now that it's getting warm, looking forward to removing the old cab and putting the engine and tranny onto the frame. Had a 350 rebuilt that I picked up from someone on Craigslist. Another friend of mine is rebuilding the TH350 tranny.

Hopefully I will have some new progress pics to post soon.

[DD1]

Ok, so I removed the passenger side rocker panel, and found out in the process of removing it that I had cut a bit too high. I cut into the rear door pillar where the rocker panel is attached. Not entirely my fault as I was cutting along the prior botched weld line that somebody did in the past. When I cut the rocker a bit lower, it fell right off. I did a few tack welds to keep the cut piece of the door panel in place. I don't think I did a super job with the weld, but after grinding down the knobs, it seems like it was enough to hold it in place.

Fortunately, I already have some parts that I ordered when I thought I might tackle the other cab.

It looks to me like someone welded an inner rocker panel over the original rocker panel.

After reviewing everything and coming up with some sort of plan, I think this is what I am going to do (not necessarily in this order):

• Replace the passenger side edge of the floor.
• Replace the front right section of the floor pan, preferably recycling from my original cab, instead of sticking with the repair I did.
• Replace the lower part of the front door sill.
• Replace the cab corners, again recycling from the original cab.

Ok, here are the pics.

If anyone has an opinion on whether I should replace the back outer floor area and the rear pillar, or just work on the front I would love to hear your thoughts. The back of the floor is pretty solid. But as you can see from the photos, behind the rocker panel in the back is pretty rusty. It's still pretty solid, but rusty.

[67c10rustbuket]

My suggestion....

remove the A pillar (outlined in BLUE)

cut it on the RED line and trim the replacement part to fit. do not cut above the red line because there is a sheetmetal cage (outlined in GREEN) with one spot weld (YELLOW circle) holding the plate nut (outlined PURPLE) that your hinges bolt to. If you cut through that you will have to do some serious reconstructive surgery from the inside as I did and that is a pain in the butt.

you will need to remove the 4 bolts to the cab support. and possibly a couple more spot welds near the cab support bolts IF they are still holding together.

Save the removed piece to mark/drill the new A pillar patch, or use the fender reinforcement if you have those on either cab. It is on some later cabs and bolts through the front two pillar to cab support holes and reinforces the lower fender mounting hole on the inside (outlined BLACK)

for the rear pillar I would blast it and see how structurally solid it is, The repair piece for that is terrible....

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

My suggestion....

remove the A pillar (outlined in BLUE)

cut it on the RED line and trim the replacement part to fit. do not cut above the red line because there is a sheetmetal cage (outlined in GREEN) with one spot weld (YELLOW circle) holding the plate nut (outlined PURPLE) that your hinges bolt to. If you cut through that you will have to do some serious reconstructive surgery from the inside as I did and that is a pain in the butt.

you will need to remove the 4 bolts to the cab support. and possibly a couple more spot welds near the cab support bolts IF they are still holding together.

Save the removed piece to mark/drill the new A pillar patch, or use the fender reinforcement if you have those on either cab. It is on some later cabs and bolts through the front two pillar to cab support holes and reinforces the lower fender mounting hole on the inside (outlined BLACK)

for the rear pillar I would blast it and see how structurally solid it is, The repair piece for that is terrible....

Thanks, man! That is really helpful. I actually started to cut it yesterday, and the red line is just about where I made the cut. I will have to check and make sure I did not cut into the "yellow" spot weld, but I really don't think I did. I was just trying to avoid cutting more than I need to; I did not realize that the spot weld for the plate nut actually went down so low.

I am going to try and finish cutting it out today, so hopefully I can post some progress later.

I will check on the rear pillar. I actually did order the replacement part for the rear pillar, but I will have to figure out a way to blast it as you said and see how strong it is. I don't have a blaster, but first I will try sanding it to see how much rust comes off.

Now I have to go print your picture, mow the lawn, and get cracking on the truck. Thanks!

[67c10rustbuket]

no prob, I measured mine and the spot weld is 1" from the bottom of the bottom hinge hole. I just guessed that dimple was it that i circled yellow. It looks like it should be a little higher. Later, gotta Mow and write some essays then on to my truck this eve!

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

no prob, I measured mine and the spot weld is 1" from the bottom of the bottom hinge hole. I just guessed that dimple was it that i circled yellow. It looks like it should be a little higher. Later, gotta Mow and write some essays then on to my truck this eve!

You were pretty much right on the money. I had cut just a pinch below that dimple, so I am okay. Unfortunately, I did not cut the straightest line in the world, but I will smooth it out with a grinder.

Got the piece off. I do have the reinforcements, although it's attached by a spot weld, which I need to work on breaking off. My outer floor and rear pillar (which I might not be using based on your advice) should be here on Tuesday.

Looking forward to finally getting some progress by next weekend!

[67c10rustbuket]

Post up some pics when you get the front A pillar off, then we can talk about what to do as far as the floor. There is usually significant rotting behind that front pillar that is the deciding point for replacing the floor piece. one piece at a time

I question the rear pillar because it is hard to tell from pics if it is just flaky rust/pitting or structural on the rear. mine looked like light pitting but i decided to remove it anyway in doing the whole floor edge. When I removed it yanking on a partially connected spot weld the section I was removing cracked it in half. it was severly rotted on the back side. see pic (front of driver side pillar)

This may have just been a result of my super human strength I will check in on you later this eve.

[DD1]

OK, so I removed the front pillar from the truck. Sliced a little further than I would have liked towards the front. But I am replacing the piece most likely anyway. I will tack weld it back in place tomorrow so it does not fall off.

I included a couple of pics with the light shining behind it to show how many holes are in the outer floor area.

It seems like the repair patch is a bit bigger on the lower right, the round part, than the original piece. Maybe I should grind it down?

[67c10rustbuket]

Yikes, looks likes maybe the front floor piece is needed. There is a lot of light shining through there!..There is a bit of extra steel on the A pillar around the fender mount hole as I noticed on mine but it isn't hurting anything so I left it alone.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Yikes, looks likes maybe the front floor piece is needed. There is a lot of light shining through there!..There is a bit of extra steel on the A pillar around the fender mount hole as I noticed on mine but it isn't hurting anything so I left it alone.

Pretty much what I figured. Ordered the outer floor panel. Should be in on Tuesday. Next weekend we will try and replace it without screwing it up and getting annoyed.

Will post more as I move along.

I was taking a look at your thread. looks like you were replacing all the stuff I am working on. I like you 59 chevy wagon. Have not seen that before.

[DD1]

Since I don't have a sand blaster, I took a paint remover wheel from Harbor Freight and applied it to the rear pillar to see what the metal looks like. I really like these wheels, except that they wear out extremely quickly, and at $5 a pop, that can get expensive.

Anyway, the metal looks in pretty good shape, except that there is a small piece missing due to rust, and when I cut into the rocker panel, I cut into the pillar as well. At first glance, I really don't understand how you cut off the cab corners without cutting into the pillar.

I will wait until my replacement pillar arrives, and either repair part or all of it.

I was really impressed that I was able to remove the screws on the cab support without too much effort. I was expecting them to be rusted together and have to cut it off.

Does anyone know what the bracket in the parts tray is for? It was one of those things where I put it aside thinking I would bag and label it in a little while, and never did. I was working on prepping the cab for removal, so I would guess it has to do with the steering column or master cylinder, but I truly can't remember.

[Street Smart]

They look like the came from the steering column, by the "rag" joint.

[sgaylord]

Keep up the good work. You are really building those welding skills now!

Steve

[DD1]

Originally Posted by Street Smart

They look like the came from the steering column, by the "rag" joint.

Thanks. As I thought about it more, that's what I was thinking. Glad to hear someone else thinks the same.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by sgaylord

Keep up the good work. You are really building those welding skills now!

Steve

Thanks! I have not had the chance to do a lot of welding since my class ended. And I have learned that welding on the truck is very different from welding a piece of scrap metal. Once the parts come in, I will have a chance to build the skills a lot more.

[DD1]

Okay, so after starting off with a really lazy Sunday morning, I finally got motivated to do some work. First, I wanted to modify my air compressor. I am going to add another tank that someone gave me so they will work in tandem. As it figures, I did not have all of the right fittings, so I moved on to the truck.

Now, common sense took the better of me, and this is quite unusual; I usually go head first into stuff and get in trouble later on. I decided that instead of doing my first real welding since my class on the floor pan, I would practice on something that is more forgiving, and to some extent expendable.

So, I decided to do a small patch job on part of an inner fender. I cut a piece of patch metal from an inner fender that I purchased but will not be using, and it's not worth it to pay to ship it back.

In the attached pics, you will see my progress. I went to my friend Eric's house to start the job, because he has a bench grinder and I have not mounted my bench vise to my work table as yet. I cut and fit the metal, and he was going to just do a couple of tack welds with his flux wire welder. Then he ended up doing a lot of tack welds, and sort of doing a good part of the job for me.

Took it back to my house, and tried to patch up the remaining parts that needed work. I had to put a piece of metal on the back of some holes as I was only making them worse. In some cases I tried to "fix" a small hole, and ended up making a bigger one. But hey, that was the whole point of doing it this way - to get used to using my welder and get some practice. I stopped around 8pm after making one final hole in the fender.

Here are the pics. They should be in chronological order. The pics when I was working on it alone are in the next post.