Rat repair.

[rgunlock]

Not looking too bad so far. Hope your luck holds on the other side as well. Good to see you getting after it.

[swamp rat]

Got the back two corners braced, used a couple of the gas tank mount holes on each side rather than weld to the back or floor of the cab, do the fronts tomorrow.

Was just going to weld on a couple simple cross braces (front one side to rear on the other side) but i thought the bracing may get in the way when doing the work. wish i would have saves bracing pictures to plan ahead.

[swamp rat]

Bracing done passenger door off as well. I have the complete rocker off now but pictures don't show it. The rear 5" of the inner rocker looks pretty good but not sure how far back i should cut yet. The A pillar lower will have to be chopped, not sure if i can get away with cutting the very bottom portion or if i should go further up about 1/2" lower than the bolt holes. flipped the kick panel pic for easy viewing..

[DWilbur]

Hi Swamp rat
good to see your back on it. you can get patch panels for the bottom of the A pillar I replaced both of mine. As for the rocker panels drill out all the spot welds and replace the hole thing not worth patching part of it.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by DWilbur

Hi Swamp rat
good to see your back on it. you can get patch panels for the bottom of the A pillar I replaced both of mine. As for the rocker panels drill out all the spot welds and replace the hole thing not worth patching part of it.

Thanks for the reply!

Yep, I have a set of Key parts A pillar repair panels already, but i was reading one of our local guys posts (30 years of body experience on these trucks) and he said Tabco makes the best A pillars and cab corners so i decided to order both today and will wait for a comparison.

The whole rocker, inner and outer plus a section of floor and kick panel are all getting cut out and replaced, still have to investigate the rear cab corners but they look pretty good. I got a section of floor out today but not all of it yet, ran out of time today so no pictures.

The bad news: We had a few gusts of wind last night and about 1:30 am i heard a crash.. well the wind tipped my hood with a stack of 1/4" plywood behind it over and it smacked my trailer pretty hard and put a couple dents into it, sigh, it was a perfectly good hood, but at least its reparable..

No pic's today.
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[rgunlock]

That's too bad about the hood SR. I know exactly how you feel. I spent a LOT of time repairing dents in my cab roof that I created with my original method of lifting the cab. Glad to hear its repairable.

[swamp rat]

Heres a couple pic's of the destruction, i mean de-construction LOL!

Unfortunately the front driver cab support is going to have to be replaced so i got to get on line and order them.

Still undecided how far back to take the cab floor, i should have blasted it before i braced the cab, but i did do a quick blast just to get the scale off, right now everything passes the ice pic test but there is some pitting. i traced out the possible cut line and roughed the support plate around the cab bolt. But still considering only going back far enough to do the support.

Anybody that's done this want to chime on i'm listening.

[swamp rat]

Gotta work today so nothing much done, made a couple floor cuts today is about it, but i was able to find this long lost thread late last night and its gonna be a lotta help

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=607099
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[swamp rat]

Well more cutting and fitting today, nothing seems to go fast and i'm learning now un-accurate the stamped A-piller lower replacement sections are. Still have to spot drill the support plate out then get the front cab support out. Really glad the cab corner rust was minimal. And school of hard knocks, when i braced the cab i forgot about test fitting the door so i'm going to have to come up with some more bracing and weld it to the inside then cut out the stuff that is in the way.

[swamp rat]

Got new bracing welded in and the bracing that was in the way cut out on the driver side. Did a little work on the area just below the high beam switch. Waiting for a couple tools and the repair parts.

[rgunlock]

Looks like you are fully committed now! Just be very patient about the fitting and cutting and you'll be fine.

[swamp rat]

Originally Posted by rgunlock

Looks like you are fully committed now! Just be very patient about the fitting and cutting and you'll be fine.

Thanks for the vote of confidence!

[swamp rat]

Still whittling away little by little, i have seen the inaccuracies in the floor pans in other builds. when i align the cab mount dimple this stiffener bead is not aligned. But the dimple in the picture is getting cut out thankfully, right now its just for roughing and alignment purpose.

Not sure who makes this floor pan thanks to sticker on sticker on sticker....

I guess just get all the mismatch in the as close as possible and weld it up, but i'm nowhere close to that yet.

Biggest confirmation i need right now is i am assuming i need to cut the outer flange off the floor pan and butt weld or flange weld it to the inner rocker? Because the floor pan flange is not even close to being square or at the same angle as the floor support flange..

To confirm the order of assy from outer cab support:
Outer cab support flange, Inner rocker, kick panel, then outer rocker.

I'll be reading more threads tonight as i get time.

[swamp rat]

Haven't had much time the last couple days, today i found a bit of a problem with the inner rocker i'm trying to decide how to address, i posted a thread in the body section.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=697074

I have been slowly cutting the panels down to get them close, now i'm trying to decide if i should flange in some of the areas, assuming the flange would go to the underside of the floor then i know i cant flange the whole thing (unless there is something i'm missing)

I'm still waiting on my two Tabco orders, i thought one of them would show up today but no dice..

[DWilbur]

Creating a flange around the edges is the best way to go. I learned the hard way after watching Sky finish my metal work. It helps prevent warping and makes a stronger connection.

[skyjgmc]

figured I better sub up since Ive been reading your thread for a while. I really like the new wheels, those are my favorite for this body style.

[swamp rat]

Thanks DWilbur and Skyjgmc, Thanks!

[swamp rat]

Well here's something i fought getting the stock front cab support free from that channel at the cab mount, there are 3 small spot welds right below the little strap loop that i think is a bolt guide? anyway it took a long time to get that little piece out but i got it, i donno maybe i should have just cut that little strap off to save some time.

Before i started removal i measured the angle of the inner channel and its about 5 degrees to the cab support.

I position one of the cab supports (universal from Tabco) into place and held my inner rocker, A-pillar and inner kick panel all together , i have the outer support flange nested to the rocker and this is the space at the inside.... wow what a gap!

Anybody know if the Tri-Plus supports fit better?

[BossH0G]

Hi swap rat, like what you done so far, keep up the good work. I'm excited but waiting patiently to see more.

[BossH0G]

Boy that was fast

[swamp rat]

Thanks Boss!

[swamp rat]

So i have spent my life trying not to beat on stuff with a hammer, at work that runes parts

But sometimes ya just gotta say what the heck and start swinging, flattened the inner flanges, marked and re bent them, took a couple try's but got it close enough, then the top plate would not nest properly so i had to spread the legs a little and tap it down with a hammer a bit, the outer flanges had some crown so i had to beat that in as well, I test fit everything looks pretty good.

I have to cut a little bit of the floor out at the firewall and put a patch in so i bent a piece of .050 then called it a night so i could watch the second half of the Superbowl, Go Denver!

Tomorrow i hope to have the patch in before work, then if i have time i got ta think about how to flange some of the floor.

On a side note, I'm running outta Vice grips!

[DWilbur]

Harbor Freight has a air tool that can punch holes and step the edge of the sheet metal. I bought one for punching holes to spot weld in my repairs. It's slow at stepping the edge but get the work done.

[mcbassin]

You are doing a good job of making terrible fitting parts fit. Keep up the good work. I understand your frustration level with the aftermarket parts.

[swamp rat]

Thanks Mike!

Well slow progress, nothing seems to happen fast with me LOL! as soon as i got started i had to stop and make a trip to the hardware store for a swivel air fitting as my straight fitting would not clear my bracing..

Got a couple assy pic's, looking at the inner rocker you can see my latest woops... I trimmed the front a little short... I should have also waited on trimming the inner kick panel too cause i trimmed it before i did my slice cuts and hammer work on the relief of the inner rocker and that changed how the two parts index.

Best part about doing something new is its like an extended Christmas, except i gotta pay for the goodies.

OK i have a question: Is it common to have to trim the bottom of the inner rocker?? I did not trim my stock inner rocker and you can see about 1/4" difference.