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

[DD1]

Apparently I did not take a final pic, so you won't be able to see the nice hole I made in the piece just yet.

[67c10rustbuket]

Looks pretty good! Maybe try a weld backer or hole plug weld tool like this pic from eastwood. I have one that I mad at work. They are nice and keep you from blowing through the workpiece. Also the copper or aluminum absorbs heat so it helps reduce warpage. You can use a piece of scrap aluminum plate or copper tube flattened out. I use them all the time on sheetmetal.

[67c10rustbuket]

Here is the one I made. I copied a design that eastwood had but I cant find it on their website. They used a copper plate but I used a large pice of aluminum bar stock.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Looks pretty good! Maybe try a weld backer or hole plug weld tool like this pic from eastwood. I have one that I mad at work. They are nice and keep you from blowing through the workpiece. Also the copper or aluminum absorbs heat so it helps reduce warpage. You can use a piece of scrap aluminum plate or copper tube flattened out. I use them all the time on sheetmetal.

Thanks for the tip. I actually took a small piece of metal and clamped it under the holes I was trying to patch. It welded to the bottom, which is fine as no one can see that anyway.

As I said, glad I did not go with the floor first!

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Here is the one I made. I copied a design that eastwood had but I cant find it on their website. They used a copper plate but I used a large pice of aluminum bar stock.

Wow, pretty cool. I will have to check out Eastwood and your piece, and compare the cost and hassle between buying one and making one.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Here is the one I made. I copied a design that eastwood had but I cant find it on their website. They used a copper plate but I used a large pice of aluminum bar stock.

Oh, I am trying to catch up on your build. Hopefully soon I will be responding to it, but it looks pretty cool so far.

[sgaylord]

Looking good, keep on trucking. A bit of unsolicited advice that has really helped me welding sheet metal. Not critiquing your work man, just trying to help if I can. These are some of the "learn as you go" skills I learned so far in my project. You can almost see as you look at my project the exact point in time where I picked these up.

First, cut about an inch into the good metal (when possible) when cutting the cancer out, it gives you good metal to work with.

Second, make the patch piece fit as close to perfect as possible. This helps you from generating too much heat trying to bridge the gap. A small gap < the thickness of your mig wire is ok. You are using .23 wire right?

Then clean BOTH sides of the patch and original at least an inch in on both pieces (again as long as space permits), this makes for a better electrical connection for your weld and removes contamination. It takes a little longer to do this but it really helps reduce burn troughs and makes for a better weld.

Hold your trigger on your welder until you hear that really good consistent sizzle (not the pop, pop, pop sound). That lets you know you have a good electrical connection and that the metal is getting hot enough to melt the mig wire and both pieces together (penetration). That's just a second or two.

Lastly skip around to minimize heat distortion. When skipping around you will notice that the welds get a black sut on them. I use a small wire brush and clean them off before I go back over them. It helps me to see where I need the next spot weld so I don't leave gaps.

And then grinding. That's a another deal all by itself. If you want my technique for that let me know. I'm a little uncomfortable giving out this much unsolicited advice and don't want to make anyone upset.

You are going to have a sweet ride when you are done!

Steve

[DD1]

Originally Posted by sgaylord

And then grinding. That's a another deal all by itself. If you want my technique for that let me know. I'm a little uncomfortable giving out this much unsolicited advice and don't want to make anyone upset.

You are going to have a sweet ride when you are done!

Steve

Hey Steve, thanks for the advice, and don't worry about it being unsolicited. I did not post all my flaws on here just for people to tell me I am doing a great job. I am really new to welding; took a class and that's about it. So I appreciate any advice, and your tips seem like they will be very helpful.

If you have more tips about grinding, bring it on.

Thanks!

[sgaylord]

No problem, I always try to help where I can.

As for grinding what I do is a three step process.

First. I have 1/8" grinding wheels for my angle grinder that I use at a 90 deg angle to the welds to precisely grind them down to the point where they are almost level with the surface. Unfortunately this is also where you find that you didn't weld in all gaps. If that's the case you have an opportunity to fill in the missing welds as long as you have not ground down too far and made the surrounding metal too thin. Be careful not to get the metal too hot. If it starts to "blue" stop and let it cool down.

Second. I use a 36 grit roloc on an angle grinder to blend in the remaining weld with the surrounding metal, again being careful not to take off too much metal and make the surrounding area too thin. Be more careful of the heat at this point because the metal gets hot quickly and can warp in no time.

Finally. I use a 120 grit flap disk on a 4 1/2" electric grinder to smooth out the entire area surrounding the weld. If you have done things right you should not be able to tell if there was a weld. Also be even more careful at this point than the previous two to not get the metal too hot.

Patience is key here. If you get too aggressive, "scars" will show through. Nothing a skim coat of mud cant handle, but in my never ending goal to learn from everything I do, I want to make the "next" time I do a task better than the last.

Let me again say my techniques may not be the best. There are others out there that do this much better than I. I'm just saying these are my observations and appear to work for me.

Good luck and if I can help in any way send me a PM.

Steve

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Here is the one I made. I copied a design that eastwood had but I cant find it on their website. They used a copper plate but I used a large pice of aluminum bar stock.

I really did not understand this at first sight, but I checked out Eastwood's website and now I get it. I don't have the material or equipment to make what you did, although I do like that your panel is so large compared to the tool Eastwood has. I may have to order it from Eastwood, though. Seems like it will come in handy.

[DD1]

Ok, so today I made a little bit of progress... I might go back out after dinner, so maybe I will have more to report later on.

I cut out the top piece of the inner fender. I decided to hold off on doing anything until the wife came home because she is helping me with it. I attempted to shape a new piece on my own, but it did not come out very well. Now, we are thinking we might just try to repair the rusted out portion of the piece I removed. It might be easier to work on just the small piece on a workbench, than bending over the entire inner fender.

[DD1]

So while waiting for the wife to come home, I thought let's check out the outer floor repair patch I purchased. So I took it out, did a ton of measuring and re-measuring, and measuring again, and I think I have it nicely taped off at the cut points.

I have decided to take it off in sections, rather than try to cut the whole thing at once. So, first I cut the cab corner and rear door pillar out to get more access. Then I very carefully managed to separate the floor panel from the cab supports. I am actually quite impressed I did not screw this up.

The rear cab support seems like it's in pretty good shape. The front is in worse shape, but I don't think it's totally shot or anything. I plan to clean them up and put the slip on cab supports over them. I am sure some people would tell me to replace them, but it's really more work than I think I want to get into. If I was more experienced at bodywork and welding, I might have tried that.

So here is what I have done so far. There was a ton of crap inside the cab supports. Had to break out the vacuum cleaner.

I am really nervous about cutting the outer floor. Afraid I might cut it too far and create WAY more work. Hopefully it will go well. I have measured different parts of it over and over again, so I can't imagine I am off by much.

Wish me luck!

[DD1]

Originally Posted by sgaylord

No problem, I always try to help where I can.

As for grinding what I do is a three step process.

First. I have 1/8" grinding wheels for my angle grinder that I use at a 90 deg angle to the welds to precisely grind them down to the point where they are almost level with the surface. Unfortunately this is also where you find that you didn't weld in all gaps. If that's the case you have an opportunity to fill in the missing welds as long as you have not ground down too far and made the surrounding metal too thin. Be careful not to get the metal too hot. If it starts to "blue" stop and let it cool down.

Second. I use a 36 grit roloc on an angle grinder to blend in the remaining weld with the surrounding metal, again being careful not to take off too much metal and make the surrounding area too thin. Be more careful of the heat at this point because the metal gets hot quickly and can warp in no time.

Finally. I use a 120 grit flap disk on a 4 1/2" electric grinder to smooth out the entire area surrounding the weld. If you have done things right you should not be able to tell if there was a weld. Also be even more careful at this point than the previous two to not get the metal too hot.

Patience is key here. If you get too aggressive, "scars" will show through. Nothing a skim coat of mud cant handle, but in my never ending goal to learn from everything I do, I want to make the "next" time I do a task better than the last.

Let me again say my techniques may not be the best. There are others out there that do this much better than I. I'm just saying these are my observations and appear to work for me.

Good luck and if I can help in any way send me a PM.

Steve

Steve, thanks for the grinding tips and the help. I have not welded anymore since I posted this, but I expect to be at that point again soon.

[67c10rustbuket]

Cool progress! gettin into the good stuff. Thats some good advice too Steve. I blasted my cab supports because they looked good, A little pitted but still good. Then coated them with POR15 except on areas I would be welding. Your tape line looks the same as where I cut mine from here anyway, it is difficult to measure that one out. If i did mine again I would go around that hump where the front seat mounts, the replacement (mine anyway..) has the wrong pitch and was a pain to get it to line up. Later

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Cool progress! gettin into the good stuff. Thats some good advice too Steve. I blasted my cab supports because they looked good, A little pitted but still good. Then coated them with POR15 except on areas I would be welding. Your tape line looks the same as where I cut mine from here anyway, it is difficult to measure that one out. If i did mine again I would go around that hump where the front seat mounts, the replacement (mine anyway..) has the wrong pitch and was a pain to get it to line up. Later

Thanks! I actually did more cutting today. Went around the hump like you suggested. It does look like my piece might fit pretty well, but I will decide later on. I have some touch up pieces to grind off the cab supports.

The wife and I test fitted the panel and it seems to be a good match except for the hump.

I realize I may have had to cut a lot out of the back, but I needed the access to the floor, and it's pretty banged up anyway. I intend to cut a panel out of the old cab, and patch the new one.

Here are some shots of the cutting job so far. This is the first time I feel like I am Making Some PROGRESS!

[sgaylord]

You are making progress. It may seem daunting at times but keep working on it you will get it done. I could not tell from the picks but make sure you keep the cab in the door opening so it does not flex on you or you could end up with a fitment problem with your doors. Also make sure to test fit your doors before you do your final welds on the rockers.

Steve

[DD1]

Originally Posted by sgaylord

You are making progress. It may seem daunting at times but keep working on it you will get it done. I could not tell from the picks but make sure you keep the cab in the door opening so it does not flex on you or you could end up with a fitment problem with your doors. Also make sure to test fit your doors before you do your final welds on the rockers.

Steve

Thanks, Steve. I am feeling a lot better about it now. Before I started doing this, it seemed really daunting. Now I am beginning to see a glimmer of the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, the end of the tunnel in this case is getting the floor done. Putting the whole truck back together is another story.

What do you mean by "make sure you keep the cab in the door opening?"

[DD1]

So, today my friend Eric and I started to rebuild the transmission. Last week we went to some shops in NJ and picked up all the parts. We got the transmission about 95% rebuilt today. We need to go pick up a couple of springs to finish the job.

The people that messed with the tranny last tried to modify for racing, I assume. In addition to the high stall torque converter, they welded one of the holes in the metal plate under the tranny (not sure what it's called), and replaced the spring in the accumulator piston with a wooden rod.

Now, when I say "WE" rebuilt it, I of course mean Eric did it as I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to transmissions. I helped out a little, but 95% of the work was all him.

Here are some pics of the old parts and the job in progress. The last pic is from Eric showing me how the "Park" gear stops the transmission from moving.

Oh, and that's Eric installing a bushing; it's not me.

[sgaylord]

DD1
Re: Trying to make Junky perhaps just a little bit Funky...
Quote:
Originally Posted by sgaylord View Post
You are making progress. It may seem daunting at times but keep working on it you will get it done. I could not tell from the picks but make sure you keep the cab in the door opening so it does not flex on you or you could end up with a fitment problem with your doors. Also make sure to test fit your doors before you do your final welds on the rockers.

Steve
Thanks, Steve. I am feeling a lot better about it now. Before I started doing this, it seemed really daunting. Now I am beginning to see a glimmer of the light at the end of the tunnel. Of course, the end of the tunnel in this case is getting the floor done. Putting the whole truck back together is another story.

What do you mean by "make sure you keep the cab in the door opening?"

Sorry missed a word there. What I meant to say was, "make sure you keep the cab BRACED in the door opening".

[DD1]

Originally Posted by sgaylord

Sorry missed a word there. What I meant to say was, "make sure you keep the cab BRACED in the door opening".

Yeah, you did not see it in the pic because I did not brace the cab opening. I will definitely do that on the other side, and I will not install the rocker arm until I install the door. I need to put the cab back on it's real frame before I put doors on. I don't think the cab has enough support for the weight of the doors sitting on the cart I made.

How much of an issue is this likely to cause me?

[DD1]

Quick update: Got the parts I needed for the transmission. It's all done and back at my house. Gotta find or get some extra bolts for the transmission case; missing about seven. There were a bunch of bolts in my ziploc bag labeled "Tranny Parts." A few of them were for the transmission case. No idea what the others were for.

When we went shopping for the transmission parts, I noticed the shop had 3 old Chevy Trucks and one cab in the back of the property. A C10, C20, and C30; not sure what the cab was from. Most of them were so rusted that it makes my truck look new. However, I was able to buy a windshield off the guy for $40 and an old GM vintage radio for $10. I plan to put the radio in my truck as a show piece and mount a real radio under the dash.

At least now as I put mine back together, if I am missing any pieces, I have a source to go check with.

[DD1]

Oh, I also spent about 20 minutes or so grinding some of the leftover metal from the floor pan off the cab supports. Finished the job, but we had to go food shopping, so I did not have time to go further. Gotta Eat!

[sgaylord]

Yeah, you did not see it in the pic because I did not brace the cab opening. I will definitely do that on the other side, and I will not install the rocker arm until I install the door. I need to put the cab back on it's real frame before I put doors on. I don't think the cab has enough support for the weight of the doors sitting on the cart I made.

How much of an issue is this likely to cause me?

It's hard to say but I would not do any more cutting or moving the cab around that could effect the structure until you put some bracing in. It don't have to be elaborate, I used a single piece of 1x1 sq tubing. Here's a pic of how I did mine. In the second pic I brace it from side to side. That is only required if you remove the floor and cowl leaving the "A" Pillar without lateral support. I dont think you will need to do that.

One thing you will need to do is make sure you fit those doors before you weld in that rocker fully or you could have major fitment issues with your doors. FYI if you have not bought your rockers yet, go with Tri-Plus as they seem to be the better ones of the bunch. You may still need to tweak them a little to make them perfect. Just the reality of aftermarket parts.

Anyway, hope this helps. Keep up the good work!

Tranny work is something I have shied away from in the past but it's something that I have on my "bucket list" once I get up the courage..

Steve

[DD1]

[QUOTE=sgaylord;5372786]It's hard to say but I would not do any more cutting or moving the cab around that could effect the structure until you put some bracing in. It don't have to be elaborate, I used a single piece of 1x1 sq tubing. Here's a pic of how I did mine. In the second pic I brace it from side to side. That is only required if you remove the floor and cowl leaving the "A" Pillar without lateral support. I dont think you will need to do that.

One thing you will need to do is make sure you fit those doors before you weld in that rocker fully or you could have major fitment issues with your doors. FYI if you have not bought your rockers yet, go with Tri-Plus as they seem to be the better ones of the bunch. You may still need to tweak them a little to make them perfect. Just the reality of aftermarket parts.

Anyway, hope this helps. Keep up the good work!

Tranny work is something I have shied away from in the past but it's something that I have on my "bucket list" once I get up the courage..

Steve

Absolutely helps, Steve. Thanks! I will have to go get some tubing to brace the door with. It honestly does not seem like the cab has flexed at all, but I am sure it is hard to tell by looking at it. The only moving it gets is me spinning it around on the cart. I will brace it before I lift it off the cart, especially since I want to put it on the frame before I test fit the doors.

The tranny work is way beyond my skill level. I look at that table of parts and wonder how he knows where everything goes. Glad Eric looked at it though, because as I mentioned before, the way it was modified would not have worked well for me, not to mention several clutch plates were burned.

[DD1]

[QUOTE=sgaylord;5372786]It's hard to say but I would not do any more cutting or moving the cab around that could effect the structure until you put some bracing in. It don't have to be elaborate, I used a single piece of 1x1 sq tubing. Here's a pic of how I did mine. In the second pic I brace it from side to side. That is only required if you remove the floor and cowl leaving the "A" Pillar without lateral support. I dont think you will need to do that.

One thing you will need to do is make sure you fit those doors before you weld in that rocker fully or you could have major fitment issues with your doors. FYI if you have not bought your rockers yet, go with Tri-Plus as they seem to be the better ones of the bunch. You may still need to tweak them a little to make them perfect. Just the reality of aftermarket parts.

Anyway, hope this helps. Keep up the good work!

Tranny work is something I have shied away from in the past but it's something that I have on my "bucket list" once I get up the courage..

Steve

So, it looks like you removed the firewall from your cab? You really tore it apart. Are you replacing the floor as well? It looks in decent shape from the pics.