1969 Short Wide

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by scotts62

Hey looks good!

Dont worry about the welds the filler will hide them nicely

Filler? What's filler? We don't need no stinking filler! Just kidding! yes, I know it will fill, I like my welds to look good so when I grind them completely flat they blend good

Originally Posted by brn agn

Nice work! Thanks for sharing with us. Don't get too frustrated. It will be worth it in the end.

Thanks, I will try to get back on track tomorrow.

[scotts62]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Filler? What's filler? We don't need no stinking filler! Just kidding! yes, I know it will fill, I like my welds to look good so when I grind them completely flat they blend good

Yeah i hear ya im kinda picky about it too.. if i had my way i wouldnt even have any filler

[0331grunt]

It's looking good. (Hope y'all don't laugh when you see my welds! )Hopefully get to start on it in January.

[my67chevytruck]

nice progress....

[mcbassin]

Did a little work on the cab yesterday after I found a temperary fix for my torch. The only tip I could find on Sunday morning was a mig welding tip made out of some kind of fiberglass plastic, it worked for a while then stripped out and kinda had a melt down on the tip. I picked up a new one today and got back after it. Finished the sheetmetal on the left front side. Then put a little primer down to keep it from rusting until bondo work begins, hopefully on the frame. I am going to get some strip material to chamfer the top wire gutter (thanks LFD! Hope you don't mind). I got some new rockers and pillar support from the big brown truck today.

Then made a cab dolly out of a cart out of the scrap pile. It is not the most sturdy design, but it gets the cab up where I can access the rust. Hopefully, it will be warm enough to start working the rockers tomorrow. Very slow going....it seems like the guys on here make it look like a weekend project if you know what I mean. Here are the pics:

Temporary torch tip with the broken one











NEW PARTS!

Donor cart for the Cab dolly

[mcbassin]

Hacked up the cart.

Welded some C-perlin braces.

The cab on it's new perch.

[VA72C10]

Looking good!

[Puropedo]

Diggin the cab dolly! Great job!..

[highperf4x4]

Cool. Looks good!

[mas09ts]

Lookin Sweet dude, awesome progress!!!!

[mcbassin]

Thanks for all the props guys. Kinda hard to believe we started disassembly back in August. Time flys when your as slow as me! I know I like working in my shop way more than that crawling around in the mud like we did then. If I could just add on to the east end about 20 feet to get the boat and the rest of my junk out there to store it.

[0331grunt]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

... Time flys when your as slow as me! I know I like working in my shop way more than that crawling around in the mud like we did then. If I could just add on to the east end about 20 feet ...

I completely understand this!!! Looking good, though!

[JohnC]

Man your a hole welding machine! Looks good!

[mcbassin]

Okay, it's been a week and my progress is so slow it's killing me just a little each day. The new cab dolly is doing the job!

I finished the radius on the passenger side firewall. I don't have a way to roll a lip on sheet metal so I just added an edge the slow way (welded).

Next, I started working on the passenger side rust repair. Between the lack of the proper tools and cold weather it has been a slow process.
I cut the p.o. rocker off and got into the rust. I wasn't planning on getting so deep into it, but you guys know how these "rust free" cabs go, when you get in there, it always has more rust than expected. I also didn't want to change the inner rocker so I just cut all the rust out and welded new metal in. I used rust conversion primer to cover before adding another layer. Today I ordered some of that copper weld through primer that Nuke is using on his projects. Hope to get it in thursday. I am planning to mount the door to check for clearance issues and weld it all in tomorrow (hopefully). BTW, these aftermarket parts require some "tweeking to make them fit. On to the pics:

Flimsy without the lip/flange

Lip welded

Welds ground off.

Awe the sweet smell of rust!

Rocker Removed

More cutting

Rust cut out

New Metal welded in.

Brace added.

[mcbassin]

Brace welded

Fitting the pillar

Rust inhibiting primer.

Ready for welding

Scored new to me driver side fender and some boxes of parts!

[VA72C10]

Nice work on the repairs and firewall. Fender looks good.

[highperf4x4]

cool beans!

good work too

[Puropedo]

Nice progress!....Great detail work, specially on the passanger side firewall welding job!

[0331grunt]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

I finished the radius on the passenger side firewall. I don't have a way to roll a lip on sheet metal so I just added an edge the slow way (welded).

Out of curiosity and lack of knowledge, what did you use for the lip that you welded? I am going to do a similar mod and don't have the means to roll the lip either. Thanks and it looks great!

[JohnC]

Looks good man!

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by VA72C10

Nice work on the repairs and firewall. Fender looks good.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by highperf4x4

cool beans!
good work too

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Puropedo

Nice progress!....Great detail work, specially on the passanger side firewall welding job!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by 0331grunt

Out of curiosity and lack of knowledge, what did you use for the lip that you welded? I am going to do a similar mod and don't have the means to roll the lip either. Thanks and it looks great!

0331Grunt,
Thanks!
I am using 22 Ga. sheetmetal for most of the metal work including that lip. I am using a tig welder so it is pretty easy but very time consuming. Probably twice as long as using a mig. It would be better if I could get some 20 or 18 gauge maybe. But I haven't been able to find it locally.

Originally Posted by JohnC

Looks good man!

Thanks!

[0331grunt]

Thanks. So you just cut a strip the correct width and welded it on? Could you use a flux core on that? That is all I have at the moment... hopt to get a regulator and hook up some gas, but like always~ improvise. adapt. overcome Thanks again and have a Merry CHRISTmas...

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by 0331grunt

Thanks. So you just cut a strip the correct width and welded it on? Could you use a flux core on that? That is all I have at the moment... hopt to get a regulator and hook up some gas, but like always~ improvise. adapt. overcome Thanks again and have a Merry CHRISTmas...

Merry Christmas to you and all too! Yes I cut a strip that made it right width and welded the edge to form a lip. I am getting 100% pentetration with the tig so it should be plenty strong. Yes, you can use a flux core if that is all you have. You already know the down side of this. I improvise all the time too. Notice the blue metal used for the brace on the lower pillar. That metal is heavier than the regular body metal. I had a metal tray that was the perfect thickness, so I hacked it up and made the brace. Hang in there, you have your chassis out of the weather so, you are ahead of me there. Hopefully soon for us.

[mcbassin]

Update:
Well we got a blizzard here on Christmas eve. It was blowing snow 50 mph! Thought we were in Canada for while (no offence Nuke). It is still about 40-50 in the shop but it's not too bad once you get started.
I pretty well got the passenger side done. The rocker from LMC was not the easiest to make fit. Today I got started on the driver side. Managed to drill all the spot welds out. Then got the rocker off, sad thing is, this rocker wasn't rusted at all, very solid. But, it had some heavy dents that would be tough to fix. The pillar is solid and won't need to be replaced. On to the pics:
Snow in the back yard yep in Oklahoma

Pillar welded in.

Fitting the rocker panel.

Checking the fit with a door.

Rocker welded in.

More welds

Rocker finished.

[mcbassin]

Driver side rocker

Spotwelds drilled

Rocker free.

Solid lower pillar.