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

[67c10rustbuket]

Originally Posted by DD1

One of the pieces I purchased is the front floor section for both the passenger and drivers side. I noticed the replacement panel includes a small section of the firewall and eliminates the seam between the floor board and firewall.

My question is would it be a viable option for me to cut out a piece of this panel (I don't want to cut my entire floor up), and basically eliminate the seam altogether on the passenger side by attaching the panel to the firewall?

What up D, Nice air conditioner Motor looks nice! I finally got my wife in the garage this eve using a die grinder. on the floor piece I have seen several people do exactly as you said. Personally I wanted to do mine as Chevrolet did so I took my floor to work and slapped it in a press brake to make the flange. Personally i think the flanges between the firewall and floor add a little strength especially when the aftermarket floor pans are thiner than factory. Maybe you could leave the flange on the firewall and just overlap the floor pan on top of it ? seen that done many times also. Seems that would give it a little more strength there in my head anyway.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

What up D, Nice air conditioner Motor looks nice! I finally got my wife in the garage this eve using a die grinder. on the floor piece I have seen several people do exactly as you said. Personally I wanted to do mine as Chevrolet did so I took my floor to work and slapped it in a press brake to make the flange. Personally i think the flanges between the firewall and floor add a little strength especially when the aftermarket floor pans are thiner than factory. Maybe you could leave the flange on the firewall and just overlap the floor pan on top of it ? seen that done many times also. Seems that would give it a little more strength there in my head anyway.

Thanks, Dan!!!

You know a friend of mine also suggested overlapping to add strength. I was concerned about moisture and rust between the two pieces, but maybe I don't need to be?

My first try is to use a piece I cut from the floor board of my original cab. (see pics below). I basically cut out the seam, and then trimmed it down. I did this because I wanted to make sure I kept the half circle in good shape. If it was not for that being damaged, I could probably bang out and spot weld the floor board the way it is.

So, if this works, then I will have a replacement seam in the cab.

My second try will be using the pieces you sent me.

My final try will be using the replacement floor board, either as I originally mentioned in my last post, or overlapping as you suggested. This is probably a viable option, especially since my truck will be a driver, not a show car.

Unfortunately, I probably won't get back to it for another two weeks. Busy traveling on and off for work.

[DD1]

Ok, so I finally have some progress to post. I woke up late and was feeling lazy, but finally got my ass outside to do some work. And once I started, I was determined to at least get to a certain point before I stopped, and get there I did.

So in the last post, you saw where I had cut the piece for the floor/firewall seam out of the old cab. I wish I had done this months ago, instead of listening to my friends that said I could just bang the seam back into place.

Anyway, so it went pretty well, at least I think it did. After a bit of a hassle getting it to line up the way I wanted, I tack welded it in a few spots to hold it in place. I think I will continue with the rest of the other work before I completely weld it in place.

My welding job is not perfect, but I think it did the job. I need more practice, but this is the first time I have really welded on the truck instead of a practice piece of scrap metal. I did some spot welds on the seam last time I worked and they came out okay, but that's about it. I made a couple of burn holes this time, but nothing serious. When I grinded them down, most of them seemed okay.

Since as you can see in pic #2, I did not make it quite long enough to meet the full area I cut, I will probably have to use one of the pieces Dan sent me (thanks again, Dan!) to help fill the gap.

I am really curious to see what you guys think of this job. Not only the quality (or lack there of) of the work, but the overall idea of what I did.

[67c10rustbuket]

Looks like you got a few good ones on there, it takes quite a bit of practice to get a good technique down. I still melt them through sometimes. You have to go quick on the corners they melt real easy. One of those weld backer things would probably help out a lot. I noticed they sell them at harbor freight also. I don't know if you guys have their stores up there but it is worth the few bucks to try one out. Later

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Looks like you got a few good ones on there, it takes quite a bit of practice to get a good technique down. I still melt them through sometimes. You have to go quick on the corners they melt real easy. One of those weld backer things would probably help out a lot. I noticed they sell them at harbor freight also. I don't know if you guys have their stores up there but it is worth the few bucks to try one out. Later

Thanks, I had a couple of burn throughs, but nothing too serious. Following your advice (on your home made backer), I cut a piece of metal of an aluminum ladder that was being thrown out to use as a backer if necessary. I did not know HF sold them. I will have to check it out.

I am having a bit of trouble getting the front cab support off; probably going to try again this evening. I drilled holes through the floor into the support (realized later that maybe I should have drilled from underneath). I can see where it is separating, but it's not separating enough in some areas.

I'll shoot a pic and post it later.

[DD1]

Ok, so I have been a bit lazy and unmotivated lately, and have not done much of anything with the truck until today. Probably partly because it's been so hot outside, and also because I was having trouble removing the front cab mount. Sometimes when stuff gets me stuck, I ignore it for a while.

Actually, I can't say I have not been doing ANYTHING, just not as much as I should be; I spent some time cleaning and painting some engine parts (pics of them later), and am slowly putting the engine back together. I also started rebuilding the carb. Bought some Metal Rescue to help clean parts; that stuff is awesome. I also took my alternator apart to make it easier to paint. And when my friend was in town, we cleaned up the garage and the bed of the truck. Now you can actually see it. It's a bit more banged up than I remember, but I still think it's in decent shape. I'll post some pics soon to see what everyone else thinks.

So today I went down to HF, and picked up a spot weld drill bit for $5, and it worked pretty damn well. After reading some of the advice posts on this board, I borrowed my friends air chisel, and with it's help and the use of a sledge hammer at the final stage of it, got the front cab support off.

Couple of things I am not sure about... The bolt inside the cab was tack welded to the floor. I used an acetylene torch and the air chisel to try and break the weld, but the weld ended up coming up with the bolt. It left a nice little hole in the floor where it dips in for the bolt. Because of it's shape and location, it seems like it might be a PITA to fix.

I also realize I probably should have drilled out the spot welds from underneath the truck, not from inside the cab, but live and learn. I don't think it will be that much of a problem to just fill the holes.

My rear cab support seems to be in pretty decent shape. No holes or anything. I might just clean it up and leave it alone. I know no one likes the slip on supports, but I am thinking I might use it on the rear for a little extra support. Maybe coat everything with POR 15 or Rust Encapsulator, and drill a couple of drain holes for any water or moisture. Posted a pic of the rear support as well.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 2002yanks

nice meeting you. thanks for helping me clean out my garage alittle, now come back and get more. looking good so far. i`ll be keep an eye on this one.

Hey, Kevin, while I am glad you convinced me to remove the front cab support, it's not where as near as easy as you made it out to be!!! It was a royal PITA!!!!

[DD1]

Ok, so today I decided that it was time to clean the underneath of the cab. I noticed when welding that some of the crap underneath was causing very small flames when heated up. My friend came over and we very carefully laid the cab on it's back.

There is a ton of crap on there, including the undercoating remnants. I checked the how to section of the board, and saw that some people have used Airline Stripper to loosen it up, but it did not work for me. I did a whole bunch of scraping, and tried a wire brush on my cordless drill. Got stuff off, but it was not that great.

I did not want to use my flap disc because I did not want to heat up the metal. Then I remember I had some poly abrasive wheels, and that worked pretty well. It just sucks that they wear out so fast, and at $5 a clip it can add up quick.

I would love to hear any suggestions anyone has for cleaning up the underside. I also can't get into the tight spots with the poly abrasive wheel. I have seen people post that they attached a wire wheel to their grinder, but I can't find any wire wheels that fit a 4-1/2" grinder.

This is the wheel I used: http://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-h...eel-94017.html

I also noticed that the drivers side front cab support is in good and the rear support is really rusted. Now, on the passenger side, it's the opposite, the front is shot, and the rear is fine. So much for using the slip on; since I have to change the rear support, I might as well do it right.

Hoping to finish with the underneath over the next few days, then get back to work on the floor.

[67c10rustbuket]

Nice job removing the cab support and tipping the cab, looks good. I used a "twisted wire cup brush" to remove the undercoating during rust repairs on the driver side. See pic, I didn't see mine on HF website but only a 3". They have some other sizes in straight twisted brushes (not cupped) Any size with 5/8-11 thread will fit a 4 1/2 grinder though. I think I got mine from steves tools, a local chain store Check out ebay or a local hardware store maybe. I am going to try out the Eastwood "under gone" Pic also, they claim you spray it and let it work then scrape it all off, for $12 a can I will give it a try when I strip the whole underside of the cab.

[2002yanks]

i used the same wire wheels. they also sell one that runs in a circle (cuts on side)to get the corners. not easy but worth it to do it right this time(thats why i said not to use the slip on ones), if not you will be doing it again soon. good luck. mine was worth it i made it to the show(syracuse nationals) minus the bed. i will post pics soon on my thread.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Nice job removing the cab support and tipping the cab, looks good. I used a "twisted wire cup brush" to remove the undercoating during rust repairs on the driver side. See pic, I didn't see mine on HF website but only a 3". They have some other sizes in straight twisted brushes (not cupped) Any size with 5/8-11 thread will fit a 4 1/2 grinder though. I think I got mine from steves tools, a local chain store Check out ebay or a local hardware store maybe. I am going to try out the Eastwood "under gone" Pic also, they claim you spray it and let it work then scrape it all off, for $12 a can I will give it a try when I strip the whole underside of the cab.

I have to double check my grinder... I don't think I am able to screw anything onto it, so I have avoided those types of wheels.

I saw the Eastwood undercoating product on their website. It has mixed reviews on both Eastwoods site and on this forum. Let me know how it works, although I might just get it to try it myself.

But, if you are sandblasting the cab, as I think you mentioned you were going to do, won't that eliminate the undercoating as well? Do you still need to buy the Eastwood stuff?

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 2002yanks

i used the same wire wheels. they also sell one that runs in a circle (cuts on side)to get the corners. not easy but worth it to do it right this time(thats why i said not to use the slip on ones), if not you will be doing it again soon. good luck. mine was worth it i made it to the show(syracuse nationals) minus the bed. i will post pics soon on my thread.

Yeah, I understand why you said not to use the slip on supports. And I realize it's the right thing to do. Now that I see the condition of my driver side rear support, I am going to just replace it.

[DD1]

Curious to hear anyone's thoughts on the damage to the hole the cab mounting bolt goes into. Should I replace that section of floor?

[DD1]

I am getting a bit excited about moving forward with the cab work. I did my first 'real' welding this weekend. By real, I mean I did more than just a couple of tack welds here and there. I welded up most of the piece I used to patch the floorboard at the seam.

I think I did a decent job; my friend Eric also thinks it's pretty solid, so that helps me feel better about it. I will post some pics soon for opinions; I am typing from my iPhone and the pics are too large to post directly to the site.

I would have done more, but Of course I started running low on gas for the welder, and there is no place to go for a refill on the weekend.
Posted via Mobile Device

[DD1]

Ok, so here are some pics of my weld job. Curious to see what some of you think. The first pic shows a broad view of half the area I need to weld; the full pic is in one of my recent pics. I had already done a little bit of welding and grinding in this pic.

The next four pics focus on an even smaller area, so that you can get a clear, up close view of the welding.

It's not pretty, but it seems to be a solid weld. Since it is the floor and not a noticeable area, it does not have to be pretty, but it does have to be solid.

Got my gas today; unfortunately, I won't be able to do any more work probably until Friday night at the earliest.

[DD1]

I forgot to mention, my friend thinks that except for the area where I need to replace panels, I should leave the original undercoating on, and paint over it. He reasons that it's been there this long and has been doing it's job. Why mess with it?

Thoughts?

[2002yanks]

Originally Posted by DD1

I forgot to mention, my friend thinks that except for the area where I need to replace panels, I should leave the original undercoating on, and paint over it. He reasons that it's been there this long and has been doing it's job. Why mess with it?

Thoughts?

i removed mine so it would all look the same (mine was hit and miss in areas). didnt want some with undercoating and some with out, you could always just get somemore undercoating and do the new parts to match(would be alot easier).

ps, welds look good to me. as long as they hold they are perfect.

[DD1]

So I went out to the truck for a little bit so far today. It's incredibly hot and humid, but my garage is slightly cooler with the door closed.

I managed to clean up the old spot welds enough to try test fitting the new front cab support. It does not quite match up as well as I would like.

The hole for the floor bolt does not line up, which is no big deal as I can obviously make it bigger. However, when I compare the replacement to the original, other parts of it seems to be slightly off as well. For example, the sides that stick out when look at the top of it - one side is really thin, but on the original it's equal. Same thing with the outer tabs as well.

Am I being too picky? Should I just make this work, or should I look for a better part?

Going to work on some more welding in the meantime. Which I had a spot welder, but I just can't justify spending the cash on it. It's not something I see myself using a lot after I am done with the truck.

[67c10rustbuket]

Nice progress D, you welded seam looks good.

That cab support is defective, I have the exact same (triplus) and it looks nothing like that. It looks like it slipped off the die when being formed, I would return that one for a replacement.

[67c10rustbuket]

Here is a pic of a properly formed support. It should be symmetrical. Mine is actually triplus no. :EF-1005/A which is 1.20mm thick where the one you have is 1.0mm. I drilled the holes myself, it did not come that way. This was for an earlier project that went nowhere.

[DD1]

Originally Posted by 67c10rustbuket

Nice progress D, you welded seam looks good.

That cab support is defective, I have the exact same (triplus) and it looks nothing like that. It looks like it slipped off the die when being formed, I would return that one for a replacement.

Thanks for the info, Dan, and the pic. I thought there was something messed up about it. I can't return it as I bought it from another member along with a bunch of other stuff. I still got a good deal though, and the part is pretty cheap, so it's no big deal getting another one.

Who would you suggest I get it from? I bought my other parts from Classic Parts and they seem decent. But if Triplus is the way to go, I am not sure who I should get it from.

Thanks for the comments on the weld job. I felt pretty good about it. Was not able to get back in the groove today; but maybe tomorrow will be better.
Posted via Mobile Device

[DD1]

Ok, so I have a lot of pics, but not as much progress as I would like. I ordered a front cab support and a rear drivers side rear support from Tabco, since the front support I had was defective. I like the product - nice thick metal, seems to be a nice quality part.

So, I finally got all the remnants of the spot welds out from where the original front support was, and fitted the new piece. I did a few tack welds on the outside b/c I want to flip the cab off it's back so I can make sure everything lines up properly.

I decided to put some Rust Encapsulator on the inside of the support, after taping off the areas that might be welded, then I used some Copperweld afterwards. I must say, I really like the Rust Encapsulator. It sprays on really nice, and looks good. I also used in on some of the underbody that I had cleaned off as it was starting to get some flash rust. It's also really easy to prep for it; just wipe with some lacquer thinner.

Apparently I forgot to take a pic of the support tack welded in... Oh well.

Next topic will be the crappy time I have been having with the welder...

[DD1]

Ok, so my welding has not been going as well as I would like. I am beginning to wonder if perhaps there is a problem with the welder. I have tried many different settings with the heat and the speed, and I do occasionally get that perfect weld. However, more often than not, I end up with a butcher job.

I was trying to weld some patch pieces into the seam that I fixed. I also decided to try welding a patch into the bottom of the drivers front cab support. I figure that the support seems in pretty good shape, except for a few small holes in the bottom, so I would just try patching it. I also figured it's a good area to practice on as if I completely screw it up, I can just replace the support.

So, a couple of the welds came out great, but I was not able to replicate them. The photos are showing several different settings as I was trying to find the right mix. My welder also seems to sputter a lot; it's not a consistent flow. It's a Chicago electric from HF. Anyone have any issues with the same one?

[DD1]

Ok, so I think I figured out what was wrong with my welder... The problem was somewhere between the welder and the cab, and in case you have not figured it out just yet, the problem was holding the welding nozzle.

first I double checked the wire feed mechanism, and made sure everything was working properly. I even removed and reinstalled the wire into the welder.

As it turns out, the one thing that really helps me weld better is.... reading the frigging instructions! I was going by the welders I used in class and how I had set them. Of course my welder is totally different; so all I really had to do was read the sticker on the welder that tells you what heat and speed settings to use for each different gauge of metal.

So, the first pic is the same patch I did in the previous post, but I re-welded it and grinded down the welds. There is still a small hole I need to fix, but it's much better.

The next set of pics is the back part of the support that I cut out and patched, right next to the same piece I already did. I think this came out pretty well. Let me know what you think.

So, I am going to finish up whatever welding I can do while the cab is on it's back. Then I can tip it back over and actually start getting this job done!

[67c10rustbuket]

Much better! Instructions ? what is that?

That Tabco Support does look like it is nice quality.