Body Repair Techniques

[TypeSL2]

My wife and I have a '64 Long Stepper that we would one day like to make look as close to new as we can. It won't be a perfect resto by any means, but just want to get all the rust repaired and the cab sealed up. One problem we have is the homeowners' association in our neighborhood will not allow us to tear the truck down in our driveway, and her Impala takes what little space we have in the garage. We are going to have to do all the repairs in our back yard after we have our privacy fence put up.

Now that that's out of the way, I want to see what interesting techniques you guys have used to replace floor pans, rockers, cab corners, etc. With our back yard being all grass, it will be rather difficult for us to roll any kind of cherry picker around. I think I have seen some people remove the bed and roll the cab onto the back to be able to get to all the area on the bottom. Any other interesting techniques you guys use? Not just for the cab either. I want to see what you guys do for the beds, or front clips.

James

[franken]

Other than cab corners I'd say most work can be done with the truck largely intact. Depends on how bad the rust is.
If you can get the bed up high enough, drive the truck away and set the bed on sawhorses.
I imagine the neighbors will be peeking over the fence and get you busted by the HOA though.
Look for gibson63 on youtube to get an idea of how one person did the work.

[ImpalaJim]

First thing Id do is move away from the homeowners' association. but that's just me

[TypeSL2]

Originally Posted by ImpalaJim

First thing Id do is move away from the homeowners' association. but that's just me

I knew there would be at least one. Moving is not an option. Does nobody else have any other creative ideas?

James

[franken]

Cut out bad parts and weld in new parts. I offered a good source of info, which you ignored.
Seems like maybe you want a magic wand.
Do you have a big air compressor, air system, a bunch of air tools, a welder, and experience? In the backyard? Even with them, rust repair is way easier to do wrong than right, most people doing it are doing it wrong, and they proudly post videos demonstrating how to do it wrong.

[OldGMJon]

has the search function gone down again?

[Mackie]

Power tools, whether air or electric are your friends for that work. They're also noisy and backyard work could induce a visit from your HOA rep.

[TypeSL2]

Originally Posted by franken

Cut out bad parts and weld in new parts. I offered a good source of info, which you ignored.
Seems like maybe you want a magic wand.
Do you have a big air compressor, air system, a bunch of air tools, a welder, and experience? In the backyard? Even with them, rust repair is way easier to do wrong than right, most people doing it are doing it wrong, and they proudly post videos demonstrating how to do it wrong.

This topic was meant to be a fun topic specifically to consolidate interesting or unique ways people have tackled rust repair. I plan on watching those videos, thank you for the link.

James

[TypeSL2]

Originally Posted by OldGMJon

has the search function gone down again?

There are literally hundreds of threads including build threads where people have tackled rust repair. This thread was just meant to consolidate so people could find another useful link without having to spends hours upon hours of digging through build threads. Thanks for cluttering it though.

James

[TypeSL2]

Originally Posted by Mackie

Power tools, whether air or electric are your friends for that work. They're also noisy and backyard work could induce a visit from your HOA rep.

The HOA doesn't have a problem with that. They just won't allow the driveways to look like a junk yard. So every vehicle must appear as though it runs. I use plenty of air and power tools, as do most of my neighbors around me. Thanks for the thoughts though.

James

[OldGMJon]

The thread is young and now the theme is clear so enthusiasm may build...

Originally Posted by TypeSL2

There are literally hundreds of threads including build threads where people have tackled rust repair. This thread was just meant to consolidate so people could find another useful link without having to spends hours upon hours of digging through build threads. Thanks for cluttering it though.

James

[Lugnutz65]

I worked in my back yard for 3 years. Plastic sheets and tarps protected a lot of my work. I did the suspension and brakes first. Used a cherry picker to lift the engine and then had to roll the truck frame out from under the engine since mine, like yours, will not roll in dirt/grass. While the hood and front body was off, I constructed a "mini-garage" which had 2 wheels and rolls around like a BBQ grill. It also doubled as a 3 sided media blasting cabinet. These ideas were spawned out of my situation and may not be helpful for yours. Necessity is the mother of invention.

I did my off-frame restoration in my yard for 3 years up to the point where the cab went back on the frame. At that point it came into the garage for the last 9 months. I anticipate having a driving and legal truck within 2 months. The remaining finer touches will be weekend projects from here on out. I hope this is the kind of info you were looking for. A review of the archives in my BLOG (signature) will show a lot more.

[OldChevy61]

Backyard bound myself. Where there is a will,there is a way. Love the box Lugnutz. Just picked up a harbor freight portable carport to double as body shop and later a paint booth.

[The Rocknrod]

Originally Posted by TypeSL2

I knew there would be at least one. ...James

Well not just one.

[Lugnutz65]

I think one of the hardest (most annoying) part of working in the yard (other than the mosquitoes) is the never ending repetition of covering, uncovering, dragging the tools out, putting the tools away, searching for dropped bolts in the grass, "the weather is bad so I can't work on the truck" stuff.

Seriously, you want to go about this in the right order. (Just my opinion.)
Phase 1 - Get the brakes working.
Phase 2 - Then the engine, so it can move under it's own power in the yard.
Phase 3 - Restore the engine. I'd first remove all the sheet metal in front of the firewall as a unit. There are about 10 bolts to remove and it can all come off as a single piece. (Radiator support to frame = 1 bolt per side, inner fender to firewall = 3 bolts per side, fender to cab = 2 per side. With the sheet metal off you can restore the engine, front suspension and frame up to the cab.
Phase 4 - Remove the bed and put it on saw horses. Store stuff in the bed until it's ready to be put back on the truck.
Phase 5 - Cab repair. Repair/replace cab sheet metal. Then roll the cab back onto the frame and restore the bottom of the cab and frame under the cab. (Do the doors later.)
Phase 6 - Replace the cab on the frame. Restore and replace the front sheet metal.
Phase 7 - Restore the rear frame and suspension.
Phase 8 - Restore the bed and replace.
Phase 9 - Remove the doors and restore the wiring for the whole truck.
Phase 10 - Restore the doors.

Simple, right?

[vince1]

My yard is a mess but hopefully I'll get the box back on within a week or two. It is now on its back in the grass which makes it a lot easier to get the creases out of the sides and seal the rust up in those cavities. All the hidden areas are getting a 50/50 mixture of used engine oil and rust paint tinted close to what the final colour will be.

I had overlapped some of the floor pans and a corner. There won't be a next time but next time I'd take the time to fit them better so they could be butt welded.

Results happen if you find the time to actually work on it. Have fun.

[TypeSL2]

Originally Posted by Lugnutz65

I worked in my back yard for 3 years. Plastic sheets and tarps protected a lot of my work. I did the suspension and brakes first. Used a cherry picker to lift the engine and then had to roll the truck frame out from under the engine since mine, like yours, will not roll in dirt/grass. While the hood and front body was off, I constructed a "mini-garage" which had 2 wheels and rolls around like a BBQ grill. It also doubled as a 3 sided media blasting cabinet. These ideas were spawned out of my situation and may not be helpful for yours. Necessity is the mother of invention.

I did my off-frame restoration in my yard for 3 years up to the point where the cab went back on the frame. At that point it came into the garage for the last 9 months. I anticipate having a driving and legal truck within 2 months. The remaining finer touches will be weekend projects from here on out. I hope this is the kind of info you were looking for. A review of the archives in my BLOG (signature) will show a lot more.

This is exactly what I was talking about. The box is an ingenious way to make a sandblast cabinet. Thanks for the contribution. I will be checking out your blog to see how you removed the cab.

James

[Lugnutz65]

Originally Posted by TypeSL2

This is exactly what I was talking about. The box is an ingenious way to make a sandblast cabinet. Thanks for the contribution. I will be checking out your blog to see how you removed the cab.

James

If you're really gonna completely remove the cab from the frame, I recommend 4 able bodied men to lift the cab off the frame (doors are off, cab gutted and windshield out). It can be done another way by 2 people. My son and I removed the cab, just the 2 of us. No pics to show. Plan ahead, plan ahead plan ahead! Unbolt from frame. Wiggle it and tip it slowly until the PS rocker is on the ground. First man holds in balanced in the tipped position by holding onto the PS upper door frame at the drip rail. Second man rolls frame out from under cab. Second man goes to DS rocker and holds cab balanced so first man can let go and come over to DS rocker to assist with lowering cab to ground. Having explained that method, I still strongly suggest the 4 people lift. Safer and fewer things to go wrong.

I had my cab up on jack stands for a year. Used flat blocks of thick wood + plywood under each jack stand to prevent jack stands from sinking into the dirt when it rained. Tipped cab onto wood pallets + foam pads to restore the bottom of cab.

Since you liked the mini-garage I made, here are more pics. After a few heavy rains the flat top began to sag. I redesigned it with a domed shape so water would run off. No more problems. I found it useful because I could cover and uncover everything in front of the firewall in 30 seconds. It straddled both front tires.

[TypeSL2]

Awesome. Thanks again. I still haven't decided what I am gonna do yet. We do have it running and driving already, so those phases are already complete.

James

[donthekawguy]

Originally Posted by OldChevy61

Backyard bound myself. Where there is a will,there is a way. Love the box Lugnutz. Just picked up a harbor freight portable carport to double as body shop and later a paint booth.

This

[Monte's62]

James it looks like Lugnutz has some good info for you. I wanted to tell you that I saw a pic in a thread recently where someone attached some 2x4 and bracing to an engine lift and ran it horizontal across the top of the door seals just under the roof and lifted the cab off by himself. I will try to find pics. Hey, I took the engine and tranny out of my 62 in a cow pasture about 50-60 yards from the shop so a back yard is cake, lol.

[Lugnutz65]

Originally Posted by Monte's62

James it looks like Lugnutz has some good info for you. I wanted to tell you that I saw a pic in a thread recently where someone attached some 2x4 and bracing to an engine lift and ran it horizontal across the top of the door seals just under the roof and lifted the cab off by himself. I will try to find pics. Hey, I took the engine and tranny out of my 62 in a cow pasture about 50-60 yards from the shop so a back yard is cake, lol.

That is a very effective way to remove a cab. However, he can't roll the hoist around in the yard. The hoist legs will be under the frame, so rolling the frame out from under the cab will be difficult. I guess you could remove the engine, put a wagon of some type beneath the front crossmember and then remove the front wheel and still roll the frame out from under the cab. Maybe.

[Monte's62]

Ok- plan B. I was just thinking of this and wondered has anyone tried using an old school cumalong chain lift to lift their cabs? Of course since you are outside, you just need a tree. I think the reason why guys don't use them in their shop is not enough ceiling room. I wasn't real sure if James had decided to take the cab off or not, but another option- if you have a tree.

[66Submarine]

Originally Posted by Lugnutz65

That is a very effective way to remove a cab. However, he can't roll the hoist around in the yard. The hoist legs will be under the frame, so rolling the frame out from under the cab will be difficult. I guess you could remove the engine, put a wagon of some type beneath the front crossmember and then remove the front wheel and still roll the frame out from under the cab. Maybe.

Why not put down a sheet of plywood (or something similar) to roll the hoist on?

[Lugnutz65]

Originally Posted by 66Submarine

Why not put down a sheet of plywood (or something similar) to roll the hoist on?

Tell me if I'm wrong but you'd need at least 2 sheets of plywoo and then there's the cost factor. Four able bodied men (or even just using my technique) is usually free. Methods include tractors, fork lifts, A-frame gantry, or simply rolling the cab backwards onto the frame once the bed is off.