Questions on rocker panels, inner rockers & floorpans...

[bagged91]

I am confused, sorta... Getting into my 71' Burbs floor and I want to repair the rot correctly. I have rockers & inner rockers but that's where the confusion starts. I noticed that the new floorpans have what appears to me to be a lip that hangs down that acts as a backer for the rocker. If this is so, do you still use the inner rocker? I attached a scetch of what my inner rocker looks like.

[Bob D]

I ran into the same situation last weekend when I started to install floors etc. Supposedly on the PU cab if you replace the forward and rear floor sections of dont need the rocker back plates. After seeing the floor patch panel installed, I dont like the poorly bent angles of the bends for the rocker backs. (See picture below) So, I will cut that part off of the floor patches and use the rocker backing plates I bought with the rockers.

Bob

[Shane]

I cut the "inner" completely off of mine ... no inner means no more trapped water to rust the outer again.

[ebfabman]

bagged, thats right the inner rocker is made with the floors. If you replace the floors you won't need the inner rocker panel unless you do as Bob did.

Hey Shane if there is no inner rocker, what do your cab supports tie to?

[hgs_notes]

If there is no inner, no trapped water, just continuous exposure to the elements. Up north in salt country, all of the road grime will just sit on the exposed back side of the rockers and rust through. If you have the inners and adequate drainage you are way more protected. You could also spray in a rust inhibitor through drain holes, etc that would further protect it and would not be suseptable to rock chips and such busting it out.

Just my .02
HG

[hd78glide]

Does it matter in which order the floor, rockers and cab corners etc are replaced?

Sorry about hijacking this thread...

[Hart_Rod]

This is good stuff.....

[Shane]

Originally Posted by ebfabman

Hey Shane if there is no inner rocker, what do your cab supports tie to?

I cut them between the two cab supports ... I have full cab supports, but they too now have drain holes in them.

Originally Posted by hgs_notes

If there is no inner, no trapped water, just continuous exposure to the elements. Up north in salt country, all of the road grime will just sit on the exposed back side of the rockers and rust through.

I'm from down South, so I don't worry about salted roads and all that jazz you guys up there in the Land of the Blue Nose have to worry about.

You're saying its WORSE to NOT have backs. I tend to disagree ... no backs = no where for the water to gather = no rust.

And how would "continuous exposure to the elements" be any different on the back side of the rockers than it is the bottom side of the cab ... or the fenders ... or the bed. The reason the rockers rust is because of the poor drainage design GM did on them ... as well as the lower kick panels/cowl drain. I am just eliminating the "trap point." All of my "underside" components have etching primer, sealer and spray-on bedliner on them.

Rust is my last concern under there.

[matthufham]

i did the same as shane, and i live in the south. my front cab supporst are cut halfway off... it's a shame, but does keep moisture from getting trapped. i painted everything with rubberized undercoating and rustoleum primer

[jku72]

The part of the floor patch piece that is supposed to act as the inner rocker is so poorly formed, it is almost useless without modification. I cut mine off and used the separate backing plate.
The reason the backing plate is there is it boxes the rocker area for strength. Leave it off or significantly compromise it, and you are compromising cab rigidity. For some people it may not be a problem, but for me, I feel better with the added strength.
The way I look at it, the trucks are 35 years old at this point, and now the rockers are rusty. So, even if I drive my truck as a daily driver throughout the winter, and never take care of it, the rockers will last 15 years anyway. But I do wash it, and dont drive it in the salt, so either way, the chances of the rockers rotting out before the truck needing a total restoration again anyway are very very slim.

[Rokcrln]

Also keep in mind the factory did not protect or coat these areas so if you do that and take good care of things it should out last the stock one 2:1 I for one always replace the inner rockers and would never think of keeping it out or removing sections of it, but that is just me. Just make sure your drain holes are in place and functional.

Kevin
LFD Inc.

[badpeanut]

Are there any differences between Blazers/Suburbans and pickups in regard to floor pan/inner rocker/outer rocker repair (Blazer rocker boxes don't factor in?)?

[bagged91]

Thanks for the info guys... The front floorpans appear to be the same as p/u's so that's a plus. I am thinking of canibalizing what's left of the original and having my local shop bend me up 2 7 foot lengths of 18 guage with the same profile...

[Southpa]

Does it matter in which order the floor, rockers and cab corners etc are replaced?

Yes, but its pretty much common sense and also depends on where your cab is, ie. on or off the frame. I did mine while it was still on the frame. CORNERS LAST, or you will have a real job trying to get those rear supports fastened in properly. In fact its way easier to take your old corners out first, then get your rear supports in and finish with the new corners. Lots of room and you can see what you are doing.

In my case the areas on the inner rockers where the supports are supposed to bolt onto were gone, totally rotted out. So I welded some nuts onto strips of 12 ga. and welded those over top of the existing inner rocker. It worked well because my strips were slightly narrower and I could wrap the edges of the inner rockers around my 12 ga. and weld those seams up as well as the ends. Then inserted the supports and bolted them into my fabbed 12 ga. strips. Everything was coated with rust inhibitor and then primed followed by rattlecan rubberized coating.