Drip rail removal

[brak]

Has anybody done a write up or FAQ on shaving the drip rail (67-72 pickups)?

I did a search, and found lots of references, but no actual in depth information.

Before i venture down this road, I'd like to be prepared for what i find.

do people just cut it off flush, and dress up the seam, or do you cut it out and have to fill a gap where it once was?

if there is a gap, how big is it, is is small enough (like rokcrln talks about) to tack in some tig wire?

Input is greatly appreciated.

[abadsvt]

I am getting to venture down that road pretty soon also. I was at a car show about a month or so ago and i talked to a guy who did all the work himself. What he told me was that he would cut off about 4-5" or so and then he tacked it up pretty well. Then go another 4-5" and repeat the process. I think you were asking on what to expect and sorry i don't know yet but i still thought i would share the information that i found. Good luck and please keep me posted on your findings!

Josh

[jimmydean]

I for one would never remove my drip rail. But living in Oregon, it serves a much needed purpose

[Bamm]

I'm getting ready to shave the rail on my truck and I am planning on doing two things; 1.) Drag an old cab up to the garage and practice the first foot or so of the welding and 2.) I am only going to cut off about 2" at a time to ensure that I don't get any "spread" between the two panels. I plan on taking a lot of pics and I'll post them so everyone can see what not to do... ....Loopie

[1lowdiesel]

i saw porterbuilt i think, did one where he used 5/8" solid rod i think thats how i'm gonna do mine.

[brak]

Originally Posted by jimmydean

I for one would never remove my drip rail. But living in Oregon, it serves a much needed purpose

normally i wouldn't, but it is pretty beat up, has entire sections filled in with bondo or some kind of sealant (painted over) and other sections with holes drilled in it.

I figure, if i have to cut it off to repair/replace it, I may as well save myself some time and just shave it all together.

Maybe rokcrln will chime in, as i believe he did this on project lemondrop

[Bamm]

What would be the consequence of shaving the drip rail except for making your wipers work more? I mean I'm scanning the parking lot now and I don't see a single vehicle, car or truck, with a drip rail. Some of the guys that have done this, chime in, let us know if it had any bad consequences..... Loopie

[bagged69c10]

Ive done my drivers side and it sucked so bad I havent got around to doing the rest. Its just a tidious process but it does look really good. I wouldn't do it again unless they were in really bad shape (which mine were).

[Bamm]

So you're saying it sucks that it's so much work but it looks cool? Any pics of where you are at with it now? Is there much of a difference when it rains?

[zacut]

I had a friend who does body work and painting for a living do mine about two weeks ago. I helped some. It was fairly easy. All in all it took about 10 hours.

We removed the drip rail that is spot welded on above the doors first by drilling the spot welds. Then proceeded as described in previous posts about 8 inches at a time. There is no real gap as the cab roof and window frames just touch. We used a MIG placing a dot about every 1/2 inch and then going back later to fill inbetween, always using small placed weld dots.

Stacey David did a nice video of this on Copperhead on Trucks TV. I haven't checked but wondered if a past episode could be ordered on DVD. I follow his technique from memory.

When done we ground the welds smoother and then used a little bit of fiberglass filler to really make it smooth. This does leave a little bit of an overhang above the winshield glass, and the gap around the door is now 1 material thickness greater as we took off the afore mentioned spot welded piece.

We just painted the truck and it is being wet sanded and buffed this week. I will post some finished pictures next week.

BTW, The lemondrop project build post does have one nice in process photo showing the area just above the "a" pillar welded up.

[68CHEBY]

Stacey David has a new show coming out on espn2 on 3-31-07 called Gearz.
On his web site staceydavid.com it tells all about it, they also have the dvd's for sale from the trucks episodes, it says that they are full length from start to finish on all of the projects from the show not just the 30 min. they showed on TV, might be of some use for the drip rail shaving tech you were talking about.

[Schralper]

w/ zacut
this is what I want my drip rails to look like.

[bagged69c10]

I cut mine off with a cutoff wheel leaving the bottom part of the driprail in place to keep the gap the same and I used Dynaglass over that.

[Bamm]

Hey bagged69c10 - How long have you had your rails shaved? Any negatives?...............Jerry

[bagged69c10]

I think about a year. It doesn't bother me but I dont drive it in the rain much.

[raggedjim]

Be careful and plan it well before you start... I've bought 2 different project trucks cheap for parts and shaving the drip rails is where they both jumped the shark. This isn't the same as replacing rockers and cab corners... It does look great when it is finished though.

Good luck, Rg

[68GMC454]

uh what about the rain..but i guess with a really nice truck,,i wouldnt drive it in the rain that much...could you make a chanel like on the newer cars and trucks that would act like a drip rail

[T J Randall]

Take a look at BP 68's thread from yesterday evening at about 6:28... He showed some nice pics of his project and really covered the drip rail removal well. It's not easy, but the effort is well worth it and the finished product looks sweet!!.

[Schralper]

You could check this thread also-
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=193559

[68CHEBY]

Originally Posted by raggedjim

Be careful and plan it well before you start... I've bought 2 different project trucks cheap for parts and shaving the drip rails is where they both jumped the shark. This isn't the same as replacing rockers and cab corners... It does look great when it is finished though.

Good luck, Rg

After doing bodywork for lord knows how many years, for a living I might add, if a person can cut out and install rocker panels, cab corners, or floor pans I would think that shaving drip rails would be a gravy job. When I shaved mine I took a sawz all (tool of choice for me for the job) and cut about 10 to twelve inches at a time off, ground where I had cut smooth and welded it up in stages to prevent warping, when I had made my way all the way around from door to door, I made patterns of the door jams on both sides and cut pieces of metal to address body gaps between the cab and the doors, all the way around the doors, top to bottom, and welded them into the jams, then I ground the welds smooth where I trimmed the drip rail and applied body filler like you would with any body repair. When the job was done I ended up with paint stick body gaps all the way araound the doors, I took the time to grind and trim the roof above the window to achieve a smooth look without adding another body line like so many drip rail jobs I have seen. The bottom line is this.... You can not screw it up so bad that it can not be fixed. After all it's just metal on a cab, someone with a welder and common sense can do it......I guess what I am trying to say is this... Don't be scared , if you screw it up it can be fixed!

[jp-n-mallory71]

i like the way rokcrln did project lemon drop he explains a little on what he did and used.

[dan468]

if you don't shave them and you really wanted to do it you will regret it in the long run. That's my theory

[FarmTruk]

Originally Posted by Bamm 24

Is there much of a difference when it rains?

As I understand, the exterior rail keeps water from dumping on you when you open the door. Newer vehicles doors and seals are designed differently, to internally channel the water away. I don't know how well this works in practice, but that is the theory.

[Bamm]

Originally Posted by FarmTruk

As I understand, the exterior rail keeps water from dumping on you when you open the door. Newer vehicles doors and seals are designed differently, to internally channel the water away. I don't know how well this works in practice, but that is the theory.

Thanks Farmtruk, it'll give me an excuse to park it in the garage when it's raining.....

[roj2323]

after looking through links that lead to links that lead to links i found some pictures: http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=3130330093

i'm not particularly fond of the method pictured as it looks hodge podge in my opinion but at least it's something other than "me too" reply's.

ondrew