55-1 Floor Replacement Absolute Sheetmetal

[dwcsr]

I have a truck cab in the shop now that needs a floor and toe panels along with some kick panel work and some door work. The floor kit is an Absolute Sheet Metal 751002 for a stock firewall. The kit consists of the toe boards, toe board extensions, floor boards. front cab supports, master cylinder door, transmission tunnel, a floor brace, some screws and a set of alignment brackets. I haven't used this kit before and it was purchased by the customer but so far the kit looks to be of very good quality the instructions appear to be good, pictures are a little washed out but still view-able. We are starting this on Friday and will post start to finish and follow the directions in the paperwork so you can see for yourself if you want to tackle this type of project. This is a board members cab from Lufkin Tx so if it looks familiar that's where you saw it.

[dwcsr]

Here are some floor pics. Its very solid for an East Texas truck from the 50's

[STOCKISH]

Looking forward to watching this.

[918733]

Man that looks just like my cab, oh wait that is my cab, this is exciting. And I get to watch, Dave it was nice meeting you guys today.

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by 918733

Man that looks just like my cab, oh wait that is my cab, this is exciting. And I get to watch, Dave it was nice meeting you guys today.

Good to meet you as well and thank you for the opportunity to work on your truck. Check your email I sent some questions to you.

[gale]

I'm also in Houston and will be replacing the floor in my '54 3100. Currently the cab is stripped of everything and mounted on a rotisserie I fabricated. My plan is to go back with flat 16 ga. sheet metal.

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by gale

I'm also in Houston and will be replacing the floor in my '54 3100. Currently the cab is stripped of everything and mounted on a rotisserie I fabricated. My plan is to go back with flat 16 ga. sheet metal.

Your welcome to stop by Saturday and see what your in for. We should have it all cut out by then and starting the fit up for the new panels.

[OrrieG]

This should be a good one for the tech article section.

[gale]

Originally Posted by dwcsr

Your welcome to stop by Saturday and see what your in for. We should have it all cut out by then and starting the fit up for the new panels.

What is a good time for you and I'll show up.

[dwcsr]

about 10:30 11 ish that way well be setup to work. Saturdays we start a little late

its at 221 baker rd 77094 here is a map of where we are in the complex at the red A

[dwcsr]

We have the cab mounted on a frame section, You can drop the front bolts in for alignment and on the rear you can either use the stock mounts bolted up or use 3/4" spacers placed between the frame rail and the rear cab support. This is the recommended height for the rear of the cab from the assembly manual.

The first thing we did after the cab was secured was weld in the braces supplied in the kit, they stabilize the rocker and pillar area so when you remove the the cab mounts the doors will still line up. We then laid the pans in place and marked the perimeter and cut 2" to the inside of that mark and removed the old floor and toe panels.

If you don't have the tool pictured you need one. Its made by Steck and its for busting seams and spot welds. Tool number 20015 in the picture. It makes this job so much easier. The area under the right side cab support needs repair and it will require different bracing because we have to remove the supplied brace when we fix that spot.

[dwcsr]

We also have the new kick panel patches made and rough fitted. The original supports are going to be reused. The kit does come with new supports but if your reusing the stock foot brake the pedal brackets won't bolt up to the new support without reworking it. We have the rust treatment started.

[gale]

I look forward to seeing it in person tomorrow. My '54 isn't that rusty.

[918733]

I have to say you guys are really moving along can't wait to get it back

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by 918733

I have to say you guys are really moving along can't wait to get it back

Two guys make short work of taking it apart, its the making patches and fitting them and making it all look right that takes longer.

[918733]

I have full confidence in you guys

[dwcsr]

We have the left side kick panel repaired and the toe board support in place. The toe board support is welded in and left as you see it. Absolute says to lay the toe board on top and do a lap weld on each side. Next I set the rear floor support in place and laid the floor pan and toe board in and tacked the toe to the firewall. When it comes time to weld you will run a bead down the toe support outside and inside. across the bottom inside and out and up on the top inside and out. The floor is welded in with a series or roset welds across the back and on the floor support.

[918733]

Super Cool and Thanks for putting up the pics

[dwcsr]

We have the right side kick panel and wheel house repaired, the rot was a little more that we first thought but still plenty of good metal to weld to, just need to clean up the welds. Trimmed up the firewall edge and repaired a place at the column hole that was chewed up. I'm thinking the next post should show a completed floor and we can move onto the other issues.

[918733]

Heck yeah

[dwcsr]

The floor is in and the toe boards tacked in place awaiting final welding. We did have some issues fitting the tunnel to the engine recess due to previous modifications to get clearance for a distributor. We also did have some minor trimming on the toe boards around the recess but not much. The kit appears to be designed to allow you to move the panels to some degree and because no two cab are alike you do need some fudge room. Once all the panels are welded we will weld down the tunnel.

Next is the area under the cab support on the right side that is rotted near the bottom but looks OK at the support. We needed to have the floors all done before repairing that area because we need to remove it from the frame mount to do that repair. That area helps with the stability of the door pillar. As it is now when the door is opened and pushed against the stop that area flexes about a 1/4" so we need that weak metal replaced.

[918733]

Looking like a truck again

[av8tr33337]

Thanks for posting the process. This is really going to help a lot of us.

[oldman3]

Floor looks great, and nice job on the install. Looks very similar to the kit I installed in mine about 12 years ago, here's a copy pics (hope you don't mind)...Jim

[dwcsr]

Originally Posted by oldman3

Floor looks great, and nice job on the install. Looks very similar to the kit I installed in mine about 12 years ago, here's a copy pics (hope you don't mind)...Jim

Sure does look like the same kit. Same cuts and the tunnel is the same shape.