Today i was out working on my truck, just trying to get my front bumper lined up correctly and i noticed my truck was leaning to the passenger side. i knew there was a significant amount of rust in it, and the floor board "pops" when it goes over speed bumps or around turns. so i pulled up the rubber floormat on the passenger side and started to bend up the quick fix the previous owner had thrown on. its really ugly, almost scary that i was still driving it. it looks like the front cab mount/crossmember is broken off of the kick panel and the floor board in the same area (whats left of it) is broken also. the inner and outter cowl has the same quick fix that the floor booard has (just sheet metal riveted over the original metal with caulking to seal it, and bondo). i havent done any patch panels before and all i want to know is if this is something fixable. how do i get the cab to mount level to the frame? in what order would i replace these parts? is there any writeups that i can check out? books? tech articles? im looking for something related to this style of truck, 47-54 chevy aka advance design. any help would be great.....ps this is my first time posting pics, i hope i didnt screw it up http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q29/playinsafe44/100_0596.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q29/playinsafe44/100_0598.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q29/playinsafe44/100_0597.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q29/playinsafe44/100_0599.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q29/playinsafe44/100_0600.jpg http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q29/playinsafe44/100_0602.jpg
Shoot man,you can fix that No better way to learn.They make every repair panel you will ever need for your truck,time to start strippin her down,and cuttin her apart.Good luck,and have fun
Terminal? As in because of this its time to have this running and driving truck crushed? I don't think so. You'll definitely need a welder and some cutting implements to do the job, but hell, its only metal. ANYTHING is possible with metal. Here's mine. Thats the good side.
Here's another one. How I'm doing it is I'm replacing the front cab supports first then I'll build the floorboards back over top of that. I figure that way I can weld everything in without laying on my back. I've ordered reproduction cab mounts, but I'm just going to build my floorboard out of scrap metal I have laying here. I know you can get all new stuff for your truck.
i think your truck looks real good compared to mine. all of the halfa$$ repair jobs from the previous owner only made it rust 100x as fast. i heard somewhere that you have to do the metal replacements all in a certain order or they wont go together right. something like the inner/outter cowl panel, rocker, then floorboard? then im still not to sure about how to make sure the cab sits level on the frame the way it supposed to. im going to do this repair, im just trying to build my confidence with a little more knowledge.
I've got the same thing going on in my '55 Fairlane. Rusted floors around where the body should mount. I think mine has more mounts, though, because it never sagged and, until I happened to notice the floor was rotted, I never had a clue. I've never done anything like that before, either but I plan on teaching myself as I go. I'll learn from my mistakes...and I'm sure there will be plenty.
Looks REAL BAD to me...if I were you, I would sell it.....I might want to buy it myself.....LOL Nah, that is any easy fix
do i have to brace anything if i start cutting? i dont want any of this to start twisting and warping on me. can i do this with the cab still on the frame?
Dude, I was sanding a door on a VW down once and it was all bondo and a burger king box that cups came in. You are in good shape.
I had to replace all of the floor, cowls and cab coners in my AD. I pulled the bed off and rolled the cab on it's back on the frame. Then proceeded to replace everything. r
ok now that you guys are making me feel like a pussy for being intimidated by this rust, i need to know if you can point me in the right direction. any tech articles, books to read, or personal websites i should look at? like i said before, i havent done this before and i like my truck too much to do the job wrong, haha.
Don't feel to bad. I had the same kind of rot and was just as intimidated. I actually sold a truck over it few (like 6) years ago. After a short stint in a body shop as a tool wiper (great high school job) I realized that I had made a mistake. Don't worry about screwing up. There is very little that you can do that cannot be undone. Go to your local bookstore and look at a few how to books on welding and autobody repair. Browse them until you find a book that addresses your repair and that you can understand. Take you time, and enjoy the experience. My only advice is DO NOT CUT THE TRUCK UNTIL YOU HAVE THE METAL TO PUT ON THE TRUCK. I overcut a cab corner on a 74 f-100 and had to piece in a patch. It looked like sh!t. Remeber, starving children in Ethiopia only dream of rust repair, so enjoy it while you have the oportunity.
Hell, that ain't to bad at all. For sure it's going to take more than a few minutes in the garage or driveway to fix, but it's definitely fixable. Just make sure your tetanus shot is up to date before you start.
HAHAHA. For my truck I plan on replacing the front cab mounts first, then bolting the cab down and then replacing the floor pieces. I figure that way I'll get the cab situated where it needs to go. I figure I'll measure carefully under each side to make sure that there is the same distance between the cab and the frame. Think of it this way, you've been driving it with pop riveted sheet metal holding everything together. ANYTHING you do should be an improvement.
Not saying what I do is right, but I start out removing all the rust. Once all the rust is gone, I replacing the rocker. That way you can make sure the distance between the front and rear door post is right and you can use the door as a hight setting for the rocker. Be forwarned, some replacement pannels fit pretty bad, many need to be "adjusted" to properly fit. (but then again, I work with newer junk.) After I have the rocker tacked into position, I can usually use the rocker to jack up the cab (jack it at the front door post) into the proper position. I do the cab supports/cab mounts next. Remember that once everything is all together, it will settle down a bit, give yourself an extra 1/2". Once the cab mounts and supports are all in place, (tack everything) you want to remove the jack and see how everthing sits. The cab corner can be raised with shims between the rubber mount and the body if need be. The doors should open and close correctly. If everything is right, finish up all the welding of the rocker and cab supports. The last thing you do is install the floor pan. I set the pan into position and mark the rocker and cab support edges from the bottom. The floor is better supported if you can weld it to the cab supports somewhere towards the center of the floor pan. Once I have the new floor pan marked from the bottom, I will drill 1/4" holes anyplace the floor touches the cab/rocker supports (about every 1 1/2" or 2"). When I'm ready to begin welding, be sure the pan is in proper position. I install the pan and force it against the supports and plug weld the pan to the bracing first. After all the bracing is plug welded, I will tack the edges every 2" or so, starting at the center of the car/truck. Tack weld all the way around the new pan. Once everything is tacked, I begin welding solid at the center and work my way around towards the outside. The outside edge is the last thing I weld. All of the modern cars have the seems between two pieces of steel spot welded, then they are sealed with seem sealer. When I do floors, if I cut what was originally a single peice, I will weld it solid, but when I come to what would be a factory seem, I will plug weld or run very short beads (1/2" long at most). Car bodys are ment to flex some, solid welding factory spot welded seems tends to rip the sheet metal instead of allowing it to flex, least that has been my experance. I'm sure I will hear about this. When the welding is done, apply some seam sealer to the weld joints. Most floors rust out from the inside out! That jute backed carpet you want to put in is about the worst stuff out there for holding moisture against your new floor pans. Be watchfull for fire! Hot sparks will go every place inside your truck. Mouse nests really stink when the burn and the burn for a L-O-N-G time. When ever I weld on a car/truck, I have one of those spray water bottles with me and a huge fire extingusher nearby. If your truck catches on fire, you have about 15 seconds to get the fire out before the truck and your garage burn down! Dried oil, seam sealer, and undercoating burn really well! Brake fluid burns almost as well as gas, watch where your welding wire goes when it pushes through that rust hole you didn't know was there. Have fun. Gene
I agree with those who said start with cab mounts. Cut out as little rusty floor as you can to access the cab mounts from the top side. Working upside down is no fun. Before welding, level the truck frame to your shop floor and level the cab to the frame. Tack some scrap steel to hold the cab here (but be sure it away from where you'll be working on cab mounts). Before you get too serious, check door fit. After every little thing you accomplish, check door fit. If the door starts to loose it's fit, back up and find out where the shrink or stretch occurred and fix it before you move on. Once the mounts are done, you should be able to lose the scrap supports (or most of them). Do the floor in sections...... and ...... wait for it..... check the door gaps constantly.
this is some helpful advice! i appreciate all the help. now i just need to do my research for the best fitting patch panels. i guess its time to find a good welder for the job too.
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