I am getting down to the nut cutting on the 55. Started stripping the rockers and I saw bondo. Never a good sign. I am afraid what I may get into. If you have done it on a 55-56, please tell me about your experience. I am trying to decide if I should stop sanding, even though I know the answer already. This thing has take on a life of it's own.
I replaced the lower half (2 sections) on my 55. Never again... I have never been mistaken for a body man and my work pretty much reflect it. Saying that I did replace mine myself after watching several video's and talking to some body men. First you can only get the lower half of the quarter panel and then they come in a front and back half. Both sides on mine needed it as I had rust along the bottom. Also, it was wavy up near the chrome. So I decided to replace everything from the chrome down. That was mistake number one and what turned the job into misery. My issue was warpage as expected. I did spot weld and skipped around but it didn't seem to matter a lot, then to make matters worse I had a guy come out and blast the entire car which he turned in to a washboard. After a lot of shrinking and dolly work I finally got it where I felt it was a good as I could get it, so out came the filler.. You get the idea. Actually didn't turn out to bad other than a lot of wasted time. I finally found a real live body man that would come to my shop and look at it an block it out for me. He said he thought it looked good. We will see when I get paint on it. So, after wasting this much time telling you my woe's, my recommendation would be to buy the quarter pieces you need BUT only cut out what needs replaced instead of the entire lower quarter. I think it would be easier to control issues on smaller area's. Unless you are a real live body man.. My .02 Dave
No Dave, not the quarters, the rockers below the door. http://emsautomotive.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=18_67&product_id=145
Not so bad and I'm not a body man either. Get a spot weld cutter and a Steck tool or good stiff putty knife to separate the panels. Take your time and cut out small pieces at a time till you figure out how it all goes together. I have replaced my inner and outer rockers, lower quarters, and most of the floor. Turned out pretty good if I do say so myself! Get them from ems.....good parts.
Did you cross brace? Also, what are the chances of one being bad without the other having to be changed? The inner and outer, I am referring to.
I did not brace, I left the floor intact and that held it all still. Likely they are both rotted out. I took a lot of measurements before cutting and double checked before final welding.
Yes, brace it so nothing will move out of place. You can see if the inner is rusted through from under the car. The floor braces are also prone to rust through. See what you’ve got before you start cutting and buying. Following you is like watching the fuzzy tail of a rabbit going down the hole!
x2^^^! Pull all your body plugs above the braces then dig/blow out all the **** that's ac***ulated inside the braces. You'll be surprised what you find! They tend to rot through...especially the front ones. Easy to repair, though. You definitely want your structure solid.
My braces are solid. I only had one floor pan that needed replaced and oddly enough, it was the rear driver side. I worry about the inner rocker panels. Bondo hides a mul***ude of sins.
Root, I replaced the rockers on out '54 but unfortunately EMS wasn't making them at that time so mine were fabricated, making them was a major pita but cutting them out and replacing them wasn't that bad. Most of the cross bracing was in pretty good condition, I had to cut a section out to cut and bend up a replacement on the brake. EMS has really stepped up to the plate and offers some very nice replacement panels, I'm sure I would have finished all the metal repair a lot sooner had they been making them when I was building the wagon. HRP
I replaced the inner and outer rockers and a couple cross brace ends on my 53. I made the ends and inner rockers. The outer rockers came with the car when I bought it. Unknown where they were from, no sticker, and were pretty close. I had to tweak them to fit properly. The profile wasn't exact. It wasn't hard but just time consuming. I am by no means a bodyman and found it not that hard to do. Just be sure to brace up the car when cutting into the rockers as the car will drop/twist.
I'm not unbolting anything, as far as from the frame. My car is a 2 door post, so it should stay fairly stable. I'll do one side at a time as well.
LOL.. I misread your question.. And yes I also replaced my rocker panels. Both inside and the outer. The inside is just a flat panel so it is easy to fab. I bought an EMS rocker as it is a good piece. Other than that as someone already mentioned, cut the spot welds out and have at it. One thing I would add, is check your door gap. After replacing mine and having all the work complete I hung the door and now the gap is off.. Dave
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