I'm looking for a central Kansas HAMBer that would be willing to provide a little advice and/or hand-holding regarding replacement of rocker panels on my '50 Olds coupe. I have the replacment parts, I just need a good idea as to where/how to start. Of course, advice from any of you HAMBer's is appreciated. If you're in the area and wouldn't mind stopping by, I would love to show you the project and hear your advice. PM me or reply to this post. Thanks!
Far away pics, my friend has just finished his rockers on his P15, here's a link to some of his progress. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=307886&highlight=unorthodox&page=8 He had a metal shop bend up the sheet metal pieces in stead of buying them, it was about 1/3 of the cost.
Are you really sure you want to do this ? This could be like starting a relationship with a a good looking brunette only to find out later she is a psychotic stalker/serial killer ( Play Misty for Me comes to mind ). If you must play with fire , be ready to put in more hours than you could ever imagine and spend more money than you could get a good solid car for . We helped out Bobert here on the HAMB with his 50 after he installed floors ,patch panels and such . The Chevy stuff that is said to be able to work needs some finessing to fit the Olds . Here is a link to the photo log on Bobert's car . https://picasaweb.google.com/wgmauto/1950Oldsmobile I'm pretty sure he may respond to your thread . Best of luck......
Tips from someone who just did it, in no particular order: 1. Use the best-quality replacement parts you can get (EMS or similar), not the cheapest. The cheapos don't fit right. 2. If your floor pan is rusted out, weld a brace from the lower end of the left door jamb to the lower end of the right door jamb to hold them both in place when you cut out the rocker. 3. Even if your floor is good, weld a brace running front-to-back from the front door near the lower hinge to the rear door jamb at about the same height. If the doors open and close well now, weld this brace INSIDE the car so you can leave the door mounted and still open and close it. This helps check your gaps before you weld it all back up. 4. Drill a hold every inch or so all along all the mounting lips and flanges on the inner and outer panels before you start welding. (It's so much quicker and easier to do with a drill press before you put the panels on the car.) That'll give you plenty of places to plug-weld and plenty of strength. 5. Make sure you are hitting good metal at the front and rear of the rocker. Replace more metal if you aren't - welding to rusty metal won't help anything. 6. DON'T ***ume the replacement part is correct. Sometimes a flange is bigger or a lip is wider. Make the new part just like the old part before mounting it. 7. Cut out the inner and outer quarter at the same time, but replace the inner rocker panel first. That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm not sure what palosfv3 is referring to - replacing the rocker panels isn't THAT big a deal and much easier than replacing lower front quarter panels on the same car. (Ask me how I know!) It's pretty straightforward if you don't cut too much out to begin with, and most of the welded areas don't show so the bodywork to finish it up is minimal. But you are wise to ask for help if you're totally new to his.
That's all I can think of off the top of my head. I'm not sure what palosfv3 is referring to - replacing the rocker panels isn't THAT big a deal and much easier than replacing lower front quarter panels on the same car. (Ask me how I know!) It's pretty straightforward if you don't cut too much out to begin with, and most of the welded areas don't show so the bodywork to finish it up is minimal. But you are wise to ask for help if you're totally new to his. __________________ My real name is Dave Replacing the outer rockers is not that big of an issue but when you are dealing with replacing floors , body crossmembers or braces , repairing lower hinge pillars inner and outer , inner and outer rockers , ect. all at one time there is a lot to get squared up , cleaned correctly and welded . A repair of this type will even challenge a very experienced metal tech. I'm not saying it cant be done . All I'm saying is this is an extreme challenge and if you did one you may not want to do another .
Thanks guys. I appreciate the input. I do need to replace the floor, but I figured that it was probably best to do the rockers first. The cross members and braces are in good shape. I was told that I should weld in the support piece from front to back on each door, but I also like the idea of welding in a brace from left to right side, especially since the floor is not all that good. The front quarters are in good shape. The rear quarters need a lot of work on both sides. It is a long-term project, but my grandfather, an Olds dealer, sold this car originally. My father purchased it at an estate sale in the late 60's and drove it for years. Now my goal is to get it back in shape.
Let me say that I don't take my own advice which is to start with a car in the best condition possible. You are time and money ahead to do so. That said I read where you have another attachment to the car so have fun. My first revelation on my project is what the car looked like after I got it back from blasting. Holes where there weren't any earlier. As Palosfv noted, while many Chevy panels fit, things like the body mounts require fabbing. I'll try to email some of my b/4 pics.
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