We did the above about a month ago (did not post it here... so just did now... sorry 'bout that).... Over the last 4 weekends we have been working the fenders. More specifically the front passenger fender which, by far, is the worst piece on the car. We figured, once we finish it, the rest will be far easier. This is the passenger fender before we began. This thing was in bad shape. The dents in there had been banged out very badly. More like a sledge hammer to get it to a general area rather than getting it done right. Some of the cuts/breaks in the fender were also repaired horribly. Essentially, the cuts were made to clean the edges and then they were forced to overlap so as to weld them together. This deformed the fenders a great deal. All of this is completely understandable as it was clearly a work truck. Judging from the amount of tar/asphalt under the fenders, I would say it was in roofing and/or road work at some point. Regardless, it made for a great deal of work. What we did was clean out the inside of the fenders first. We hit it with a wire wheel and then removed the inner supports and headlights. Once the inner side was smooth, we could go to hammer and dolly. We used a combination of them to get the fender far smoother. Here is the same fender as it sits now. The process of the dent pulls took some time. I figure about 10 to 12 hours working the different areas one at a time. Problem is that we had to work in sections. One dent went into the next (because of the way it had been corrected before) and in order to get the shape right, we had to work highs and lows slowly to get it to where it is now. The edges are a COMPLETELY different matter. Those had a number of issues. The truck had some plates welded to the frame to accommodate the use of a snow plow. In addition to that the other repairs made destroyed other sections. The problem with that is the edges we have the detail bead on the fenders. To that end I made up small sections of the bead detail on new metal. That was then cut into small sections to get the profile as close as I could. I made the bead using bead roller to start up the profile. I then extended the curve (my bead roller maxes out at 3/8") with a couple of hammers, a bench vise and some patience. Once I had the parts, time to start welding. This is the current look. I took me about 8 hours, total to do this. This includes the time to make the patches, clean and prep the areas, cut the parts into place, weld them all in and partially clean the welds. Here are some details on the work... If you look closely the curves are not 100% perfect. Impossible to get the perfect curve with straight pieces. I will use some fill welding to build up some low spots and that grind down to the final curve. This is the fix on the snow plow cut... By the way, the rust you see on this is just some flash rust from the exposure. I still have to clean off the welds well. Once I am there I will primer it to protect it. I'll likely clean this off in the coming days and we'll be good. Crazy thing is that the parts get like that in a day or two.... Florida sucks in that respect....
#3 is the only one I can help with for sure that valve hooked up to a heater and the shut off is so you can shut off the hot coolant to the heater in the summer so you don't bake inside the cab
Been a while since I’ve posted any work but here are some updates of the work that has been done from May to date at the end of 2014. So some more fender work. We have 95% of the fenders pretty much as they should be in terms of removing all the dents and dings. My wife and I share the duties there along with some help from a few friends that have come over to help. Once that is done I started to work on the bigger cuts and gashes. This is the passenger side fender. There is a before shot in one of the earlier posts. Here is the first patch in on the left side of the shot removing the big weld spot up there. I made the cut to relieve the spring pressure holding the fender in an odd shape. A tighter shot to show the "bubba fix" with the lap weld. To fix that I basically started cutting patches out, shaping them and then welding them in. THe next few shots are another patch going in. On this last shot you can see how I shape the piece to keep the curve of the fender. A bit of a pain in the ass, but with patience I get there. As I weld, I hammer the curve, weld some more, hammer the curve, etc until I get there.
Here is the process for the patch. This is the big vertical cut in the fender. First I measure out the patch size I'll need, making sure to get the entire damage covered. Next we cut out the patch to size and hammer it into the general shape we need. After about 20 to 30 minutes, checking constantly.... we get there. Then we lay it in place and trace the cut that we will make in the fender where the patch is placed. Then we spot weld the panel in place like we did the others. First a few spots spread apart to avoid warping then we begin to fill in the blanks one spot at a time. As we go, hammer it into shape, weld more, etc. Then we have the patch in. I did this on both fenders. Once the top side were all done I had to rebuild the back flanges that hold the fenders in place against the chassis, cab and running boards. All in, this took the most time BY FAR of anything we have done to the truck. In all, I'd say we spent about 40 to 50 hours of work on these. But they are now all but complete. There are small patches left but those will not be done until the fenders are put back in place. This is because the last "slit" will allow for the fenders to flex a bit and get the shape perfect when bolted in place. Once there, I weld the last patch and we will have a perfectly shaped fender.
So now onto November and the marathon weekend of Thanksgiving 2014. I worked on the truck Wednesday, skipped Thanksgiving day itself and went back Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Got a lot done though.... Move onto the cab... We took the cab off with the help of a few friends a few months ago. To get that job done we had to get through 50 years of mud mixed with grease to get the steering and a few other things out of the truck. Then beat a few bolts into submission and off came the cab. What we had then was a good clear photo of what work had to be done. The two front lower corners had to get replaced. These we found stamped panels for. The lower chassis channels on the cab need some work and new metal. The inner corners were OK on the driver's side, mostly some surface rust. On the passenger side though.... I need to rebuild it. To do the lower channels on the cab I pulled out some paper to make a template. The left and right sides are mirror images of each other, so I picked the better side to make the template with and cut out two replacement pieces. The new piece complete with the inner flange for added strength. Makes it look simple by seeing it in parts... but the cutout, making the flange, straightening and cleaning took about 45 minutes per side. The tack welded in place. Now onto the sides that will support the outer panel.
Now the outer flange/side. Same thing here. Made a template, cut out the part, shaped it to get it as perfect as possible.... The flange welded in place. You can also make out the inner corner rebuild a bit. All of these ultimately got completely welded as a seam then cleaned up smooth. The stamped replacement patches come next now that the support structure is strong again. For that the panel is positioned and the scribe is made to cut out the old panel. The old panel is spot welded in some spot around the perimeter so I worked my way around to get the old part out. I then wire wheel and clean the area. Hit it with some primer as some parts will be harder to get to later. We then start butt welding in spots to avoid warping. Hammer out, fill in a bit more, hammer out, etc. Grind down the welds all the way around the panel. Ultimately, we end up with the the panels replaced....
Now the back of the cab including reinforcing the floor and rear straps. Here is a shot before I got started. The back floor panel/strip is badly pitted and not in good shape at all. The two straps coming down are rusted loose and need to be rebuilt to give the cab strength. The back cross member has also come off the floor panel and needs to be re welded in place. It was spot welded originally, but that will be changed.... To make this right, I made a pair of panels with a flange at the back for the floor. These will come in from underneath to replace the rusted floor panel. I will then build out a pair of new angles that will be welded to the rear starps/braces. These new bottoms to the straps will then sandwich the old floor with the new lower, flanged panels I made. Last, the rear cross brace will be welded to the new floor steel as well. The new floor panels with the flange spot welded in place. I drilled a few spots on the good steel left in the old floor and then welded from above. On the lower side of the panels you can see the weld penetration into the new steel. On the first shot, you the the back strap lower angle spot welded. On the second shot the cross brace was welded which is why you see the long weld penetration across the panel. In these shots, you see the rear straps welded to the floor panel and new flanged piece I had put in before. You can also see the shot of the rear cross brace welded in as well. Here is the final product (inner portion) of the rear floor rebuild. Now it is sturdier than the original.... in my opinion. Before I moved onto the panel to close this all off.... everything gets cleaned off. All welds ground smooth and a coat of primer is laid to avoid rust if I don't complete paint coverage in every nook and cranny from above. Finally, the rear panel is added. This was also purchased as a new stamped part. Process was the same as the front corners. Basically, place, scribe, cut out, clean, dry fit (30 times) and then butt weld the spots around and fill in a bit at a time. Hammer, weld, clean, let cool, repeat.
The Jalopy Journal
