Hey guys was wondering how you all would go about fixing the seam between the roof and windshield I will try and attach pictures Thanks dan
If it is rusted away I cut it out and braze or weld a new piece in. On the roof itself you are kind of screwed unless your metal shaping skills are exceptional. On the small holes you can hold a piece of copper on the back side and fill them with weld.
Make sure you get all the old sealer out and blast the area,,,and make sure you get all the media out before welding. Good luck on the repair.
I have a similar prob with my 56 but it's mainly the gutters that are gone and a few spots into the roof. I'm going to get the gutters off and fix the other bad areas, working the compound curves in small sections then replace the gutters with tubing or round stock. I learned my lesson last year on my sons car to go back plenty far into good metal. That area under the gutter is pretty flat and could be done in a few sections. It's likely the gutters are rusty in the joints so be aware of that
You guys think that if I clean it real good i could squeeze it together and weld it back up. It looks like there is still some meat where the spot welds came part or maybe a piece of filler metal around the whole bottom of drip rail...
Looks rusted out to me in the pics. Squeezing it together may make your windshield opening warped too much to make a windshield fit.
Thanks guys for the input...anyone know of somebody selling a cab for a decent price with little or no rust
It's difficult to find a cab without a problem in the gutter and roof area. Your cab looks like it can be fixed . Just take your time and work a small area ( 4" to 6" ) at a time. I had some issues ( I'm far from a body guy ) and replaced some panels and the front half of floor on mine. I was a bit hesitant but after I got started it went pretty well just took time getting things to fit.
Thanks for the encouragement. You wouldn't happen to have any pics of the patch panels you made or process of doing it. I'm new to body work and probably over thinking it.
In my opinion the only way to repair this is to cut all the rusted areas out and weld good clean steel -even if that means going into the roof through 2 -3 layers of steel. Patching body work in this area will not give you a satisfactory repair -they sweat too much.plus it is a structural area and you need all the strength you can get
Been there Done that,, actually several times. That is pretty standard Rott for the 56 Ford trucks. Nothing about it is Cheep or Easy. You must get all the rust cleaned out before you start any repair. A budget back yard way is to sand blast the inside and shape patches as a back side repair and then top weld it in place. I can't believe I actually said that but if you can live with Bondo for a finish just go for it. What do you have to loose? The Wizzard
Whenever i do rust repairs , first i get out my Sharpie marker and a ruler and put some reference lines. I write measurements down on the panel so I can remember . Once you cut away and then cut away a bit more and a smidge more it is always good to have those lines to refer back to. Repairs like yours are fiddley and time consuming. i have a press and shrikers and stretchers , so it looks straightforwardto me. You may have to get some profiles folded at a sheetmetal shop. I always use zincanealed 1.2mm . Its a bit thicker than factory but I find works better. Some guys say use use black steel. . . but it rusted away cos it was black steel. The compound shapes you can hammer over an anvil with a ball peen hammer.
Thanks agian..I can live with bondo cause it won't be a show car I need to stop the water from coming in and make it look halfway decent
I bought a complete roof with some of the a-pillars off a guy on eBay in California. He sent it greyhound to Philadelphia for my 59 Chevy pu. Cut out what I needed and welded it in. Same for the front can corners.
Here are a few pic's of the panels I've been working on The firewall looked like swiss cheese so that came out first. I had to replace the front half of the floor as it was rusty at the cab mounts and L side foot rest area. Here the left cowl area is removed. bottom was rusty and up by the hood area it was pretty bent up. You can see the piece I cut around at the lower hinge, this is attached to the inner fender support. This made it easier to remove without damage to the hinge support. Also the same at the upper seam. Fitting the cowl panel. This was almost as much work as doing the floor. Getting the upper seam area right was kind of a pain. I thought I'd have to make cuts to get it down even with the org cowl. You just have to be patient and go slow. I use cleco's to hold things on and get lined up. Checking to make sure the hood was lining up with cowl. So right before I started welding this cowl in, I took a chance and took a piece of pine and laid it along the the offending high seam and gave it few light wacks with a small ball peen. It worked, so I clamped from the back at the seam I started tacking starting at the top seam. and then to the hood hinge and down the jamb. Ford used a lot of seam sealer in these cabs so be sure to get it out of the repair areas before welding. I'm happy with the outcome, I wasn't sure I had the patience for this body work stuff. I tried when I was 18 and made a mess out of the 1/4's on my 55 Crown Vic that a friend had to fix. He told me to stay away from body work that I was a hack. Fast back to the future, and I'm now trying to do most everything myself just because I want to, and I've had others (Pro's) do work on my cars that I wasn't very happy with. If you can weld don't let your rust problem stop you from fixing it right. I get most of the parts needed from Mid Fifty's. They get the parts to me fast and the girls know there stuff on these Ford Trucks. I'm going to be working on my gutter problem last. I want the doors back on before doing that. I almost forgot. Thanks goes to Keven Sledge for the encouragement and sharing his knowledge.
not that hard to find a better cab cut your losses not like its a deuce roadster or anything very rare nice bare cabs around here are about 6-8 hundred bux dont take long to spend that on patch panels and labor
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