67 Fun Continues

[widstje]

Trust me. I'll take a photo of the underside of my floor pans and you'll understand. Perhaps burr was not a strong enough word. Its bad enough to go down to the shop I had the work done at and smack someone around. I only paid them the money to get my truck back. I honestly didn't want them touching anything else.

Mine is a 67 as well.

Just a thought here... I was watching the Powerblock a few months ago and they were recapping Crazy Horse (http://www.staceydavid.com/index.php?content=projects). I remember Stacey David saying something about tacking some bracing on the body when replacing so many parts. This helps aligning important pieces later on. I'm not sure if you considered some twisting might occur.

 

[A4x4Junky]

I remember Stacey David saying something about tacking some bracing on the body when replacing so many parts. This helps aligning important pieces later on. I'm not sure if you considered some twisting might occur.

I have thought about that, but am not sure what to tack from and to. I know some people use the door openings when doing frame-off. I will be on frame (except when I have to remove that brace under the floor :-[ )

I consider what has to be removed...or better yet what little will be left and am unsure what to measure from and to. I have been measuring door openings when doing striker posts...and figure I will get those in place so I have a solid point to measure from when doing the hinge posts. I also am doing the floors now so the upper floor panels will be as solid as they can be...but Im sure that isnt enough to keep the structure from tweaking. I figure the frame will be one of the stationary points as will the quarter panels. Every other piece of metal forward (almost) will be replaced. 2 upper floor pans (that form the firewall), one wheel tub, and the radiator support are all that will remain.

If anyone has any ideas, I am certainly up for some advice. As I said in my first post...I have no idea what I am doing.

Anthony

 

[A4x4Junky]

Got a bunch more done today. First day I got done as much as I hoped...and possibly a bit more.

First, have a couple pics of the bottom of the floor pan requested by widstje. Keep in mind that I havent cleaned em up...just cut and weld. Will have a full day of cleaning up edges and seam sealering.

Started off by welding in the passenger striker post. Got all measurements set, clamped and welded away.

Once I finished that I moved onto the dreaded floor/seat brace that was rotten on mine. I can tell that if I was frame off this would be a non-issue...but it sucked. But victory was mine

Couldnt finish the brace yet because I didnt have the passenger floor pan in...so did that next. Got the old metal removed, cut down the floor pan and got that most of the way installed. Ran out of time to finish the welding at the end...but tomorrow can continue that.

Anthony

Oh, still wondering what would be the best way to grind down these welds. I have a 4" angle grinder...but that seems a bit rough on the metal I dont wanna mess up. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[widstje]

Here's the floor panel welds I have to work with... $1400... Still makes me sick I paid that much for this type of bad work.

 

[A4x4Junky]

Yea, a lot of money indeed. Looks like they made it to the "its in" portion of the install with no finish work or care for the idea that some people actually care about the condition of the underside of their vehicle. Not that you should have to for that kind of money, but at least you know what the problem is and can take care of it.

Anthony

 

[A4x4Junky]

Finished welding in the passenger side floor today. Still hoping someone can give me a better option for weld...um...gob removal rather than my 4" angle grinder...hate to eat into the finished surface with that tool.

Moved onto driver side hinge post, kick panel, inner fender, and wheel well. Started off pretty well. All came out with little fuss.

I was careful to take a LOT of measurements before disassembly...but at one point when I was mocking up all the parts I realized that my kick panel was 5/8" too big for my truck...how dare they make my part too big

...or how dare my driver side sag that badly... this sag was pre-disassembly too. I made sure to put all panels back to the exact measurement they were before coming to the conclusion that my whole dash and cowl was off by 5/8". Not a big deal...but real glad I caught this now.

Lifted the whole assembly and braced it into position. Mocked up all body panels again with much greater success. Got the inner fender welded into place and marked up the kick panel....then sat there staring at the cowl. The brace they give me does not line up very well. Did a search on here and realized that other people have had problems with this piece as well. As per my "professional" MS Paint arrow...the brace sits up there about a half inch above the rest. Still toying with ideas on how to get that into position...but was hoping someone else who had done it could give me better insight.

The last photo shows how it sits now. I can drill and weld the kick in place next time, then move onto the hinge post.

Anthony

 

[behemoth]

Before you weld that cowl in I would add or re weld all of the nuts for the pedals and hood hinges. Also do not count on anything being in the correct location. on mine the only thing that appears to have been correct was the openings for the hood hinge panels. Everything else was off. Take a lot of measurements to get the pedal support and the column support in the correct places. the windshield supports appear to be gone on yours ( rusted ) do they make them yet ?

To grind the welds I have 2 angle grinders, both with the flapper disks on them one coarse and the other not so. I get it close with the coarse one and then to the clean up with the other. you will find out just how good your welds are when you grind them. the first floor boards we did there were many that came loose after grinding. Easy fix though.

Great work and it looks like you are having a lot of fun.

 

[A4x4Junky]

Before you weld that cowl in I would add or re weld all of the nuts for the pedals and hood hinges.

Very good advice I wouldnt have even though of. I will be sure to do that, thank you.

the windshield supports appear to be gone on yours ( rusted ) do they make them yet ?

The pic below is what I have found for a replacement on this. Looks like a real pain in the butt.

To grind the welds I have 2 angle grinders, both with the flapper disks on them one coarse and the other not so. I get it close with the coarse one and then to the clean up with the other. you will find out just how good your welds are when you grind them. the first floor boards we did there were many that came loose after grinding. Easy fix though

I will certainly try out the flapper disks. So far a coarse grinding stone has only managed to butcher the sheetmetal. I had a few welds pop so far...but not many. Originally I was installing the panels with sheetmetal screws. Then I would pull the screws one at a time and replace the screw with weld. I didnt like those results, so I went to plug welding. I find them easier to weld and havent had any of them let go on me yet.

Thanks for the advice,

Anthony

 

[behemoth]

i found that the holes and nuts for the pedals were in the wrong location on mine. Mine was also missing the hood hinge nuts. I called them and they checked the ones they had and they had nuts so it was a fluke. Weld them though, when I moved the nuts for the pedals they came off easily. What you do not get with the cowl panel is the support for the column, the windshield supports. Those you have to move from yours to the new one. The passenger side cowl panel also has some fit issues so be ready. Also the firewall will bend in to the engine when all of the panels are removed so you will have to brace the fire wall with something before welding. I braced mine to the radiator support, but I did not have to replace the inner fenders.

The coarse flapper disks are no where near as coarse as the grinding disks, those things just chew through the steel. the flappers do not generate as much heat so there is less warp age and more control.

Check out my cowl repair in the tech section, the cowl is not as hard as the door posts, from what I have seen and done so far. I have not done the door post repair yet.

 

[A4x4Junky]

i found that the holes and nuts for the pedals were in the wrong location on mine. Mine was also missing the hood hinge nuts. I called them and they checked the ones they had and they had nuts so it was a fluke. Weld them though, when I moved the nuts for the pedals they came off easily. What you do not get with the cowl panel is the support for the column, the windshield supports. Those you have to move from yours to the new one. The passenger side cowl panel also has some fit issues so be ready.

I saw the writeup and noticed the need to weld those pieces on. Doesnt look too horrible, but I certainly was hoping that it wouldnt be necessary.
I have heard about the fitment issues with the passenger side cowl....not sure what the problem is, but have heard people give up in disgust only to work on trying to find someone with that original panel in good shape for sale...doesnt sound like it will be much fun.

Had a couple days of no working on the truck...and was rather looking forward to getting back to it. Got a reasonable amount done tonight. Started with the drivers kick panel. I didnt have a lot of good measurements to go by, so had to spend a decent amount of time trying to take into consideration as many problems I could think up before putting the welder to the panel. So I looked at the radiator support to windshield distance, the holes in the inner fender and kick panel to see if they were the right space apart compared to my fender, the opening at the door compared to the untouched passenger side and a few other things. Finally got it to where I figure it should be and got that put in.

Next I worked on getting the driver hinge post installed. I had a lot of measurements to go by (thank you Grauerfam) so I took those numbers, compared them to the numbers I got before taking mine apart and at the advice of others I measured, and measured, then remeasured....and measured again just in case...it took a bit of tweaking on the new panel...and some cutting and a bit of grinding, but finally got all the numbers to match up perfectly so I got that welded into place. Was happy to see that it went in so well.

Tomorrow night (if I have time) I will get the drivers side wheel tub installed, then begin removal of the passenger pieces. Those all need to be replaced as well.

Anthony

 

[A4x4Junky]

Got some more done tonight. Not as much as I wanted, but Im getting used to that.

The drivers front wheel well is finally welded into place. Tied everything together and made it all very solid. Im happy with how it turned out.

Began the destruction on the passenger side as well. Have a couple pics of the before and a couple where I am at now.

Will work on getting the rest of the passenger side apart probably tomorrow, then will see how well it goes back together.

Anthony

 

[widstje]

How tough is it to remove the front fenders? I need to get to the front wheel tubs to do a bit of patch work myself.

 

[Dealercut66]

Not that hard. The main prob I had was the little tabs with the nut welded to it were rusted and you would try removing the bolt and the tab would break. So I used vise grips alot

 

[A4x4Junky]

How tough is it to remove the front fenders? I need to get to the front wheel tubs to do a bit of patch work myself.

Not bad at all to pull the fenders. I had a few of the bolt...um, thingys (see pic below) let loose on me. Vice grips to the rescue!

Anthony

 

[bronko69er]

I like to use the sanding disks on my 4-1/2" angle grinder to clean up welds.
Put a stiffener behind the disk to make it a little more rigid but it will still be flexible.

 

[widstje]

How are the repairs going lately?

 

[A4x4Junky]

:-[ Right now they arent. I am in the middle of going through the application process for a few different police departments...so a lot of studying and preparing for tests. The last week and a half has been spent in preparation for the oral boards. That is set for tomorrow afternoon, then I can get back to work

I miss working on the truck, but this damned thing my mom beat into me (I think she called it responsubilitie or some nonsense like that ) is messing me up.

I hope to get the passenger side inner fender, kick panel, and hinge plate on by the end of the week.

Thanks for asking

Anthony

 

[A4x4Junky]

Well, not that the interview stuffs is behind me I can get back to some real work ;D

Finished the disassembly of the passenger side front inner fender, kick panel, hinge post and enough of the cowl to squeeze it all back in when I am ready.

Started putting clamping the new metal into position and getting the measurements to all work out. Will start welding those into place tomorrow night.

Decided to take a look at the fitment of the new rockers. This doesnt look good The rocker isnt ... well...the right shape/size. I have included a bunch of pics to show it the best I can, but am at a loss as to how to make this fit and not look like poop. I am certainly open for ideas/suggestions.

Anthony

 

[A4x4Junky]

Figured I would take a look before heading to work for the day.

Hoping someone can give some insight into the rocker issue. If it is a crap fitment issue, then I will have to see what I can do to work around it. I dont know how to modify this piece and not have it look horrid when done. Looks like if it is fitment I will have to rebend the ends.

However, if this is an issue with how I installed any of the other pieces (hinge post, kick panel, striker post) then I would certainly like to find out prior to welding in the passenger side and making the same mistake.

Thanks,

Anthony

 

[A4x4Junky]

Another bump. Hoping someone will see this that might be able to help me out a bit. I have read a bunch of posts that say the part is a direct replacement...so maybe is my fault. Im not sure what to do with it.

If it is my fault and I have to pull apart some of the work I have done so far Im ok with it...but want to be sure before I weld the passenger side together.

Appreciate any thoughts.

Anthony