Bodywork - Page Five
(Click here for Page: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 6 - 7 - 8 )
Well, it's about time I get back on the page - the rear of the cab metal work is done,
now it's time to start on the front cab corners. Here's a few pics of how the rear turned
out. A bit of bodywork, lot's of grinding and sanding, and some filler. ...
There's always plenty to do, and I have kept pretty busy, with cleaning and painting parts,
etc, etc. I finally got the nerve up to cut out the old front cab corners, and found some
serious rust, although not near as bad as the rear. The following pics show what I found,
and how it looked after sandblasting.
The following pictures are the actual sheet metal replacement. I decided to cut out
whatever looked bad, and make patches. The bottom of both door posts were bad,
plus the support with the triangular cutout was bad. As you can see, it worked out
rather well. The pictures don't show it, but I did clean up all the rust, before welding
the patches in. Forgot to take pictures - it gets that way when I get absorbed in what
I am doing, and often forget to stop and take pictures...
With the support bracket, and bottom of the door post done, I had to decide how to
mark the cab corner patch, and existing sheet metal, to make my cuts. I decided to use
a laser, stuck to my vice on the work table. This worked out quite well, as I could mark
them both, without worrying about lining stuff up. Plus, it gave me a gap about the thickness
of the 18 ga. sheet metal I am using, which should make for a very good weld. I don't
think I'll have any more problems with the cab corners, at least not in MY lifetime!
Well, that's as far as I have gotten today - tomorrow, I work on getting the passenger
side ready, then I will paint everything with Chassis Saver, and weld-thru primer, and
weld up the cab corners, barring any problems. I had to make the holders for the hinge
backing plates, as mine were rusted out completely (you can see what's left, in a few
of the pictures), and they turned out ok. Now I have to spend the rest of tonight, getting
all the broken off screws out of them, or making some new ones...
Moving on toPage Six, the cab corners are just about done...
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