Big Bertha's Hip Replacement Surgery

[papastruck]

With some desperately needed assistance, I jumped into my first bodywork project. I did dent work, while the panel replacement was done by someone more experienced. Haven't done any filler work yet; I'll post when we do that in the next couple weeks.

Before:

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Removed the rot with a small electric grinder. About half a bucket of dirt fell out when we pulled the panel off. If you don't have a bed guard like this does, it's worthwhile to stick the sprayer down that middle stake hole when you go to the wash. We didn't cut the ends of the replacement panel, just the top. Were I to do it again, I'd cut about 3" off each end as well, as the panel has a crown to it that will require some additional filler work. That amount reduces the effect of the crown without having to pick around the wheelhouses when cutting, which would have been more work than it was worth.

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Sorry 'bout the bushes; parking's that tight. Again, no filler applied yet. Panels are from TABCO.

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I also pulled a bunch of dents out. Here's the worst one, which I didn't have time to finish and which is buggered up enough that I'm thinking about heading to the junkyard with a sawzall and grabbing the right tail light area. But from about 4" ahead of the tail light, it popped out nicely, the remaining work being the body line on the bottom. I'd lined up the 3 gouges with about 30 studs to pull, but what got it out was actually a few well-placed studs running about 2" in front of the light.

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We're going to leave it white only, which is what this truck was originally. It will hide blemishes for a first time painter, and while I always thought the 2 tone paint schemes were some of the best things about these trucks, it's not worth the time and expense in light of everything else it needs IMO. Besides, can you not come back, mask, scuff, and paint a side of color down the road?

 

[Darrin Tosh]

I was picturing a Dually Fender replacement,

Looking good!

 

[subway]

nice, look forward to the finished piece!

 

[Agnem]

Nice job. How did you cut the metal so streight, and with what? What kind of welding was done to put the patch back in?

 

[papastruck]

Nice job. How did you cut the metal so streight, and with what? What kind of welding was done to put the patch back in?

I cut it with my friend Carl!

Carl had a 4" cutoff wheel on a grinder and looked like he'd done it a few times before. But I should have noted the details, having had mildly but nowhere near as successful cuts on my '73. So, here's the blow-by-blow:

1. He set a 4’ level with a straightedge on the bedrail. We noted the position of the bubble and moved it down to about an inch below the body line above the wheel well. This is key for mocking up the panel correctly.

2. One of us held the level with the bubble in position, the other used this infinitely useful paint pencil he had to trace a line on the side of the truck.

3. We then marked out the verticals using the same level and bubble position. I did the driver side, and the key here was to make sure you didn’t mark a spot where you’d cut through the hardware behind the fuel filler doors. I marked aft of that, but in front of where the steel wheel house ended underneath.

4. He cut with the electric grinder and cutoff wheel. He really paid attention to the angle of the wheel, making sure it went into the side of the truck flat. He also (with glasses) held the grinder upside down so he could see exactly where the wheel was in relation to the line.

5. Unfortunately, we discovered rot through in the wheel houses underneath. Undaunted, Carl disappeared and reappeared moments later with a couple extra Chevy door bottoms from TABCO he’d ordered for his 6 door (that’s another story – 6 door 80s Chevy dually with a 5.9) and cut patches out of them. They’re not perfect, but he tacked them in there and put some seam sealer before putting the outer patches on.

6. He cut the top part off the panel so as not to cross a body line, and at least one of the sides to clear the fuel door on the driver side. What was left was about an inch larger than the cut out, so the steel was just laid on in an overlapping fashion, with the overlaps being about an inch.

7. Sprayed the inside with some weld-through primer and tacked the panel on with a MIG, tacks about an inch apart, moving around the panel rather than in a pure linear fashion. I should say here that at this point that we discussed different techniques used for this kind of thing, particularly butt welding. But honestly, for the time we had, and for what we’re trying to accomplish, it’s really very little filler you need to smooth this over, and it’s a real time saver. Subsequent pictures shall answer whether this assumption is correct, but I was really surprised at how smooth it came out, and subsequent MA winters will answer the question of whether it’s durable. He may also go back and tack all the way around.

8. A small amount of pick hammering was needed for the ends to mate up with the existing work, but the TABCO panels fit pretty well. Exactly how much I don’t know, as I was busy butchering on the other side and undoing the result of my forgetting tie downs when I picked up a transmission from the front bed rail.

9. Then the welds were ground down, a wire brush run over the panel on I believe a grinder.

10. Rattle-can primer. This will come off when we do the filler work. I gather you don’t really want to paint over that stuff, so this works better than rattle-canning over finished body work.

11. Seam seal everything possible on the inside.

Tearing these apart really shows you why these always rusted over the rear wheels. There’s a stake hole right above, but no real evacuation route for anything that comes down it, so it all cakes up right there and holds water.

 

[Agnem]

Thanks for that. We need more how to's with pics and vids when it comes to body work. I think most all of us feel exceptionally challenged in that department. It forces you to become an artist, which not all of us can be.

 

[papastruck]

Cool, well, I hope to have something to add for once. It's the least I could do given the world of trouble I'd be in without OB.

I eventually have to rebuild by '73 bed with a whole new floor, a new left side, and patches on the right side, but as they're basically the same construction, it shouldn't make a difference.

 

[87-F-250]

Body Work

Body Work at Diesel Power.

Hope all is well Oilburners.net!

Looks Good CB!

 

[fury9]

dang schweet job! Too bad you are a bizillion miles away from drag rag. BTW- You have the HOLT GRAIL In my Opinion!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I will be washing out every bed hole (till I get A cap) Thanks! suprised you didn't go with a bigger exhaust. and thanks 87f250 but I dont wanna see a pic of a 10 lug front wheel. I did see the new powerstroke at wally though. Was an eco-lab truck wit a lift gate. DAMN them emblems are ugly as hell!

 

[papastruck]

suprised you didn't go with a bigger exhaust.

That's temporary. It's got the Banks 3" right now, the new tailpipe being a replacement for a crumpled piece. I have to fix a crushed up pipe before a 4" makes any difference.

Haven't had any time to work on it this week, but I did get out and stare at it a bit. As early as it is in the process, it still looks unbelievably better than it did. Need to get it buttoned up because it keeps getting rained on.

Like the color choice, Jason - how are you going to handle the door jams, etc?

 

[papastruck]

A belated update:

I cut a right rear off a '94 in my local junkyard, and we spliced that in. It's pretty wavy, but we haven't gotten any blocking done yet after a coat of high-build filler. My pic of that side didn't come out, but I'll post another. Meanwhile, here's the left side, all primered up. We haven't done any blocking yet here, either, so this side at least looks like it will come out fine.

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Meanwhile, I've been unable to get back up to NH where the "body shop" is, but I've turned to the interior, which has a really bad aftermarket setup of some kind in it. I'll just post in here since it's the same truck. Here's how it looked when I bought it (photo taken off the ebay add):

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Then gutted:

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Lots of unsavory stuff under there. Mainly the upholsterer glued like 3/4" foam to the floor. Some Goo Gone and plastic window tool has been working, albeit slowly, on the foam. Not sure how to get what remains of the factory insulation - or whether it even needs to be removed - but I'm going to try setting some heat to it this week. The floors themselves are in great shap, the only rust being around where various screws have been driven into it.

Here's a part where I got the foam and a good chunk of the factory roofing material, for lack of a better term. The brown on the transmission hump is exhibit A on how much heat comes through the floor from an unwrapped up pipe.

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Once it's all cleaned up, it's some tan ACC carpet from RockAuto on top of some Thermo-tec sound and heat control mat, then to tackle the seats. The driver's side is bent on the bottom, so it sags, and while a lot of the flimsiness was corrected simply by tightening all the bolts on it that had rattled loose, it's probably better to chuck it and move on, especially to something with a cup holder that doesn't lean to the rear 30 degrees.

This was pretty funny:

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If you ask me, the foundation of that seat is a discarded JC Penney awning.

 

[Diesel_brad]

Not to knock your work but why didnt you just put a new side on the truck?

 

[papastruck]

On the right side? If I had to do it over, I probably would. Being the noob I am, I didn't foresee the extent of distortion of the body lines when you stitch sections together. But as it is I'm still well below the cost of replacement part + truck shipping, and even if I have to do it over, I'll still be below the cost of just paying someone. (Plus, I kinda got into this whole thing to learn about it.)

The left side was just the hip plus a bunch of small dings.

 

[94turboidi]

Looking great. Keep it up. No matter what you put into it, its cheaper than a new truck.

 

[Diesel_brad]

On the right side? If I had to do it over, I probably would. Being the noob I am, I didn't foresee the extent of distortion of the body lines when you stitch sections together. But as it is I'm still well below the cost of replacement part + truck shipping, and even if I have to do it over, I'll still be below the cost of just paying someone. (Plus, I kinda got into this whole thing to learn about it.)

The left side was just the hip plus a bunch of small dings.

yeah. A side can be had for about 300 and installed in about 6 hours.It is also a far superior repair then a welded in patch panel. But it is a learning experiance for you