Salan's 1980 Something

[salans7]

Thanks guys!

My future posts on this build thread will be limited due to burn out. I have been on forums for over ten years of my life, and I'm just burnt out. That's a huge chunk of time to dedicate to something, and I can't help but wish I had spent more of it working on the trucks I post about. Progress doesn't happen unless you get out and do it, and with three trucks that need attention, it's hard for me to justify hanging around on the internet any longer. I still hope to pop in on the main forum every once in awhile, but I don't think I'll be posting this truck much here unless something big happens.

[salans7]

So with the recent addition of my welder, rust repair is now something I can tackle on my own.

Speaking of DIY rust repair, I am currently working on removing a previous owner's rust repairs. Rather than replace the rusty sections with aftermarket patch panels stamped to fit these trucks, they chose to make their own out of sheet steel. They crudely bent them to loosely match the shape of the rocker, and then tack welded it all in place. This simply acted as a cover for the rusted section and was not actually a repair. Because this was a cover, it was not properly sealed and dirt was piled up below it, causing the rocker to rust out further after the repair.

I thought based on what they did that the rockers were in rough shape, but they aren't even bad at all. It's just some  rigging that we're pretty used to down here.

I still have to tackle the passenger side this weekend, but it's much of the same. I'm glad to know the rust isn't that bad, but I'm also frustrated that they essentially caused me more work by not repairing this right the first time.

[grumpin]

Cool! It’ll be nice when you’re done.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Well thank you for the update Shaun!

Your Florida floors look good from up here in snow country!  

Those pinch welds the weather seal slips on always hold water and rot out.
The more mud, sand, muck in there the longer they take to dry out.

Glad you have a welder and can begin to address it!  

[Gary Lewis]

Glad you are going to do it right.

By the way, did you get my email about two weeks ago?  We were coming through your area and wondered if you were available.

[salans7]

Thanks guys! Rust repair held me back on my F150, and I'm glad that isn't the case with this truck. I've been busy practicing weld techniques with the sheet metal scraps I've removed from this truck so that I can do a mostly professional job. Even a semi-professional job would be better than what the previous owner did.

Gary Lewis wrote

Glad you are going to do it right.

By the way, did you get my email about two weeks ago?  We were coming through your area and wondered if you were available.

Gary, I completely missed it but have since replied. My apologies.

[Gary Lewis]

No problem, Shaun.  I got your email and replied awa sent you a text.  

[salans7]

ArdWrknTrk wrote

Well thank you for the update Shaun!

Your Florida floors look good from up here in snow country!  

Those pinch welds the weather seal slips on always hold water and rot out.
The more mud, sand, muck in there the longer they take to dry out.

Glad you have a welder and can begin to address it!  

I ran the history report for this truck and it spent it's entire life in the county where I work, so that explains why it's relatively rust free. But it was a work truck, so that explains why it has some rust. But the floors under your feet are immaculate, so it's really not that bad. And everything that's rusted can be bought in aftermarket panels, with exception to the back of the cab which I'll probably try and source from another truck but can always hand form since it's at the bottom edge anyway.

I've always struggled to understand how the rocker repair panels go together on these trucks, but I'm starting to see now. Should be a pretty quick repair, but I'll be making sure I neutralize any surface rust and protect from any further rust.

[salans7]

Tackled the passenger side today. It was much of the same, but the rust is a little worse on the kick panel lower edge. Gonna have to get creative with that one since I can see it made it further inside the body than I can reach.

I hit all of the rust with a reformer and then coated it all in primer and paint to keep it protected until I get the repair panels in (and practice more with sheet metal).






Below is all of the sheet steel they used to cover the rust. Luckily the welds were poor, so it wasn't hard to get it all off.

[salans7]

Well, I decided to pull the interior back out of the truck. First reason is due to the rodent that chewed at the foam on my a/c doors (not the Detroit Muscle Kit thankfully) and second is because I need to repair the rust at the firewall base and one spot in the cowl. It's all just easier to do with the interior stripped down. I also want to weld out my dash mounts a little more because they were originally just tacked and bolted in, and I want them to be more secure. Plenty of work ahead of me, and I'm trying not to sleep on it.



I was doing some work on my red Ranger the other day, and it reminded me of an old photo I took years ago. Same spot, four different trucks. I still have the white Ranger (although it looks way different), but the F150 is long gone.

[grumpin]

Cool! And your outbuilding is different. Moved the door?

[Rembrant]

That Bullnose is a beast!

[Gary Lewis]

Best to do it correctly and well the first time so you don't have to do it again.  But it is also best not to lose sleep over how much work there is to do.  Trust me, I speak from experience.  

[mat in tn]

be honest. you drove into the building  didnt you?

[salans7]

Thanks guys!

Gary, when I say sleeping, I mean doing things other than work on the truck like playing on my phone or watching Youtube videos.

grumpin wrote

Cool! And your outbuilding is different. Moved the door?

mat in tn wrote

be honest. you drove into the building  didnt you?

There is another door on the south side (the side you see is the east side). I didn't like the thought of two entrances, so broke it down to put in a window. Haven't gotten around to painting it but plan on it soon.

[salans7]

I've been dreading this since I first picked up my new hood, but finally decided to take the leap and I'm glad I did. I measured way too many times, double checked my measurements, and made sure I used a small center punch to keep the drill from jumping. It was well worth the extra effort because all the letters look aligned, and the little inserts fit the holes perfectly.



After that was done, I took the front clip and A/C box off of the truck so I can focus on the horror below. Somebody has lifted this cab up by the fender mount at one point, and unfortunately, they managed to crack the firewall in several places (Red circles denote areas of damage). This was prior to my ownership, and I missed it when I bought the truck, but I'm the guy who gets to fix it. Luckily, I noticed the damage while I still had the parts truck laying around, so I cut this entire section out of that cab and will use it for this repair.

Do you guys have any tips for the best way to fix this? I already drilled small holes at the end of the cracks to keep them from spreading. I'll have to butt weld the sections that I cut out, but should I "plate" the sections I weld together for added strength, or will butt welds suffice? I'll be spot welding the upper fender mount back on but may add some beads in the structural areas for added support as the fender mount is what will be pulling on the firewall. Any tips are much appreciated.

[ArdWrknTrk]

I can't offer a lot of advice.
Tack and tap, tack and tap...
Just work the seams together slowly and try to force any stretched metal back while it's still glowing hot.
If you need to gently pull some sheet metal into alignment and you don't own a stud gun, leftover pop rivet shanks work well as a stand-in and are easily ground off.

Coming from the salty northeast I'm not a fan of doublers because salty slush always seems to get in there and start cancer, but I might cut away that torn section where the fender brace was spot welded to the cowl drop and replace it.
Doesn't look like there's much worth saving there.

The hood lettering looks great!   and you've even saved the hood ground strap from your parts truck 😉

[Gary Lewis]

I think I'm with Jim.  I usually like to fishplate things, but save for the fender brace there isn't much stress on any of it.  So I'd go with butt welds.

Do you have some of the clamps like these?  Those are from Eastwood but lots of people make them, and they sure help when holding a panel in place.

[salans7]

Thanks for the recommendations Jim. You're probably right, I definitely don't want to add any more spots for water to sit. This truck has enough as it is. As for the ground strap, I have a whole box of misc. straps from all three trucks that I've torn apart.

Gary, I have two magnets and some misc. vise clamps, but hadn't thought of those. I will surely look into them. Thanks!

[Rembrant]

I don't think I'd worry too much about that whole area...you can't see it when the truck is all assembled anyway. Weld and then keep pulling and bending to get it all back into shape, and then weld again. Slather the seam sealer on it when you're done, and it'll be fine.

I have a set of those clamps that Gary posted above. They've come in handy a few times.