Patch Panels
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 914
Likes: 71
From: Lavergne, Tn.
Patch Panels
I've spent the last few days putting in cab corner patch panels. I guess the days of good fitting patch panels are long gone. I even spent the time to get panels that supposedly were stamped here in the USA. They turned out to be not so good. Flanges were really wadded up during the stamping process and the character lines were not very sharp.
I did a lot of cutting, hammering and welding to get these things to fit well.
These things are time consuming getting them to fit tight, but with a little massaging they turned out ok. Good to know I've got another piece of the puzzle put together. Some days I wish there weren't so many pieces.
I did a lot of cutting, hammering and welding to get these things to fit well.
These things are time consuming getting them to fit tight, but with a little massaging they turned out ok. Good to know I've got another piece of the puzzle put together. Some days I wish there weren't so many pieces.
Logistics Pro
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 3,793
Likes: 19
From: Austin
Hey Drew,
We feel your pain - those curved pieces are a pain to get right. We tried
2 different patch panels from large suppliers & the fit was so far off. I finally found an FTE member on this site up in Connecticut who figured out how to do them -His were very good. Your's are a work of art.
My concern is what to do to keep it from happening again & collecting moisture in there & rusting all over again? Fill it with foam? Drill holes underneath there?
Ben in Austin
We feel your pain - those curved pieces are a pain to get right. We tried
2 different patch panels from large suppliers & the fit was so far off. I finally found an FTE member on this site up in Connecticut who figured out how to do them -His were very good. Your's are a work of art.
My concern is what to do to keep it from happening again & collecting moisture in there & rusting all over again? Fill it with foam? Drill holes underneath there?
Ben in Austin
Hotshot
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 16,867
Likes: 3,100
From: SE Wisc. (the Rust Belt)
Just think about it. Your truck lived it's first 50+ years being used as a truck. Worked hard and most likely parked outside. Now you're getting it all pretty and it will never see the service it had for the first part of it's life. You will also most likely drive it only occasionally and park it inside. Even if you did a half a** job it will probably easily last another 50 years.
Thread Starter
|
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 914
Likes: 71
From: Lavergne, Tn.
Hey Drew,
We feel your pain - those curved pieces are a pain to get right. We tried
2 different patch panels from large suppliers & the fit was so far off. I finally found an FTE member on this site up in Connecticut who figured out how to do them -His were very good. Your's are a work of art.
My concern is what to do to keep it from happening again & collecting moisture in there & rusting all over again? Fill it with foam? Drill holes underneath there?
Ben in Austin
We feel your pain - those curved pieces are a pain to get right. We tried
2 different patch panels from large suppliers & the fit was so far off. I finally found an FTE member on this site up in Connecticut who figured out how to do them -His were very good. Your's are a work of art.
My concern is what to do to keep it from happening again & collecting moisture in there & rusting all over again? Fill it with foam? Drill holes underneath there?
Ben in Austin
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,342
Likes: 1
From: Jamestown, IN
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Logistics Pro
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 3,577
Likes: 29
From: Pekin, IL
wish i had more room and money...i would like to have a shrinker/stretcher a sheetmetal brake and some other cool stuff!
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Hotshot
Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 16,135
Likes: 4,735
From: Burbank, WA
Don't fill it with foam!! You'll just be putting a huge sponge inside the panel. The best thing you can do is make sure the interior surface is as clean as possible, coat with a good epoxy primer and paint. You might consider drilling a few weep holes at the very bottom but if you do it right you shouldn't have to and it's going to last long after you're gone or have sold it to another person.
Just think about it. Your truck lived it's first 50+ years being used as a truck. Worked hard and most likely parked outside. Now you're getting it all pretty and it will never see the service it had for the first part of it's life. You will also most likely drive it only occasionally and park it inside. Even if you did a half a** job it will probably easily last another 50 years.
Just think about it. Your truck lived it's first 50+ years being used as a truck. Worked hard and most likely parked outside. Now you're getting it all pretty and it will never see the service it had for the first part of it's life. You will also most likely drive it only occasionally and park it inside. Even if you did a half a** job it will probably easily last another 50 years.
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