Shaved drip rails?
Fleet Owner
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 20,678
Likes: 82
From: NorCal
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will just throw in my useless opinion:
If your truck has nice drip rails and a nice roof skin, please don't go slicing off your rails. Welding the entire length of the roof panel scares even me as I HATE plastic filler. if you do this mod, please understand that you WILL warp the roof and you CANNOT hammer-and-dolly this area to remove welding shrinkage. You cannot eliminate warping shrinkage by just spot welding a little at a time. when the weld cools, the metal shrinks, period. If your roof is a mess already, by all means, cut away!
By the way, all of you that think that rust starts on the outside of the roof from rain running down the side are 3/4 incorrect. The damp condensation that beads up on the inside of your roof in the mornings when the dew point is reached, collects under your roof skin where the structure/drip rail/skin pinch weld is, is why you get rust holes. Recommend replacing weather strip.
I will just throw in my useless opinion:
If your truck has nice drip rails and a nice roof skin, please don't go slicing off your rails. Welding the entire length of the roof panel scares even me as I HATE plastic filler. if you do this mod, please understand that you WILL warp the roof and you CANNOT hammer-and-dolly this area to remove welding shrinkage. You cannot eliminate warping shrinkage by just spot welding a little at a time. when the weld cools, the metal shrinks, period. If your roof is a mess already, by all means, cut away!
By the way, all of you that think that rust starts on the outside of the roof from rain running down the side are 3/4 incorrect. The damp condensation that beads up on the inside of your roof in the mornings when the dew point is reached, collects under your roof skin where the structure/drip rail/skin pinch weld is, is why you get rust holes. Recommend replacing weather strip.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Nov 1999
Posts: 954
Likes: 2
From: 15 miles west of Venus
The drip rail in most places is 3 layers thick. Cut a short section off and weld to keep things from getting to out of shape.
A possible drip rail donor is mid to late '70's GM pickups. The drip rail is screwed to the cab. The angle where it goes behind the door is different so it would have to be re-bent.
A possible drip rail donor is mid to late '70's GM pickups. The drip rail is screwed to the cab. The angle where it goes behind the door is different so it would have to be re-bent.
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