I only have one bad area. Drivers side in front of the wheel tub. After seeing yours I feel fortunate it was an Idaho truck.




The only place rusted away.




Not my bondo job. Previous owner. The floor was difficult to remove. Captured nuts and bolts rusted tight.




I will clean up the cross members, paint and coat with bed liner, before new flooring wood.

 

Brent, your tubs look almost new. Snow, salt, and mud can sure wreak havoc with a vehicle. You are very fortunate. Are you going to fully restore your panel like your pick-up?

 

Yes, I'll probably do the panel with a new paint job and finish the interior like the F1 pick-up. Bucket seats and a console. I've been looking at Chrysler 300 seats and console. They are the right width for the F1's. I don't have a plan yet for the cargo area, but I'll finish it somehow. I had an Econoline '72 van that I had built a fold down bed and a simple camping kitchen, when we were in college 45 years ago. Maybe do that again.

 

You'll need a bumper sticker that says, 'If the panel rockin', don't come knockin'!"

 

Go for it. Just remember those ribs are there for structural strength. Don't rely on unsupported flat sheets for your repairs.

 

My semi-retired body guy is slowly working away on my tubs in his spare time. I know his repair is not going to be done to the same level of care that Bob Jones did for me, but hopefully it will hold back the dust, water, and road noise at least for awhile.

My restoration funds are pretty tapped out at this point, and I decided not to spend additional money on better parts or a different guy.

In the spring, I want to strip down and paint the back half of the truck, and supplies for that will not be cheap. The painting and prep work though is something that I have the tools for and can do myself (after a fashion). Welding is something I probably should have tried to learn too, but at this point, the welding work is almost finished (and paid for).







When this work is done, my truck should be pretty drivable. Won't that be great? I'll probably soon discover engine problems, leaks, or some other expensive horror--The checking account bleeding will never end....But I'm still having fun.

Thanks everyone for your interest and help.

 

Your repairs are coming along nicely. I finished all my welding this week on the wheel tubs. I also patched the fuel fill hole, all the firewall holes and welded in seat bases and made a hatch for the battery access. Looking at the cowl vent now, but reluctant to start. My welding is just so so on something that shows as much as the cowl vent. My Grandson is a certified welder, his buddies say "if you have to grind to make your welds acceptable, then your a grinder, not a welder". I'm a grinder!

 

Just curious, why are you welding in seat bases, I would think it would be better to have bases that bolt in.

 

I'm thinking "my guy" might be a grinder. I've been following your thread Brent, and you are making great progress--high quality work for sure. My truck, when finished, will strictly be a "driver"--suitable for weekly runs to the dump and other such errands around town.

 

The seats just have rails with a tab on each end. I welded in a mount, to match with the tabs. The seats then bolt through the tab to the fixed mount. Power seats, back and forth, up and down and tilt.

 

The seats. I don't have a pic with the bases I made

 

I see what you are doing now..

 

There has been a little recent progress to report on the repair of my wheel tubs and wells. There is still some cosmetic finishing work that needs to be done, but everything is now pretty well welded and patched together. Here are the latest pictures:
















A semi-retired auto body guy has been working on my truck this winter in his spare time with the goal of having it ready for paint in the spring. We should make our goal!

 

It's looking pretty good, your making good progress.

 

Looks like a lot of progress. Soon, you'll be learning how to do body fill and other beautification jobs!!