Reworked inner brace to allow door articulation.



Still needs a little work but it's close.


Too far gone. Time to try my hand at fabrication.


It's been slow moving. Haven't touched a welder in 18 years.

Pete,Sorry for the big delay. I'm on call for a week at a time at work and it took over all my free time lately.


First off, because my door gaps on either side were about an 1/8" at the top hinge at the A pillar, I trialed a couple different materials to create a gap at the bottom hinge. Ultimately, a 3/8" washer of all things ended up working the best so I decided I felt comfortable enough to move forward.


To see if new door hinges and bolts would help even more, I ordered a set (2) from LMC. I thought I would get those fairly quickly since I'm only two states away, but I was wrong so I kept moving...


Here are a few updated pics.

 

Looks like you have a good start. I would just tack weld the floor/rocker then try refitting your doors. Use wedges to move things where you want them then add more tack welds.

 

Quick question: Since the inner cab corners, rockers, and pillar seem to all be overlapped and connected, do I need to wait to have all those pieces on hand or just continue with replacing the rocker from the get-go?
Also, what the heck is the piece that I've circled in red? Do I need to make a replacement?
Thanks for your help as always. I can only imagine some of these questions are Dilly Dilly, I mean silly.

 

It looks like a pop rivet? I don't think that is stock.

As for continuing or not the key is making sure that the door fits correctly. You can go ahead with the rocker to stabilize the structure but the risk is if the parts that you have coming do not match the old ones then you can't move things around to compensate. But then the door fit limits that somewhat. It would just mean a bit more trimming and massaging to get a good fit.

 

Looking good. As Pete said, tack until you're comfortable that everything is going to fit.

On the door gap, the hinges on the '53-'55, and I think on the '56, are actually adjustable. The bolt holes in the hinges are round, but the plate the bolts thread into floats behind another piece of metal. It works the same way as the striker on the door latch.

In the picture below, the arrow is pointing at the actual hole showing how much adjustment there is. Loosen the bolts in the door and the hinges slide in and out, and up and down. It might not be enough in every case, but it was plenty on mine.

 

Rear rocker/pillar- driver


Hard to see, but rocker/ A pillar- driver


Rocker/ A pillar-passenger

Thanks guys. Believe me, I've adjusted, adjusted, and then adjusted some more thinking that I had to of missed something. My gf gives me grief every time she walks into the garage because I'm still working on THE DAMN DOOR!
I decided to purchase just 2 hinges to give it a whirl and see what happens with the fitment. If it's worse, then you'll see a new post in the "For Sale" section. Christmas may comes early for someone so keep your fingers crossed.


As far as the mystery metal piece between the rockers and pillars, can anyone comment on that? Honestly, I'm all for eliminating the need to make new ones, but if they belong there and provide a function I should probably replace. Here are pics from the other 3 interfaces; they appear to be factory.

 

I have those on my 55 where the rocker meets the A pillar and the B pillar. It looks like a patch panel burning do believe it is factory. I never noticed them on my 54 before it was worked on as the rocker has been replaced. My 55 has not had any metal work done to it and they are there. So I say they are factory. I don't have any pics of them now but can add pictures tonight.

 

Those are original. I don't know if they just fill the gap between the pillars and the rockers or if they are structural, but they are factory pieces.

 

Guys,
I know it has been some time since my last update, but I appreciate your feedback and encouragement. I think it goes without saying that I have a slight OCD problem so the whole process of not only learning to welding, but getting acclimated to welding to old sheet metal has tested my patients at certain points.

At this point I’m biting the bullet and waiting to buy a new drivers side A pillar and firewall before tacking the rocker into place. My nephews birthday party in KC sounds especially inticing considering LMC is just down the road from the undoubtlynawesome Ninja Turtle party that is about to go down! If anyone needs parts from the Sioux Falls area let me know.
Thanks again for the daily motivation!





It’s funny how tearing bad metal out snowballs.



Decent door spacing.



Drivers rear pillar.



Rocker/pillar fitment.



Wide angle view.

 

Looks great

 

wdglide,
Any ideas how to recreate this bend circled in red? The section at the bottom rear of the cab. I’ve looked at numerous sites and can’t find a replacement panel.

 

I bent mine around a thick broom handle. I wanna say it was about 1"+ diameter. Just find something that fits into the radius. Or use MDF and sand it down into the shape you need.

Clamp sheet metal between a solid/sturdy work bench and the broom stick (or whatever you are using). Use a large dead blow hammer and slowly hammer the sheet metal around the bend.

Its hard to explain, but here's a link to hammer form project I did a few years ago (CJ-3A body)

Hammer Form

The indents/vertical beads are done a little differently, but easily. If you get that far, let me know and I will show you how I did it.

All this is a lot of labor, but inexpensive and very rewarding.

 

Good job, SD and wd. I am doing the same- sort of. It's funny how these old trucks seemed to rust differently.

 

 

It's looking good. Lots of progress there! I also had to make that rear piece and mine looks about the same as yours. Take a look at my thread if you want to see how I did it. We all have a different approach. Mine is almost done- the floor/cab corners I mean... I agree with you it sure does escalate!! How is your roof? Mine not good.. Well, one thing at a time!!