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Another day of "fun". I welded in the curved lower jamb piece, and the bottom of the seam where the new lower inner wall and the step meet. The outside and foot of the curve are plug-welded and sanded smooth. Don't look at the string of crappy tack welds I put on the inside
Then I lightly sanded the new floor panel section and the cab mount, thoroughly cleaned them, and sprayed Weld-Thru II on the areas that are not going to be painted, and primer on the visible/painted parts. Trial fit of the cab mount looks fair. I don't know if it's supposed to run straight across, but it has a small angle when it's mated up to the end of the A-pillar.
And finally I remade the little bracket that holds the bottom threaded-hole plate for the lower hinge. That tiny piece of sheet metal took me quite a while to make and carefully weld to the jamb.
Installed the lower cowl panel... It looked easy, but there are a dozen spot welds for which I had to drill holes first, a stitch weld all the way across the top (after I fitted the panel to the existing metal, which needs a lot of painstaking grinding so the gap is just right). I also drilled 8 holes in the cab mount in preparation for spot-welding it to the body, maybe tomorrow.
I went to town and bought the expensive 3M brush-on seam sealer ($56 for a quart!)... no point in cheaping out on the sealer now. Anyway it hides a multitude of sins and a quart will do the entire job with plenty left over. It'll probably dry out in the can before I use it all.
OK, back to work... I'm waiting for a new auto-darkening welding helmet to arrive (the Harbor Fart helmet won't hold a charge or work for more than three welds any more). So I decided to tackle the inner fender.
Surprisingly, the four bolts holding it came out fairly easily. There was plenty of rust and holes behind the headlight area, and most importantly, part of the lower left radiator support was rusted away and detached. So instead of fixing the fender, I ended up patching those - crudely but (hopefully) effectively...
Naturally the rust hole on top of the inner fender turned out not to be just a hole, since it involved the mounting bracket too (at the firewall end). I cut out the area and butt-welded in a piece of 16 ga. Next time I'll make a new bracket!
This is going to take a lot of air sanding to get the rust off!
There was a slight breeze blowing, so I bit the bullet and got to sanding with a DA and 40 grit discs, and a flap disc on a 4-1/2" grinder for the more curved and tighter spots. While sanding all that rust I tried to stay upwind but I can still taste it a little. Anyway after a lot of sanding, I made the bracket and welded it to the inner fender, cleaned the whole thing and gave it 2 coats of Rustoleum "Rusty Metal Primer". It looks good for now... (The dent is there on purpose, it clears an a/c bracket that wasn't stock). I'm not sure if there are supposed to be two holes to match the firewall bracket, or just one, since the old one was completely rusted away...
I'm thinking of doing the engine side black and the underside with 3M Rubberized Undercoating. We have lots ofgravel and dirt roads...
The outer fender is not terrible, just has a couple dents I hammered out and one rust spot that I cut out and will need a 2 inch patch. I don't think I will clean and paint it - there is remarkably little corrosion for a 56 year old fender, and it wouldn't match the entire rest of the truck!
OK...today I made a patch for the fender and welded it in. I'm going to find a place that can media blast the back side - there are just too many twists and turns under there for me to do it with sanders.
Then welded the cab mount in place, four plug welds on each flange (one side had to be done from underneath with my uncoordinated left hand).
I carefully measured and drillled 5/16" holes in the floor pan, plug-welded and sanded down the welds, and finally started tacking in the floor.
The last remaining challenge is to patch the bottom of the firewall where there wasn't enough unrusted steel remaining to weld to the replacement floor...
Today is too nice to be inside, welding and grinding under the truck - I forgot the tab on the inside end of the cab mount. I suppose I could slot-weld it from above - but how to accurately locate the slot?
Anyhow, some sanding and spray painting... outside in the sun 🙂 I just had to keep changing angles because (just like a barbecue where the smoke ALWAYS gets in your eyes) the wind kept changing directions!
Now the inner fender is satin black on the engine side, 3M Rubberized Undercoating in the wheel well.
After a messy hour and a half with various sanding tools, I degreased the fender and hung it up to prime (Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer spray can again)... When that's dried it gets undercoated too. Only the inside - the outside will stay 56-year-old Holly Green to match the rest. Except the hood, which is off a different truck, of course
More progress in the shop... made the floor pan to firewall patch and welded it in. Also drilled the mount for the new bolt and rubber bushing and let down the jack that was supporting that corner of the cab. Fortunately it all lined up and nothing broke, although I can see the sheet metal flex a little with the weight Floor-to-firewall patch before cutting the recess for clutch & steering column cover. Floor pan welded in place. There are a few gaps to be filled with the help of a backing bar. Cab sitting on the new mount with the bolt installed.
Today I welded in a patch to fill the gap at the outside edge of the floor pan; used a bottle jack to press a piece of aluminum against the backside of the weld seam where the gap was too large to bridge, and finished the welding; degreased and sprayed Rusty Metal Primer top and bottom; and finally applied 3M brushable seam sealer to the top and bottom seams. Even with both barn doors open and a little breeze, the solvents really smell!
The view from inside the cab before painting:
And the view from underneath before undercoating.
It looks like my plug welds (made from above) had just the right amount of penetration
Today I reinstalled the inner and outer fenders, undercoated the new area of the floor, and painted the top part in the original Holly Green (local Colorvision made me a spray can for $18.49). There are a lot of bolts holding the outer fender on...
Tomorrow I'll put the left front suspension and brake assembly on, then see if I rigged the booster correctly this time! I plan to take a break for a while before starting on the right side, which needs nearly as much work...
Looking forwards under the fender Looking toward the firewall. Undercoating added up to the pinch seam. One coat of Ford Holly Green so far...
Nothing really to photograph today... I put the door back on (a fun job without a helper). I have discovered my latest most-hated task - adjusting the hinges when the door has been off and the jamb reconstructed... took me an hour and a half and it's still not perfect, but good enough for an old truck with 1965 body tolerances. It's not a Lexus, after all. And most importanly, it doesn't drag on the striker any more or require lifting while closing, which was the impetus to start this repair in the first place The door brake was really sticking in the full-open position too, but it's amazing how much a little shot of white grease helped loosen it up.
Also put the left front suspension and brakes back on. Now all I have to do is bleed the brakes and put the wheels on. Then I can see if I messed up the brake improvements!
Well... I'm board-certified in Occupational Medicine since the late 90's, so I should be familiar with metal fume fever... and in fact I am!
I sanded off the galvanizing close to the edges to be welded... no visible zinc fumes or peculiar odors, and especially no symptoms. Areas that weren't primered and painted, I sprayed with Weld-Thru aka "cold galvanizing".
But it's definitely appropriate to educate those who may not be aware that inhaling zinc fumes isn't good for you.
Rezvani's Latest Post-Apocalytic Monster Is a Ford F-150 Raptor Underneath
Slideshow: Called the Fortress, the 850-horsepower pickup combines Raptor underpinnings with military-inspired features, survival equipment, and a starting price of $285,000.
