Bought this truck as a project. It lived it's life in Washington but is now in Kansas. Body is in excellent shape. Windshield leaked like Niagra Falls. Boys and I cut out the windshield and found the upper frame is worse than swiss cheese. Anyone repaired this before? Any recommendations? I have not been able to find a replacement section readily available and coming to the conclusion I may only have two options. 1. Cut a section from a doner truck. 1. start cutting and welding in patches.

I'd appreciate anyone



's input before I move any further on this. It will not be a show truck but instead a highschoolers first truck.

 

car-part.com is the junkyard site. Search there for a donor around you. There are a couple of members here that may have a donor part too.

or
https://www.google.com/search?q=roof...t=gws-wiz-serp

 

So what part of the donor do you get?
Back 2 feet from the front edge and a foot down each post?
You know the roof is 2 parts, an outer and inner so do you also mess with the inner too?
Do you cut your posts and weld in the donor part or ????
We also dont know what tools, MIG Welder?, or skills you have and from the looks of it doing this out side?

That area has compound curves and with out a shrinker / streacher you cant do 1 large part to weld in so it is a bunch of little parts to get it fixed.
Get some thin card board, folding files work good, to use to make patterns for the part to cut out of flat sheet metal that you will weld in.

I think the hardest part will be the pinch weld, the part the glass sits on. You can see that is 2 parts, top part from the top roof and the bottom from the inner roof.
From what I see the inner part is not to bad and the 2 are spot welded together. You can drill out the spot welds with a 1/8" bit and a chisel should get them apart keeping the bottom / inner lip.
I have the tools to make an "L" and bend it to fit but in your case I think making small flat parts of sheet metal and weld them in across the top front and then the pinch weld lip and just work your way across till done.

Tools you will need sheet metal shears, tool that can mount small cut off wheels on to cut the bad metal away and maybe trim the new welded metal for finishing.
Same tool to mounting a grinding wheel on to grind the old metal / paint to get a good clean weld and to do the final finishing of the weld area.
MIG welder, either gas or non-gas. If you can get the gas type as you can get wire that dose not use gas and then later get gas and wire but if you get a non-gas welder you cant change it to gas later.
You can find MIG welder in CL, I seen 2 a few weeks back in my area think both were gas.
HF, Northern Tools, or most big box hardware stores have them new and any supplies you would need. Dont forget helmet and gloves are a must have but welding jacket not so much.

Also your local welding supply store has everything. It will be more money but you also get their help if needed. Also the welding store machines are built better even if they are the same model numbers.
The others are built to store specs and dont use the same parts as the welding store ones so if say a spool motor went bad it may not be replaceable.
My first MIG was big store bought and did me good till it got legs and left me. The 2nd was welding store bought, they gave me such a good deal I bought a auto dark helmet. a plasma cutter machine and a cart.
It is also not hard to learn but with thin sheet metal know you have to do a lot of "spot" welds. Spot at 1 end, spot in middle, spot other end then go back and spot next to the other welds till all welded.
If you try to weld a bead to put to much heat into that area and it will warp and you then make a real mess.
It is best to do some "bench welding" to get the feel and how it is to weld sheet metal.
Oh the gas wire is the thinnest so less power to weld so less heat = less warpage. Non-gas wire is thicker so it needs more power to melt, more warpage.
Gas wire welding has to be inside with no wind moving or it blows the shielding gas away. Not even a fan to keep you cool!
Once you have a welded you will find all kinds of things you can weld and wonder how you did with out for so long.
Mine is a Lincon P135 gas 110v and has done everything I needed it to. I want a TIG welder someday.
Dave ----

 

I like the donor idea. You could go with a 90's truck that may be less rusted.

 

On the molding pins dont worry about them at this time as they can be replaced.
Back when I a lot younger you could get pins that had a phillups head and you drilled a small hole and screwed them in.
I dont know if you can get them anymore maybe a Google search for molding clip pins or the like?
I would also check ith the local auto body supply store as they may know where to get them and older body shops as they may have some sitting around.
The pins where also used for clip that held on side moldings of cars and trucks before they got glued on with tape.

I do know you can get weld on ones.
I have a stud welded gun, it welds studs to dented body panels and you put a dent puller on the stud to pull the dents out.
With the same gun you can weld the pins back on but I have not used it for that, just pulling dents, but it did came with some pins IIRC.
Dave ----