I now have my front cab corners from Mid Fity for my 55 f1. I bought the 32" complete ones. Do I replace the whole thing or just the areas that are bad? They are pretty bad from the bottom up almost half way. If i was to replace the whole thing than i will have to cut off the small tab that has 2 holes for the inner fender to mount to and move it to the new patch. I was wondering also if i should take apart the seams to get the new one in? I thought about just cutting where the metal was good and weld in from there?I wish i knew how to post a pic with this post. Any help would be great thanks RT

 

I did exactly that and recorded the steps I took in an album in my gallery:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=23764

Yes, you have to separate the old cowl corner from the cab. Like yours, mine was bad (from collision damage and rust) most of the way up, so I just put the whole new corner in.

You'll need a spotweld drill (I included a pic of the one I used) and the you'll need to separate the cowl corner from the cab at the top by slitting the seam. You also need to cut a square out of the old panel where the lower hinge bucket is welded to it in order to get it off. There are also random spotwelds between the corner and the dash doubler that you will have to cut.

Ignore the two holes in the middle of the patch. They are in there as a mistake (The sample one they made the die from had holes for a CB antenna). You'll patch those closed. My cab corner had holes for the fender attach. If yours doesn't, you can transfer the location from the old patch to the new by just laying one over the other. They are clearance holes anyway.

HINT: Bond or weld the fender bolt doubler into the inside of the new patch before you install it. Much easier than trying to fish it in later. Also, use this opportunity to paint all the inside stuff with a good rust preventive paint before you button it all up. I used Zero Rust.

PM me if you have more questions.

Good luck.

 

Hi i'm doing the same rust repair job also, My truck has been repaired a few times by PO's and is very sad.Randy jack your pics have helped me a lot as i can see that i am missing some parts (the fender brackets and the doubler plate that fits between the rocker panel and the front door pillar) Could some one tell me the measurement between the f and R door pillars where the floor meets the rocker panel please,I think it is 33 1/2 inches ? Thanks Kiwi

 

I measured from the rear face of the front door jamb to the forward face of the rear door jamb, along the top of the floor edge and got 33-3/4 exactly. Both door openings checked the same.

 

Not to hijack this thread, but those two holes were on my original cowl on the 53, and it came factory with the round radio. I believe my antenna is a Ford piece also.

Either way, check out Randy's gallery. It was a huge help when I was starting my corners.

 

Thanks Randy Jack i will check mine again with an imperial tape (33 1/2 was my conversion from metric to imperial as we use the metric system here so i could be out by 1/4 easy!!) Cheers Kiwi

 

Randy, thanks for the great pics! When you replaced the whole thing did you just cut the top and weld in the seam? If i want to keep the seam than i will have to take the seam apart? thanks RT

 

Wow, I'm working on this section too right now. I only had to go up about 8 inches from the bottom so it wasnt too bad. Breaking the spot welds wasn't too bad -- I had to drill one of them out completely though.

Its that inner piece down on the bottom thats PITA to fix. Its a little 6in square. I called Mid Fifty and they knew right away what I was talking about. I fabricated a piece that was close to the original. Not too bad but I hate extra work because I'm fundamentally

 

I welded the upper seam before I stripped the whole panel and saw how bad it was. So, I slit the welded seam and basically just did a butt weld to the upper edge of the patch panel.

 

Take a look at what ive done? There is also more pics in my gallery. RT

 

That was the wrong pic this is what i was up to last night. RT

 

That view looks very familiar. You did a good job getting the old panel off.

Looks like you may have some floor edge to patch before you put the new corner on.

I just realized that your truck was a 55. It has a much cleaner seam than my 56 at the door jamb.

Way to go!!!

 

do you know if the top hinge bucket was welded to the dash cross brace that went to the firewall? Also was the brace tight against the firewall? I have a small gap around .250? i also need to replace the bottom triangle brace. I do have to replace floor edge and i think theres something that is gone behind the bottom. Im going to fit the new panel than self tape some screws and move onto the rocker and floor section. That way i know where what is where before final weld. I have seen on tv where they weld every so often and later use seam sealer? Is this ok? Im not building a show truck just a daily driver. DOnt get me wrong i will not just hack it up. Thanks RT

 

Randy, I believe you bought from Mid fifty as well. How well did the inner fender support stripes fit? i had to bend it to match the panel. It also looks like the holes dont match either? Any ideas for me!!! PLEASE!!!! Thanks RT

 

That's what I recall. The doubler didn't really fit very well. I just tweaked it with hand pressure until it laid down decent inside the corner patch and epoxied it in place. The holes lined up OK. If yours don't, just open them up.