The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop "Upper sides" Panel body

Hey guys.

Thought I'd pose this question. Has anyone here ever replaced or had replaced a complete upper side to their panel truck body ?

Here is a picture of one side of my panel truck showing the obvious major distortion http://i1293.photobucket.com/albums...%20and%20Paint/IMG_0865_zpstqewyqcc.jpg. I would think it's certainly a job for a professional restorer but some of you folks have perhaps done the job as well. Keeping those big sheets flat (and getting them fitted) would take some skill.

Thanks.

Tony

Tony, I love it like it is. Roll on champ.

Thanks Alvin. Thank goodness for OD paint. Like green primer. lol

Just curious, that's all. I know it's major surgery.

I good body man could straighten that right out. But I am with Alvin, Leave it as is, or just pound out the low areas with the heel of your hand from the inside. A truck like that one draws more attention from people when it is in that kind of condition.
Carl

I'm with the fellas... leave it. The panels give it "I've been in service" attitude.

However, if you're intent on getting them perfectly flat, it can be done. Like most everything else, if you throw enough money at it, you can make it go your way.

Replacing them might be your only option.

One "trick of the trade" with body panels is to put a pin stripe front to back to distract your eye. Now I am NOT suggesting you put a pin stripe on it but putting some form of decal on the side like a Red Cross or something else will take ones eye away from the panels... just a thought. It's kinda like stepping on ones foot to make forget he just pinched his finger. ha ha

At the end of the day, in my opinion, (it's your truck) I would drive it the way it is with pride!

I can not see the depth or seriousness of the dents. But my take is that they are just good old dents. Fixable in the good old way of Hammer, Dolly and Filler. Sounds like a law firm. I really would discourage replacing metal just for dents. That's usually only done for rust or super dents. Like 2 feet deep dents, like roll over dents. I probably would not leave it dented if it were mine.
BTW: That is a very rare G506, I believe sub model G7105. Nice. The head honchos here like Mil Trucks also.

I appreciate the responses guys. I'm cool with the distortion for now. That was mostly created due to the utility boxes and wire spools that were fastened to the sides as part of this truck's original K-51 designation. Other uses of the rig resulted in some damage there also.

I'm sure body shops deal with this sort of thing from time to time. I know a guy here in town with a shop and I may check with him. Just figured someone here with all of these fine trucks would have had some experience with a big flat side like that.

I'm trying to figure out how I can reach around with a dolly and still work the hammer. My arms are only long enough to extend a menu so I can read it, so that won't work. Ha ! And yes, nobody will help me. I've pushed everyone to the limit. Nah, seriously, I get yer point bartamos, that the metal should stay. With pinstriping !

BTW. Yes, 7105 it is.

"Hammer and dolly" as a metaphor. I don't know what a real body man would say but, after working dents toward outside, I might build a "dolly" out of wood or steel and bolt to inside and lightly hammer inward. Weld bolt holes. Fillerize.

Maybe it would be best to cut out the panel, flatten it and reweld back on? In any case it's going to be slow and somewhat difficult. Good luck with the truck. It looks neat right now.
Good question for Ron Covell. Classic Trucks Magazine.

Sometimes making a replacement and welding it in makes more sense than chasing dents all around, in and out. Sometimes it doesn't. Here's one who chose to replace the metal:

http://www.metalmeet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10822

I can't see the .jpg's without registering but your point is well taken. I originally thought de denting is the way because of the extreme danger of warping a large flat piece during welding. This is an interesting question. Not many vehicles with that much flat. I would truly like to know what Ron Covell would advise. The poster can email him and he will answer. He sells videos on metal working and writes for Classic Truck and maybe others. Seems to be a top Guru. It is tough to shrink/expand/hammer/weld and chase a warp all around as well as chasing dents. I have had that happen to me. I had to start over. It was on a TF suburban side. I also ran into old lead repair which does not MIG. Don't like to think about that week/month/year.

Sorry for that, it shows some good shots of making a new quarter for a panel truck from the beltline down, including new wheel opening. IIRC it was done primarily to get rid of dent damage moreso than any rust issues..

If anyone were to attempt a panel replacement of that area on the OP's truck, they would be ahead of the game to use TIG or O/A with a no-filler fusion weld, which means absolutely tight joints. I use MIG in my shop quite a bit, but would not recommend it in this instance..

Great info, guys.