The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Patch panels, bad day in the shop

The previous owner of my 53 did a sheet metal patch job on the front floor. Loving the truck I wanted to fix it right. I ordered a Bitchin front floor, cut out the old, etc. I ended up needing more than the floor. For the drivers side I needed the hinge pocket, the front section of the rocker, inner cowl. Pretty typical of trucks from my area. This is the first truck I've had to do this much work to. Besides the floor pan, all parts are from Chevy Duty. The brand name on the rocker and hinge pocket are TriPlus. These parts just simply don't fit. Trust me, I do understand about fitting parts, but the fit at the rocker and hinge pocket are off by 1/4" to 3/8". I can't believe how bad the fits are. My question is, does any other company besides TriPlus make patch panels for AD trucks?

Bummed out Ron

I bought a Chevyduty metal fender which fit terrible. I called them and they replaced it with a fiberglass fender which is not perfect but acceptable. They were very nice about it and didn't even want the metal fender back. Give them a call and see what they can do.

Hang in there Ron,
I too am in the middle of that same job and if you think those fit bad we won't discuss the inner to outer cowel pice.It is sad that for the top dollar we pay for this stuff that the fit is not at least close.Enough crying,this stuff is what it is and it beats holes in the floor.Slow down,relax be paitent. I have had some luck using self tapping screws to pull things together Take lots and lots of measurements we want the doors to work right when you finish.Check out Chuck Meyers web page it has been very helpful to me(thanks Chuck).You can make this stuff work. Good Luck and keep us posted Aaron

One thing is with the AD cabs is that they were basically all individually hand built. No robots back then. They all are a bit differant and some of the patch panels are just an approximation. The best way to approach things is to keep as much as the original metal as you can, and cut the patch panel to fit the truck and not the other way around. You are stuck with having to make things fit, and sometimes the best way to do that is to just create your own panel if you have to.

Also, make sure you brace the cab, especially the doorways, before you cut things out. You may find when you weld it back together that the doors don't fit any more.

Thanks, Aaron. Ron - condsider the replacements a starting point. Beats making them from scratch. I spent a long time making the lower hinge pocket since replacements weren't available at the time. Cut, grind, hammer, weld, and keep in mind that this is FUN! I'm still really proud to say "I did it all myself."

http://www.chuckthetruck.homestead.com/page3.html

Thanks for the advise guys. "The stuff is what it is" and "consider the replacements a starting point", is great advise. I've been a car guy all of my life but never run into this before. I've always managed to find stock parts and have rarely used patch panels.I went to the shop Sunday with this advise in mind and got half finished with good results. Understand my life long background is the machine shop where things fit. Chuck, I have read most of your site before and enjoyed it, and really appreciate someone taking the time to share and give their time like this. Again, thanks all.

Thats exactly why i'd rather buy an old fender or hood and sand and primer it than buy a repro.

With all the hassle and expence of repro parts, it seems like a fellow would be better off just bangin' the parts out from sheet metal stock.

I used some Triplus cab corners on my 64, they looked horrible. Kinda even "stuck out" on the sides. I thought maybe forming them around some while tacking would help, but made no diff. I got a second set off eBay,(Tabco I think)diff was night & day. Yes, I cut the 1st set off & did it again & now I am happy w/it. Brian

64fleetside, Years ago I bought some 72 truck floor pans that looked great. The brand on them was also Tabco. I was very impressed with the high quality. I guess I go back to my original question, does any other manufacturer make AD patch panels? A guy I work with who builds Camaro's has a policy on patch panels that he says works, "If it's black, send it back." My Triplus panels are black, the Tabco's were galvanized.

I used Tabco cabcorners, floors, rockers and door bottoms for my '70 C-10. I bought them from JCW and they fit great.

I checked the Tabco website.They make very little for AD trucks, so cut, weld, grind, fit and cuss is my only option. I did get most of it in.

Used some fiberglass fronts on on my 52 GMC and I SHOULD HAVE FIXED THE HOLES IN THE OLD ONES! Ok enough shouting. This time (on the burb) I have fixed almost everything and I am just as happy (and proud). Took a little more time though.
Jim