The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Cab rust panel replacement sequence

I have a 1950 3100 cab that is off, stripped and ready for panel replacement then sand blasting.

I have new 1) floor panels;
2) kick panels;
3) cowl panels;
4) cowl braces and
5) the driver door rear lower pillar patch.

My confusion is what order should I tackle this project.My thought would be in the order of 5, 3,4,2,1, but this is where I need help.

Rick

I did the lower lower door pillars first, then rockers, then fitted kick panel, cowl and floor before welding anything else in, and then welded the floor in. I haven't welded in the kick panels yet, but I think I'll do that next. My plan is to keep the inner-to outer cowl piece for last to maintain access for finishing the welds on the kick panel and welds.

Plan on the kick panels to be a pain in the arse. I used patch panels from Jim Carter and needed to massage them seriously at the lower end to make them fit the floor and rocker. I bought the short kick panels and they were closer to fitting the floor, but not good either. Depends on how much you need to replace on the kick panels. I believe Dynacorn has complete kick panels that go all the way up to the upper cowl. They may fit better.

I'm not understanding what you mean by cowl braces.

By the way, I sandblasted first. That way it reveals the stuff that doesn't look bad, but is ALMOST rotted thru, and allows cleaning out all the stuff that'll be concealed when everything is welded together.

If you are going to blast the whole cab, most do it first for the reasons Kevin mentioned and it also cleans for good welding. Maybe you are worried about rust till you get it all welded and primed. If so, maybe you can blast, see all the bad areas, prime the whole cab, then just remove primer where welding. Kevin can advise..........and others.
If you feel you can see all the areas that need patched without blasting first, you are good to go. If you run into something you don't see, just fix it then. It is a real heartache to have something surface rust while you are taking your time repairing.

What I did after sandblasting was to epoxy prime everywhere that didn't need patching, and hold back the primer from the spots that needed patches welded in. Where I oversprayed a bit, or found spots that were too thin to weld was to grind off the primer like bartamos suggested.

I do the floor pans first. You will discover the condition of the front cab mounts under the floor this way. You need to ensure that you have a sound foundation of cab to frame engagement before you move forward to the other parts. If you don't have this, you will experience some weird shifting in the structure of the cab as you start cutting hinge pillars and rocker panels.

What Carl 52 sez..

1.0 Consider the floor pans first. The cab is attached to the frame at 4 fixing points. You want to ensure your new floor pans align with your under pan mounting of the front 2 cab mounts. This is an important reference point. To accomplish, I suggest to place your cab back on the frame, installing the 4 cab mounts with new rubber bushing/pads prior to removing your floor pans and to inspect those under pan cab mounts brackets. If replacement is needed you can align to the fixing points established on the frame. This will also establish where your new floor pans will be placed... bolt through the pan and under pan bracket then through the frame, cab shims installed and gapped per the overhaul spacing ( top of frame to bottom of new floor pan). Tighten bolts to meet that spacing. Your now cab is aligned. This does matter.. Don't ask me how I know this.

Some other tribal knowledge.
If you have to replace that bottom hinge pillar with a new patch panel first make a fixture out of 6" X 28" 16 ga steel sheet. You can get at a local fab shop, reasonably priced and sheared to size. After the outer cowl panel is removed, clamp the fixture plate to the hinge pillar and from the rear spot in the 6 hinge mounting bolts with a fine point sharpie or transfer punch. Remove plate, centerpunch then drill 6 holes to 3/8". Now you can cut out the bottom portion of the hinge pillar. Install lower inner hinge plate with swaged nuts to the new patch panel. Attach your fixture by the 3 bolts on the top hinge of your fixture to accurately locate the lower hinge pillar location by installing these 3 bolts. This fixture will ensure you bottom hinge is correctly placed on location. Having that bottom hinge out of location will cause issues when you install the door later on.

Before welding the outer cowl panel rebuild your door hinges. Do not buy aftermarket hinges. Strip the widow glass out of the door to make lighter, as you will be installing/removing these several times. Install door for good fitment prior to doing final welding /attaching of outer cowl panel. Go slow welding to minimize heat build up and warpage.

I am just finishing up my cab overhaul. Rear cab corners, floor pans. inner and outer cowl panels, underfloor cab mounts ,lower hinge pillar.

Hope this helps..

Good luck and enjoy!

Wow thanks for the wealth of information from everyone. It is so amazing that I can tap into the expertise/experience of of others and get the fruit of others labor.

I would never on my own thought of all the detail points made in the replies.

I now feel I have been provided with enough information to dive in. Thanks so much to everyone' and I hope one day I can give back to other new guys like me.

Rick

I did a similar deal to make sure my hinge pads stayed located in the proper place.

I didn't and I am still cussing about it 12 years later! I did fix it right away, but I'm still mad about it.