The Stovebolt Site Forums Project Journals Project Journals 1952 Chevrolet 3100 Project

That's true - same as a small air compressor taking a long time to get a large tank up to pressure, but you wouldn't necessarily need to sit on the side of the road to replenish a vacuum tank, just close the throttle (coasting down hill?)
Thanks for the compliment on the tank install. We'll see how it works out.

11/12/23: I continued installing my Power Disc Brake upgrade by installing the vacuum booster line to the manifold. I used 3/8” CuNi Tubing and a length of 3/8” gas hose. I bent a 180° loop at the firewall 6” higher than the manifold, to act as a barrier preventing raw gas getting to the booster. I then ran it down the firewall to a bracket I fabricated attached to the bell housing to secure the line. From there I used about a 2’ length of 3/8” gas hose to the booster. Bending up the tubing to get it closer to the booster was near impossible so I settled for the remaining 2’ to be hose. There was just too much stuff in the way.

Shifting my efforts to the rear tranny mount, I placed just behind the tranny and slid it in as far as I could before it hit the MC. I marked it where I felt would be adequate clearance then removed the crossmember. It actually slid under the MC so not allot was going to be cut out. To make the cutout, I first drilled thru the crossmember with a 5/8” drill thru both sides to get my radius corners so as not to create any stress cracking caused by square corners. I used a wafer wheel and a saws-all to cut a wedge out of the sides. Heated the top plate cherry red at the bend area and folded it down. I added a plate on the side and welded it up.

I spent the next hour just cleaning the crossmember up getting the 70 plus years of grime off getting it ready for paint. A little satin black paint, and it was ready to be installed.

I also sand blasted the mounting hardware as they were pretty crusty themselves. There are ten 3/8”x24 bolts with nuts and lock washers, that hold in that support and four more securing the mount to the tranny, all for a crossmember that many say is not needed. A bit of GM engineering overkill I think.

In order to try out the new brakes, I needed to put the front wheels back on. The passenger side went easy as I had already checked the clearance but the drivers side wheel locked up before I got the lugs on. The dreaded caliper to wheel clearance issue. I looked at the other two rims but they would not work either. After checking, I have three different style rims on my truck.

Now the dilemma, do I just try replacing the one rim so I can test out the brakes or all the rims? My original plan was to wait until I painted the truck and buy new 16”x6” rims and new Coker wide white wall radial tires with stock hubcaps and beauty rings, close to a two thousand dollar investment. Not something I wanted to do now. Here is a link to the issue in the Driveline forum.

11/13/23 Today I installed the rear tranny crossmember which completes the Power Disc Brake upgrade. It went in easily but took a bit of time aligning and installing the fourteen bolts which fasten it to the frame and tranny. The clearance looks perfect and I am happy with the results. I reinstalled the battery so we are ready to test it’s stopping power as soon as I resolve the rim issue!

11/19/23: I didn’t think this was going to become such an issue. I went to several salvage yards and did not find any rims that I could use.

I’m still going to look for a replacement rim but the realization that I may not find one is starting to set it. Since finding one to match is proving difficult and the fact that if I had a flat, I wouldn’t have a spare, I really thinking my best option is to buy new rims.

My original wish list had Coker W/W radial tires but after seeing their cost, I might have to revise that list. Now I’m thinking finding 15x6” rims which are closer to the original size and putting my existing tires on them, at least to start with to save a bit of money. I can add W/W tires at a later date. After discussing buying new rims with my wife a viewing a few possibilities, she really liked the artillery rims. I originally wanted original looking rims, caps and beauty rings, but after seeing so many smoothie rims on AD trucks in recent years, I’m open to the idea, still vintage looking but just a little bit different. With original looking caps and beauty ring I think it may just work.

The next project is to replace the floor and lower inner cowl panels. I figured the best approach is to replace the cab mounts first so it’s on a stable base when I cut out the floor.

I started on the front mounts removing both bolts with my wife’s help holding the wrench on the inside, they came out easily using an impact hammer. I believe removing both at the same time allowed the cab to shift making getting the bolts back in really difficult. I ended up turning a taper on a spare bolt to get the hole back into alignment. Once I got one, the other went easy. I’m not sure of the actual assembly as the assembly manual only lists part numbers without actually describing the parts so I don’t know where the rubber from the kit goes. No real issue as when I figure it out, everything is new so it will come apart easily.

Moving on to the rear mounts, I soaked everything down with PB blaster and again used an impact to remove the fasteners. I jacked the frame up on the mount, inserted a 3/4” piece of wood between the frame and the cab mount and removed the shackle mount assembly. I used a thin screwdriver to remove the rubber bushings and they came out easily.

Once disassembled I started to sandblast the components and got about 3/4 done, and started smelling something strange. I went upstairs in my shop where my compressor is located and there was a cloud of smoke that smelled like burning oil. Needless to say, I stopped until I can figure it out. I looked at the compressor and it has evidence of oil on the head. Never saw that before as it’s usually dry.

My compressor been living on borrowed time for some time now. It’s a 2 HP 20 Gal Craftsman compressor that I bought new in 1977. In 2010, I had a pipe burst in my garage where the compressor was located and of course at that exact moment it started, sucking water into the motor and into the cylinders, so it got new motor and a top end rebuild. Good as new! That compressor has painted several vans, cars, motorcycles and most recently my sons 2008 Honda Si. It had no problem keeping up with my spray guns, all of my pneumatic tools and my HF tabletop sand blaster. They don’t make them like that anymore but it’s way past time for a new compressor.

Phil, regarding your rim situation; I was in the same boat. My first plan was to find original or original style 16" rims to replace the horrible 15x8 rims that were on the truck.

It became obvious early on that if I was able to find 4 suitable rims, they would need to be sand blasted, painted, and maybe even straightened.

I said the heck with that and bought a set of rims from Wheelsmith complete with hubcaps. Yes, they were expensive but they're perfect. I've already forgotten about the cost.

As for Coker tires; They do not have a very strong reputation in the collector car community among people who actually drive their cars anywhere except on and off a trailer.

The bias ply tires are impossible to balance because they're made from 70 year old, worn out molds. Corky Coker actually told the president of the Peach State Cadillac Club that if you plan to drive your vehicle instead of just show it, purchase Diamondback tires.

The Coker Classic radials they sell are also not very good quality. I personally had a belt separate on one in less than 10,000 miles. This is a fairly common story.

The Diamondback radials are the best tires I've ever had on my Cadillac. They balance properly and handle great while giving the appearance of a bias ply tire.

For the AD truck, I opted for blackwall tires and thus was able to find a suitable Firestone product at a reasonable cost. If I were going the wide whitewall route, I wouldn't consider any product other than Diamondback.

I remember reading a post and it was mentioned that the older Chevy rims fit and also the bolt pattern was the same on some import vehicles that adapted the older chev pattern ,I can’t remember for sure but thinking maybe a Nissan pathfinder or truck .

At this point, I have resolved myself that finding a decent rim at a reasonable price in not in the cards. As in the words of HRL, “it’s like finding hen’s teeth”.The average price for a rusty replacement rim on eBay, is close to two hundred plus shipping. For that price I can buy new rims which is what I really need to do anyway. I want to get rid of those 8” rims.

There is a good side to this issue. The existing rims are highly sought after as well as the original dog dish hub caps. There’s a high possibly can recoup the cost of the new rims and caps by selling them.

I do appreciate all the help and suggestions I have received so thank you all!

11/12/23: Today I looked at my compressor and it looks like it blew the head gasket. I disassembled the head and confirmed the gasket looks like it was leaking. That would account for the smoke filled room. It’s amazing but I was able to order the head gasket for a forty five year old compressor on line. Hopefully that will fix the issue.

I continued on the passenger side mount using a wire wheel to finish the cleaning and painted the assembly. Once dried, I finished assembling and installed the mount. One issue I ran into was because the gas tank is still installed. This rendered access to the plate nut (two taped holes in a single plate) near impossible, so prior to removing the second bolt, I threaded a 3/8 stud into the nut plate so I could move keep the plate in alignment. I didn’t discovered this until I lost the plate on the first one. Using a flexible magnetic pick up tool, I was able to get it back in place and luckily able to thread in a stud.

Once the passengers side was installed I moved over to the drivers side. Disassembly followed the passengers almost exactly with no issues. I cleaned up the assembly and painted it so It’s ready for assembly.

11/21/23 I assembled and installed the drivers side rear cab support today so the cab mounts are all installed and shimmed within tolerance. I’m ready to start the floor replacement.

1/12/23: With my patch panels coming in early this week,
I needed to get the gas tank out so I can start cutting and welding. Removal went easy aside from having to drain the tank of gas. Not knowing how much gas was in the tank (it showed a little over half a tank), I figured a 5 and 2-1/2 gallon cans I had would take most of it. I attached a hose at the bottom petcock and added another filter so none of the rust particles from the old tank would get into the gas cans. No issues until I filled up the two gas cans, my lawn tractor, snowblower, 4 wheeler and finally my wife’s VW Eos, spilling a bit of gas on myself along the way. I stunk so bad, my wife refused to let me stay in the house until I showered. I can’t say I blame her, I really did stink. Anyway, the tank is out and I test fitted my new Spectrum made tank, the old fill pipe and it fits perfectly.

11/27/23 My patch panels arrived last night so today I started cutting out the passenger side floor. Boy, what did I get myself into? I feel like I’m opening Pandoras box. No turning back now.

The new floor patch panels do not come with any of the floor supports, so saving them is a top priority. I needed to remove the panels by cutting out the spot welds. Any panel that didn’t have rust was easy to spot the welds and remove with a spot weld cutter made easy removal. Some areas over the supports were rusted so bad , seeing where the spot welds were was impossible. Sliding a thin cold chisel between the support and floor pan was the only was to find them. Once found, I used the spot weld cutter, ground them out from the top or just powered thru them with a sharpened cold chisel.

I managed to get the most if the rusty sections removed and ground out the remainder of the spot welds. The supports look good so I’ll be able to reuse them.

I left the back section until I decided how I want to do it. I posted in the “Paint and Body” forum here for advice on how others accomplished it.

It looks like I’ll need to remove the front clip or at least the fender as I need to repair a small hole on the lower cowl. OMG “What did I get myself into”?

I remember the "what did I get myself into" feeling when I was working on the floor and cowl areas of my cab. It can be a bit overwhelming but you will be fine, just take your time and harvest the vast knowledge of this forum.

I've been at the "what did I get myself into" point as well. Just remember, it's like how you eat an elephant - one bite at a time. LOL!
I'm still nibbling away at my elephant.

Your elephant is looking really good, but I do appreciate the amount of work you put into your project. My cowls don’t look nearly as bad as your did, plus your build is going to look like it came off the factory floor. I’m not going to put myself thru obtaining that level of detail. Just a solid, good looking, great running truck.

12/1/23: No turning back now! Today I removed most of the front clip so I could access the the floor and cowl components. After removing the lower inner cowl on the passenger side, I could see daylight coming thru the lower outer cowl, necessitating the removal of the fender. Unfortunately, I inadvertently boxed myself in by pulling the truck in the garage head first when I installed the new Power Disc Brakes. Now with the issue with the one rim hitting the caliper before fully seating, the truck only has three wheels. This is preventing me from turning the truck around. With only about six or so feet to the back wall, I can’t use an engine hoist to remove the front clip as a whole. So at this point, my only option was to remove the front clip in pieces. After removing the passenger side fender and inner fender, the lower outer cowl will need to be replaced but the inner to outer cowl look great, Yes! Seeing the issue with the passengers side, I also removed the drivers side to check out the cowl assembly. The outer cowl looks good and solid but the inner to outer cowl has a hole in the very bottom that looks like I can just graft in a small patch. Overall good news!

In retrospect, the clip would have had to be broken down into pieces as the lower splash pan in front of the radiator suffered from a little rust plus was modified (butchered in reality) by a previous owner to move the radiator forward, accommodating a 235 with a long shafted water pump. The clip was missing allot of the fasteners and what was there was cheep mismatched hardware. The grille also needs replacement or refurbishment.

So at this point, I’ve got good access to replace the floor and lower inner cowls. I need to order the passengers side lower outer cowl. I was also going to order a new splash pan until I saw the price. With the $170 price tag plus the extra shipping, totaling $212 plus tax, I really need to reevaluate whether it’s fixable.

Phil, I think that splash pan is fixable. If you need some dimensions or pics, mine is still not installed, so accessible for measurements. I'd be happy to get those for you.

Yeah, your cowl panels are pristine compared to mine. LOL!

Yes, a picture would be great from the radiator side that’s missing. It appears that there was a lip on the back side so a measurement of that lip would be really helpful. No rush as it will be awhile before I get to that.

Edit: Also the distance of the beads to the back edge.

Thanks!

What are you going to do about the wheel that's hitting the brake caliper? Or is it the wrong size wheel, I forgot.

I decided on ordering 4 new rims that will fit my current 15” tires to reduce the initial cost. I have called BB Wheels because they had the rims in stock from US wheel I am interested in but they would not say if they would fit, nor give me any dimensions. They said to order one and try it. I asked about returns if it didn’t. There response was it’s covered under their standard return policy. Customer cover the cost of returns plus a 25% restocking fee. I don’t think so! They suggested calling CPP. I did and they said they couldn’t tell me if a manufactures rim would fit and suggested I have them made by Wheel Smith.

So I called US Wheel and got someone that didn’t know the specs but said 99% of the wheels made today 15” and bigger fit disc brake setups. He also said his tech guy was on vacation and would be in on Monday. He supposed to return my call on Monday. We’ll see.

I may have to custom order from Wheelsmith.

Wow.

If you you do end up ordering from Wheelsmith you'll be very pleased with their product. They'll powder coat them in any color you want. I chose black. You can also order them chromed or bare steel so you can paint them yourself.

I'll put that on my to-do list. I may be able to get out there tomorrow.
[on edit] I got out to the trailer and dug out my splash panel. Here's some photos with dimensions. There's also a 1/4" flange turned down on the back edge as well as the larger bent down piece. The beads end about a 1/4" from the bend. Let me know if there's something else you need on it. I can e-mail the photos to you also. Let me know.

Good luck. It made me tired just reading about the journey but I am old.

12/4/23: Well the can of worms is getting bigger. The rust is under the seat riser lip so I decided to remove a section from the front, rather than remove the whole riser. I made vertical slices near the sides so I can do a butt weld on the floor, splice in a new riser lip then weld it back in.

Once the riser lip was removed, the back and floor panel fit really good on the back and the rocker panel. I started working on the lower inner cowl fitment. I ended up cutting the existing cowl a bit too high. Being right handed and working on the right inner cowl, I discovered access wasn’t going to be real easy and seeing with the sparks coming at my face didn’t help either. So I took the piece I cut out a started to weld it back in an immediately blew a hole in the panel. Thats when I discovered the inner cowl (kick panel) is thinner than the floor. I measured the panel at .032”, so that is between 20 and 22 gauge. The floor is 18 gauge. I did manage to complete the butt weld after readjusting the welded, so the “oops” is fixed.

After several attempts, I got the lower cowl to fit. When I placed the floor section in, the two didn’t mate up at all.

After about two hours of installing/removing/cutting/welding/tweaking both panels then repeat, about what seemed like a hundred times, I finally got them to fit together. Gotta love those offshore patch panels.

I then spent several hours wire brushing the surface rust and applying rust treatment. I'm ready to install the panels so I should be welding in a day or two.

Thanks Kevin for the pix and dimensions. That will really help. Now I need to find a sheet metal place that can supply the steel, fold the bend and edge. I’ll have to figure out how to put in the beads.

Nice work on that cowl to floor fitment. Looks good.

I formed a bead by routering a groove in a piece of plywood and hammering the bead in. Might not work very well in the splash panel as I think it's 16 gauge. Maybe a groove in the plywood and a dowel of the proper size hammered in.

12/6/23: Today I started to weld in the panels starting with the floor. I had previously overlapped the panel to the floor by about an inch and used sheet metal screws to attach the panel. After previously missing my cut line and cutting too much with a side grinder with a cutoff wheel on the cowl (the larger size of the grinder plus the sparks coming in my direction blocked my view) , I decided using a die grinder with a cutoff wheel would allow me to control the cut more precisely. I used it to slice thru the existing floor where the edge of the patch panel meets the existing floor to form the joint. Tilting the cutoff wheel about 45° makes a really close joint. Cutting 6” at a time, pushing the patch panel flush to the existing floor to close the joint then tacking 1” apart secured the panel. The cutoff piece ends up falling off when the joint is complete. This method I learned from a video recommended by a fellow ‘Bolter. “Fritzee’s Fabrications” on YouTube has several videos worth watching. Here is the link.
I’m not sure it would work on a flat panel but for the floor it worked amazing.

Again Murphy’s law continued to pester me as my main compressor is “Out of Service”, still waiting on parts. I only had my 3 gallon pancake compressor to run my die grinder, grinding about ten to fifteen seconds at a clip then waiting for it to build up pressure. The process of spot welding is really time consuming by itself and adding “Murphy’s Law” into the equation made it really slow.

This process of spot welding the butt seams is new to me so I’m learning as I go. The floor is a great place to start as it’s getting covered up anyway.

12/7/23: I continued welding and decided to start on the lower inner cowl as I knew that was going to be the toughest. What made it difficult was the location. I’m right handed and with the cowl on the passengers side it made it really tuff for me to get in a position I could see and operate the MIG handle. The cowl is only .032 which relates to 21 gauge. The inner to outer cowl is 16 gauge. Thinking I would need more heat to penetrate the inner cowl I immediately started blowing holes in the panel again. The pre drilled holes for the plug welds were way too small. I learned I needed to start the weld on the thicker inner metal then wash over to the outer thinner panel needed bigger holes. My spot weld remover accomplished the bigger holes.

The butt weld on the thin cowl was tough also. I set my welder to the recommended settings for 20-22 gauge and still blew holes. I took a piece of the removed cowl, cut a slit in it and tried a few different settings. I dialed it down a bit and found a bit of success.

The other issue I had was lack of light. I started using a battery powered LED light and it just wasn’t bright enough. I plugged in my 250 watt Halogen spot light and finally could see. It took me a couple of hours to to finish welding in the lower cowl and weld up the holes I blew into it but it’s done.

Next was to finish welding in the floor. I opened up the plug welds and the welds came out good. I moved to the butt weld at the back. These were easy as they are out in the open. Several times during this process I checked to make sure the door closed and I hadn’t moved the cowl. So far the only issue is the beads on the toe board don’t line up. This is a common issue with the offshore panels I’ve seen posted from many other ‘Bolters. It will be covered up by the floor mat but you’ll be able to just barely see it from the engine compartment. I’m not sure I’m going to try to fix that.

The floor panel is now completely tacked in place but the lack of sufficient air prevented me finishing today, but I’m well on my way.

12/11/23: Yesterday (Sunday), my compressor parts arrived. These were ordered on 11/16 and finally delivered via USPS. I was pleasantly surprised that the Post Office was making deliveries on Sunday. Since I now had my parts, I assembled my compressor and it works!

I finished welding in the passenger side floor and lower cowl. The compressor was able to keep up with the die grinder so it was much quicker grinding down the welds. I stuck a light behind the toe board to see the pin holes so I didn’t miss anything.

It’s not perfect but it’s solid and will be covered up anyway. I’ll apply a bit of bondo on the lower cowl to smooth it out a after I finish the metalwork. I’m happy with the results and now have the confidence to do a better job on the drivers side.

Looks great, so much better than mine.

Phak1,

I like how you did the rear of your floor seam. I did exactly the same thing by cutting at the radius of the seat base that way the repair was mostly hidden under the flange of the seat base. Well done!!👍

Thanks, but in reality I needed to go back that far to get to good metal so it was sort of a necessity. I do agree it should work out well and the seam will be hidden.

12/20/23 Over the past week I’ve been working on the replacement of the drivers side floor and lower inner cowl (kick panel), removing the rusted out metal and fitting the new panels in place. Pretty much a repeat of the passengers side with a few issues on it’s own.

Again the support’s looked good and the floor section fit pretty well as well as the lower inner cowl. A little massaging of the corner just like I did on the passenger’s side was necessary, but I got a tight fitting corner.

Prior to installing, I wanted to cut an access in the panel for the master cylinder. In order to cut a sufficient hole the cut would go over two of the beads that strengthen the panel. I cut out the two ends and moved them over about 2” so the cover plate would sit on flat metal so I can use a gasket.

First issue I ran across, was the existing floor had a crack which extended under the seat riser (drivers side) corner, necessitating cutting out more of the riser to replace the bad metal. The second was the inner to outer cowl is going to need a bit of work as I spotted some rusted thru areas on the lower portion. I’m sure I can just replace the rusted thru areas as the rest of the cowl area seems solid. The third issue is the lower portion of the outer cowl has a few pin holes which will need to be cut out and replaced. My can of worms seems like it is bottomless. I might just order another patch panel for it.

The next issue I ran across was the two half’s did not meet in the middle. They probably saved half a buck a panel, by not giving me that extra 1/2” I needed so the two half’s meet. I was able to patch in the remainder metal so the joints are decent.

The inner Cowl butt joint gave me a bit of grief. Apparently I did not cut enough out to get to good metal, as I kept blowing holes in the existing cowl. After fruitlessly battling with it for the better part of an hour, I ended up cutting out a an additional 2”x3” section and patching it in. It still has a pin hole or two but I’m so afraid of blowing another hole that I don’t dare attempt to fix it. I need to remove the outer cowl in that area so I may attempt to fix it then.

At this point the floor is completely welded in place, and the welds on top have been dressed. I still need to cleanup the welds underneath but the floor in installed. It’s perfectly flat from the passengers side to the drivers side. I’m really happy with the results.

More pictures.

Phak1, how are you going to attach the light gauge c shaped metal at your inner cowl for the rubber around the door opening? I didn’t want to try to plug weld it so I just drilled and csk holes for .125 pop rivets thru the cowl and the door frame flange about every 4”. Once the rubber is installed you can’t see the rivets anyway. Looking good 👍

Phil,

Looking good. Are you going to plug the round hold for the original master cylinder fill?

Sotherntruck. I plug welded the windlace retaining strips on to the door edge. It was easy enough to do. Just hold the MIG nozzle on the strip where you've pre-drilled holes and give it a buzz.

QpI didn’t get that far as I have to locate and buy the windless c channel. I see you can buy the entire channel, but I only need about 6” on each side. Any suggestions?

My intention was to plug weld the hole before I installed the but I didn’t have enough scrap steel and hadn’t located a place to buy 18 gauge steel. The place I go to didn’t have any cut pieces if 18 gauge. I could order a full sheet but would have to pay for the sheet plus a packaging fee (supplier would need to sandwich it between two sheets of other material to protect the single sheet during transport). It would have cost close to two hundred total and then I would have a 6’x8’ piece of scrap I would have no use for.

At this point, the jury is out. I could just put in the factory plug as it’s going to be covered anyway or plug the hole when I get some sheet metal. With so much metal work ahead if me the factory plug is looking good, but my perfectionist side may win out!

I have since found a sheet metal supply and fabricator that is going to order a full sheet, cut a 2’ x 4’ piece and cut and bend the piece I need to replace the bottom flange on my seat riser. The cost, 65-70 dollars. I’ll also have enough to repair my splash pan and any other small repairs needed.

Phil, I bought short lengths of c-channel for the windlace from Jim Carter LINK but it looks like they're currently out of stock.

My local hardware store had small pieces of sheet metal, but I haven't checked what gauges they have. I bought the material I needed (16 gauge for bed repair and 18 gauge for other stuff) from a local sheet metal shop.

The local hardware did not have 18 gauge sheet metal and the big box stores were no help either. Luckily I did find a source for 18 gauge. Should be here in a week or so.

12/29/23 My goal today was to remove the running boards which look like they have never been removed before. Using my OA torch, heating the nuts then sprayed PB Blaster on them, I successfully removed all of the carriage bolts on the passenger side. The remainder fasteners were straight bladed pan head screws with nuts. After struggling with the first, I broke out my die grinder with a wafer wheel. A bit tedious but effective. The passengers side was off. I took a good look at the carriage bolts I had carefully salvaged, I decided that they were not worth the effort. They were rusted to badly to reuse and will be replaced. I decided to forgo the torch and just muscle the fasteners off or snap them off whichever happened first. At any rate the drivers side running board is off and it was much quicker. Both running boards are in pretty good shape and no metal replacement is required. Only a few dents to remove. The splash aprons are a different story. They will need a bit of work or replacement.

12/30/23 Now with the running boards out of the way, I started replacing the outer portion of the lower cowl. Prior to cutting the cowl out, I took some existing measurements in three places so I could get the panel as close as the original as possible. I made my top cut line, found and drilled out most of the spot rivets and the rusted piece came out fairly easily. The replacement panel did not fit too well. How silly of me to expect the panel to actually fit. It seems the press operator did not get the panel centered as I have too much lip on the top of the door side and not enough on the fender side. I can cut off the excess on the door gap so no real issue. I took measurements in three places on the door opening where I cut out the panel so the door gap should be good. I put the panel in place and held it in place with some vice grips and sheet metal screws. Before I tacked it in place, I installed the door. Easier said than done as I don’t have the strength to install it by myself so I had previously made a contraption to hold the door. Unfortunately it wasn’t tall enough with the truck on jack stands. A slight modification and I was back in business. I put the door in place and that excess lip (caused by the panel being askew prior to being stamped) on the jam side would not let me close the door. I couldn’t just remove the panel as one of the sheet metal screws was behind the door edge so the door needed to be removed. I marked the panel on the back side using the hinge panel as a guide and made my cut. Once the panel and door were reinstalled, the panel needed to be shifted to close the gap on the lower part of the door. I locked the panel in position with a sheet metal screw.

I removed the panel and cleaned up and painted everything behind it. Once it dried, I reinstall the panel and started tacking and plug welding it in place. I started blowing holes in the butt weld and discovered that the welder settings were too hot. I have a Lincoln dual 180 mig and the settings are gradual. The dials are bit too easy to move. Note to self: check the settings prior to striking an arc. Once dialed back the welding went well. The edge for the door gap on the replacement was not as sharp as the existing panel, so I welded beads directly on the edge for about three inches to build it up so I could grind a nice transition from one panel the the other. I think it worked out well.

The passengers side cowl is now complete.

Looks good .,lucky you don’t have to change the inner to outer piece.

1/13/24 Over the last week, I’ve been working on replacing the drivers side outer cowl which includes repairing a minor rusted thru section of the inner to outer cowl and a small repair on the rocker panel. The damaged was small enough that replacing the entire inner to outer cowl was not necessary. This avoided the dreaded aftermarket patch panel fitment woes I’ve read about too many times, in this forum.

Additionally there was damage to the outer cowl just above the fender which caused a 1/4” gap where the back flange of the fender meets the cowl. The damage was just above the inner to outer cowl which was not affected. Access to this area, even with the lower outer cowl removed, was limited. I ended up removing the remainder of the spot welds to free the panel from the inner to outer cowl. This enabled me to put a flat bar behind the panel to bump it out. Once the panel was straightened, I welded it back.

I fit the outer cowl panel insuring I had the same measurements the I had before I cut out the old rusty lower cowl, then applied rust converter and then Rustolium rusty metal paint.

I reinstalled the door in order to make sure the gap to the cowl was good. The panel needed to be pulled out on the bottom so it be flush with the door. This left a 1/8” gap at the flange which I was able to close with a bit of massaging with a hammer. After confirming the gap , I installed a few of tacks. I immediately noticed that the gap at the bottom grew. Cutting the tacks I repositioned the panel. Learning from my mistake, after making the first tack on the butt seam, I applied a second tack on the bottom so it wouldn’t pull. Once the gap was good, I removed the door and finished welding the panel in.

The bolt holes in the new cowl panel did not line up with the existing inner to outer cowl, so I added some weld up the outer cowl and filed the holes to match. Overall I’m pleased with the outcome.

Our truck once was fitted with a spotlight so the hole they drilled in the pillar needs to be patched. I started to grind it down to clean metal and discovered it was on the solder joint. I don’t want to mess with this joint, so I probably use JB weld to make this repair at a later date.

I still have ugly memories of putting cowl pieces on my panel and gave up the job to a metal buddy of mine.
You do good work.

I cleaned off the lead around the holes and mig welded the hole using quick zaps and letting cool did not effect the lead .Used short strand fibreglass to smooth into the leaded area.

IThanks, I may just try that!