The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk On crack? Body torn below the windshield frame

Whoops!

I knew my 1947 panel truck's true name should be Rattle-Shake since all four doors bang in harmony over every sewer lid (the rubber is almost completely gone).

Today I discovered that below the windshield frame (A-pillar), the body has cracks in the metal on both sides. On the left it extends from about the windshield wiper to the upper door hinge and is completely cracked through. On the right it is smaller, but still significant. Amazingly, both doors close perfectly.

Does anyone know where this comes from? The area is not even rusty. Is that a Panel issue due to the huge body? And how should I fix it so it won't come back?

Thanks for any help,

C.Andyman

P.S.: Pictures of my Panel 'Monster' are now in the gallery.

They are stress cracks. Weld them up completely and you should not have any problems.

Mine had lead in these areas as body filler. I just roughed it up with a body grinder and filled it with plastic body filler. Take some paint off of that area and see if it's lead or not,
Scott

Ditto Scott's suggestion...

There is a factory seam right at this point that was originally filled with lead.

This may be more prone to cracking on the panel/ burb than on pick-ups due to the extended body having to cope with the frame twisting over the entire legth of the vehicle.

What kind of shape are your body-mounts in ?
I have also observed that the early AD pick-up cabs (with the 3-point mounting) tend to crack in weird places: such as the dash-board, right above the steering column.

I guess this is why they redesigned the cab mounting to the four-point deal in '49(?)...