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Just had a welding quote from a seemingly knowledgeable welder at $95 an hour he thinks my truck needs about $1500 worth of welding. Cab Corners inside and outside both sides and lower back front fenders. Also a couple of small patches on the tailgate and a small patch on the top fender and small inner fender repair.

What do you think?

Where do I get the best value on Cab corners and fender corners. By best value I mean good quality fair price.

WOW, sounds expensive to me. How much did the bodyshop quote on this patch panel welding? for $1500.00 you can buy a TIG machine and give it a try yourself. Read up on doing patch panels repairs. Practice on some sheet metal and when ya feel up to it, take your time and do it yourself. Having TIG is something you will always use time and time again. You can even tack it in with silver solder and fill using a body tinning lead. Check out EASTWOOD CO. they have books on the subject and also have very inexpensive ways to do patch panels other then the cost of a TIG, but having a machine like that is a valuable piece of equiptment. You can even weld up a beautiful stainless steel exhaust...hint, hint, hint. The fun is doing it yourself and doing it youself will improve other skills, like welding... You can do it, if someone else can, you can and sometimes even better cause its yours.

TIG welding is really quite simple... a little practice on scraps of metal and you'll be ready to do a real one. The hard part is fitting the part to the truck and the subsequent work before painting. If you don't feel confident doing bodywork, have a pro do it.

EDIT: Don't know what I was thinking but TIG is NOT easy... I meant to say MIG. Sorry for any misunderstanding.

You might look into taking a welding class. Sometimes the instructor will let you bring your own subject for the "lab work". You get the welding done and you learn a new skill at the same time.

I bought all my patch panels at Classic Parts and have not regretted it. All the panels were good quality and fit with little modification, other than the inner to outer cowl panels which were a challenge.

I bought an inexpensive MIG welder and did my own welding. Cheaper than a TIG by far or paying someone else.

A word to the wise...this requires little actual welding skill and more patience, measuring and planning than anything else.

Take your time, measure, cut, measure, fine tune, measure, fit, measure, tack, measure, weld (slowly, short stitches and let cool, don't over heat), grind, sand, fill, paint.

I did a lot of welding in my younger days but I still needed to practice on some similar sheet metal before attacking my truck as I had done mostly heavy structural welding with very good equipment in the past.

A decent small MIG welder can be had for less than $500 including gas set up. I bought a Lincoln at Home Depot. A small 4 inch grinder with metal cut off wheels is all you need for cutting out the old and fitting in the new.

Good luck!
Rich

I am sold on Classic parts for all but my glass. They are true prof and the best organized I have found.

I have used patch panels from americanclassics and lmc. Both are good and some fitting is always required. For $1500 I would do the work myself. I bought metal tools a Mig and gas, for practice I started on the tailgate I new I would not be using in the end. I worked up the the floor pan rockers and lower front door pockets and lower door skins. Read the post and tech tips on metal work and welding and do this yourself you will be more satisfied in the end.

EMS Most of the resellers buy from them anyway. Heavy gauge galvanized steel & made in the USA in their own shop.

I made my own lower rear cab corner patches... and welded them in with a 110volt MIG welder... not a perfectly professional job, but I did it, and it's a heck of a lot better than it was!!

I agree with above. For 1500 get yourself a welder,grinder,some body tools take a welding class and have fun. There is a wealth of knowledge and expertise here just for the asking.
Dan

Last time I checked EMS didn't do any Chevy truck panels just Ferds.
Steve

I got all the panels in this thread, save the top cowl, from Jim Carter for just over 600 bones.
https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/356482#Post356482

Mongo is right. Mongo are you a H.A.M.B.er?

i am certifed welder doing both mig-tig hammer welding & lead since late 60's but some are afraid to weld from lack of knowledge. find someone local club or class or can literally glue any panel on these days with panel adhesives. i used to think this was cheating but have seen metal torn apart as strong as weld job & don't need to learn to weld or buy equipment. if not doing perfect restoration talk to local body shop supply store for info. on line i think one called bodytool.com has everthing & techs for either way.

JWART,

I never heard of that type of panel replacement being done with adhesives. I ,like you, would immediately think it was a cheat. With all the new types of products these days I really should'nt be so surprised. Thanks for sharing that info...

I looked in bodytool.com what is the product called?

Dave

I just bought some online for a non-structural repair to a newer truck of mine. I found the best price ($39) at Levine Auto Parts www.levineautoparts.com
It's made by 3M - Automix 8115 Adhesive Panel Bonding Adhesive.
Samantha

I bought a 110 volt mig welder of e-bay for $400. Got some scrap and practiced for a few days then attacked the floor boards, cab corners, and rockers on my 67. It isn't near a hard as I expected it to be and when asked later on I will be able to say "I did it all myself". The key is to measure alot and to make templets out of poster board. Go with the gas setup and don't mess with the flux core wire. The flux core wire takes more time to clean up and you can't tell how good your welds are until you grind it down. Also, a friend who has been doing it for a while told me to use flap discs in the grinder to smooth out my welds instead of a grinding wheel. It puts less heat in the metal and does not remove to much metal. By doing it your self, you will have the tools when you are done and a mig welder comes in very handy when you are working on all kinds of stuff.
Just my thoughts, hope it helps.

MACziggy

Ditto with "macziggy" use the gas, I hate the flux core...flap wheels are better too.

Dave