The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop The Sagging 49er

Greetings:

While restoring our 49 Model 3100 panel truck I recently encountered an apparent body alignment problem. The right or passengers door opening has a crack on the upper rear corner that is about 2” long going from the rear radius of the door opening upwards towards the roof. I believe that this is a body joint that was leaded over when the truck was built. I attempted to sand it out and then fill it in with body filler with fiberglass. This failed and the crack reappeared in the same position.

Some history, We restored the truck “body off”, where all systems were rebuilt and the body put back on the frame with a new body bolt kit with blocks. Currently the truck is in primer and being prepped for a paint job in late spring. When I put the body back on the frame I did not put any shims on in that there did not appear to be any on it when I took it off. The truck frame was found to be in good shape, with no rot or apparent damage. The body had some minor damage with relatively little rot. It’s frames, supports and related were in good shape. The body on the frame does not appear to be sagging or racked, but this is but a visual observation. In that I cannot seem to eliminate this crack it would indicate that the body is not properly aligned or supported on the frame.

A fellow Bolter suggested that I weld 3” X 3” gussets on the frame to stiffen it and to keep the truck from twisting. Another bolter suggests I check the body to see that it is properly supported on the frame and shim where necessary. I don’t know how to determine where the body is not properly shimmed or how to correct it.

Questions:

1. How do I determine where the body is not properly shimmed and how do I correct it? Some say the body is probably racked to one degree or another, how is this determined and corrected?

2. What method should I use to fix the crack once the body is realigned/shimmed? I can’t weld and I have never undertaken a lead repair before as some suggest.

3. If I am to apply gussets to the frame to stiffen it on what components of the frame do I apply these, and how many total should I install?

Any and all information on these issues are greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance for your help.

God bless,

Dave

If you have a crack in the roof, it has to be fixed before anything else can be addressed. No amount of lead or bondo will cover a crack for long. Your cab is mounted with a flexable mount at the rear, so it will move independently of the frame twisting. I think if you get the crack welded properly you will not see the crack return.

Lonnie:

Thank you, I appreciate it. On the panel truck there is no flex mount, the mount is comprised of a block of wood with a shim.
The area in question I don't think is a crack as much as it is a body joint that is moving that caused the factory applied lead above it to crack. As others mentioned perhaps I should check and see if the body is properly mounted, maybe the support block in that area is not properly shimmed. What are your thoughts on this?

Regards,

Dave

I suppose I should learn how to read.

My thoughts on the panel body and frame, is that they work as a structural unit. The frame of an AD is somewhat flexable, unlike newer trucks. I would think the panel body would be stiffer than the frame. Therefore if all looks straight and is mounted properly there should not be any body flex that would cause cracking. That is if the body does not already have a crack in the area you are having the problem.

I would check all of the mounts again and make sure they are to specs. If they are OK, I would remove any filler at the problem area and make sure that there can be no movement in the sheet metal. If this is a body joint, the welds may have broke, allowing movement. Just to make sure I would weld the seams and if there is a large overlap, I would make some plug welds in the lap area.

There is obviously some movement in this area. Until the movement is controlled you will have a filler cracking problem.