The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Panels 'N Burbs suburban body rot

I've been working on a couple of these old burbs,55 and 59, and I was wondering if they all have bad rot along the bottom from behind the doors back ? Is there a body patch panel we can buy ? I'm trying to cut up a fleetside bed to patch in but is there an easier way ? Thanks guys

yes they're most all rotten along the bottom of the pinch welded double panels and there's no patches available .... waste of a fleet bedside, the dimensions [especially the wheel opening] are wrong - there is no easier way than cutting and shaping flat metal to fit

Bill

yeah I wouldn't waste a fleetside to do it but I happen to have one that has a rot problem all along the inside bedside flange where the floor and fender wells would attach. I didn't realize the wheel wells were different. I'm ok on the wheel wells on the one burb but the other one needs replacing down the whole side. I'm in trouble there cause I'm not a metal fabricator...

if you have a good sheet metal shop around [like HVAC] they could bend up some metal to match a sample from that bottom molding, then you'd just need to learn some welding and finishing to mate it on - a local shop made up 40' of this rub rail for my bus project

Bill

Forgive me for sticking my ignorant nose into this discussion. That rust-out area is also a problem on 47-55 panels. A trick for easily making a repair-panel for the area is to take the outer skin off of a side door. The contour and length is the same. Maybe this would work on your panel?

that's a good idea for the main "slab" of the side Tim, the problem with the TF series is the bottom molding, especially around the wheel opening, as in the first pic I linked above

Bill

i talked to a guy that used the 55-66 rear step side fenders for the rear wheel opening, he said it worked out good. but i have never tried it myself. just a thought.

Re: 55-59, I have used fleetside bedsides, available door skins and available rocker pieces and some fab. It's a process, but you can cut and kerf and slightly use body filler and get it done. Try to use a bedside that is otherwise dented or rotted elsewhere so as to be a donor or Red will let the air out of your tires. It's a problem for everyone who buys a Panel or Suburban. Less in the desert than in the east. You definitely need to do one side at a time so as to have a pattern to look at/measure/compare.

yeah I did some measuring and it looks like the wheel opening is a little larger on the Fleetside but the same shape.Maybe take A couple of inches out of the middle and piece it all back together and I'm there. The bed I have available is not usable as a good pickup bed anymore. I couldn't cut up a perfectly good bed.

pm sent to you !!

I have a similar problem with my 55 burban, I was going to use factory rockers(alot of them) pie cut and bend to fit around the wheel wells. I was going to use some 16g cold rolled sheet metal on the flat areas ( flat-ish lol )