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1982 K5 - Current project: 3/16" diamond plate floors

yea, that is basically how i did it, watch youtube and read up on it and then just tried. Its all about the puddle, learn to control it and see when its too hot or too cold. With mig the way most guys do it is they push the gun, so like point the nozzle to the left and then travel that direction. usually i have my shielding gas set to 15-20 depending on it you are outside or in.

you'll get it, just read the instructions, set it up and then play around.
 
Not much to report, picked up all my welding gear, now I need to find some scrap to practice with.

Considering removing the CB radio rack I have, it sits at the top of the windshield and goes all the way across. It's a nice piece, solid metal and covered with felt, padded on the top with foam. I just don't have a CB and would rather have more visibility. I figure I could get a few bucks for it on ebay or something.
 
SafetyHelmet said:
Not much to report, picked up all my welding gear, now I need to find some scrap to practice with.

Considering removing the CB radio rack I have, it sits at the top of the windshield and goes all the way across. It's a nice piece, solid metal and covered with felt, padded on the top with foam. I just don't have a CB and would rather have more visibility. I figure I could get a few bucks for it on ebay or something.
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Pick up some .024 wire. If you use .030 you will blow right through the sheet metal. Practice with scrap, and do not run beads, only tacks!
 
Cool, thanks for the tip! Question on tacks vs. beads.. are you saying for practice purposes initially, or is there some other reason not to run beads?
 
82355 said:
You'll burn through.

Martin
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Yup and it warps the metal. Tacking is slow and painful, but it will be worth it.

Also fab up a copper spoon if you will, by taking some copper pipe and hitting it flat with a big hammer. Put the copper spoon behind the metal you are welding to absorb the heat. Please note to use welding gloves when doing this, as copper transfers heat very effectively.
 
Sounds like I have a few more things to pick up. Thanks for the tips, I can't wait to dive in to welding!

In other news, I should have most of the interior ready for grinding by tomorrow morning. I'll post some pics before I get into removing all the paint/rust on the floor!

There are a few holes near the tranny tunnel on the passenger side.. is there a rule of thumb for how much you need to cut out around a rust area, or do you go by how the metal looks once you wire wheel the junk away?
 
I use the pointy end of my slag hammer and tap lightly. You will hear the difference between good metal and bad metal, bad metal usually is softer and grabs the pointy end of the hammer as well. Any hammer and punch will do if you don't have a slag hammer.
 
Update- Been too busy with work and finishing school, combined with a horribly cold winter here in MN. Haven't done squat to the Jimmy since my last update except buy stuff online for spring.

Stuff waiting to be installed:

Borgeson steering shaft
Warn premium hubs
Sunpro tach
Rear view mirror

Come spring I need to have a ball joint and tie rod replaced, I'll also probably do stainless brake lines while I'm at it. At that point, it's going to be more bodywork until I get the rust all cleaned up. Mostly, I'm looking forward to not battling the Jimmy in terms of steering slop to keep it on the road around town!
 
Updates! I'll post pics once I finish up some stuff today or tomorrow.

- New ball joints up front
- New axle shaft up front
- New tie rod and ends up front. Sumbitch is a lot of metal, wasn't cheap! I went with Moog.
- Borgeson intermediate shaft installed. I got the heavy duty one with U-joints at each end. The install was really easy, and made a noticeable difference even though the old rag joint shaft wasn't in too bad of shape. I can feel the road now!

She drives like a dream now. Wide tires are always interesting on the highway, but there is basically zero slop, no clunks, and when you hit some potholes or bumps, you still feel like you're in control. Night and day difference!

I am installing the Warn hubs either today or tomorrow, when I get some time. Should be easy- the truck has Warns now, but they're super old and corroded because they weren't taken care of very well.

I have a couple questions-

I removed a bunch of crud off the floor inside. There are some bare metal spots and rusty spots. I need some floor pan repairs, but likely can't pay for it / get it done myself this summer. Should I just prime and take it easy on it? What kind of primer should I use? Zinc chromate? I eventually want to do truck bed liner on the interior floor, and up 4-6 inches on the sides of the interior, to prevent scratches and thus rust in the future.

Second question! How the hell do I fix this issue with my rear window? I popped the access panel off to see why it cranks up all cockeyed.. lo and behold, one of the two arms of the regulator is off the track at the bottom. Is there an easy way to get 'er back on, or does the whole damn thing need to come apart?
 
Oh and one more question for paint guys- the Borgeson shaft appears to just be raw metal, not clearcoated as I thought at first. Before it gets much for rust spots on it, should I just wipe it down in some grease or oil? Or should I spray the whole thing? It looks great as it is now, but it's gonna look like hell in two more months when it rusts to hell, thanks to our humid MN summers.
 
So I Got the Borgeson question figured out, I'm using a gun cleaning solution that helps prevent rust. Working great so far. (Rust-Pruff)

Also got the top pried off! I doubt the top will ever go back on.

IMG_1120.JPG


IMG_1122.JPG


I went to install some Warn premium hubs, and ran into a problem. They don't fit! I guess I have external hubs, so I need to exchange these internal ones for the right model.
 
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Scrapping the hub updates for now as I have the wrong ones. I've been welding instead, and am confident I can weld what I need. Any tips on welding floors in the truck in a fashion that I won't explode from starting fuel lines on fire or something? What's a good spot to clamp to when I'm welding the floors up, or welding some holes shut near painted bodywork?

Also.. on the drivers side B pillar, right around the center of the door, there is a seam. It looks like it was supposed to be welded, but part of it is not. This seam is separating, I assume from me bouncing around on terrible Minnesota paved roads. It's also rusty and starting to squeak. Can I weld this guy back up? Would I want to use 0.023 wire and do tacks, or run a bead at as low a setting as I can?
 
Floor repair photos

Is this worth trying to patch up with new metal, or should I just get a replacement floor?

Back area of front passenger floor
Pass_floor_back.jpg


Middle
Pass_floor-mid.jpg


Front
Pass_floor_front.jpg


Front Corner
Pass_floor_front2.jpg


Squeaky B-pillar seam from my prior post.
BPillar.jpg
 
My main concern with replacing stuff here is making sure my repair doesn't end up being super flimsy. Do I need to recreate the bends and grooves in the floor pan (assuming thats for strength), or if I move up to 16ga steel, should I be okay?
 
Two quick tips:

1. Sheetmetal is typically welded with a series of small tack-welds, not a continuous bead. Move around a lot and don't weld in one spot... sheetmetal is thin and the heat will warp it badly

2. Rust is almost always worse than you think. A large, single patch will be much better than a dozen small "coupon" patches welded all over the place. It's scary to cut big sections out if you're a novice, but the end result will look cleaner and it will be stronger too....



-G
 
Greg72 said:
Two quick tips:

1. Sheetmetal is typically welded with a series of small tack-welds, not a continuous bead. Move around a lot and don't weld in one spot... sheetmetal is thin and the heat will warp it badly

2. Rust is almost always worse than you think. A large, single patch will be much better than a dozen small "coupon" patches welded all over the place. It's scary to cut big sections out if you're a novice, but the end result will look cleaner and it will be stronger too....



-G
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Thanks Greg. I definitely plan on stitching new metal in with tacks. I've spent a couple weeks practicing welding now, so that should go okay, as long as I don't start the truck on fire! :thumb:

I'm going to just start doing some cutting today. This probably won't be a full blast "show truck", but the exterior for the most part is in really, really good shape. If I get in over my head, I know I can always have a shop take a look.. it's just metal, after all. It's going to get bed liner over the top once finished, my main priority is that the floors are safe and that the seat mounts will hold up in a crash. Should I maybe reinforce underneath with some square tubing, or not sweat it?

Also, is 18ga mild steel strong enough / going to hold up against corrosion? Keep in mind, this truck is not going to see road salt, snow, mud, or probably even rain most of the time. It lives in the garage and is driven in good weather only... at least until I get the rust all fixed up :D
 
SafetyHelmet said:
Thanks Greg. I definitely plan on stitching new metal in with tacks. I've spent a couple weeks practicing welding now, so that should go okay, as long as I don't start the truck on fire! :thumb:

I'm going to just start doing some cutting today. This probably won't be a full blast "show truck", but the exterior for the most part is in really, really good shape. If I get in over my head, I know I can always have a shop take a look.. it's just metal, after all. It's going to get bed liner over the top once finished, my main priority is that the floors are safe and that the seat mounts will hold up in a crash. Should I maybe reinforce underneath with some square tubing, or not sweat it?

Also, is 18ga mild steel strong enough / going to hold up against corrosion? Keep in mind, this truck is not going to see road salt, snow, mud, or probably even rain most of the time. It lives in the garage and is driven in good weather only... at least until I get the rust all fixed up :D
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I'd throw a set of calipers on the stock sheetmetal to see what the thickness is.... there's not much point going thicker if you are still welding it to thinner factory metal.

The only exception is the seat mount areas, which seem to be a common failure point on the later-model K5s. If I had a truck like that I'd probably spend some time coming up with a way to reinforce those areas (either from above or below) so that they didn't flex and crack over time.

-G
 
I cut some of the passenger floor out, and it looks like the P.O. welded some patches over existing rusty floors. I'm going to cut the whole deal out and do it right, and will reinforce if it feels too flexy with some square tube or ribbing.

Any thoughts on the below layout are most welcome. Planning on 1/8" diamond plate steel for the replacement panels.

Pass_Side.jpg
 
Quick update, I'll post some pictures over lunch. The floor is definitely two layers of sheet metal on my truck, they patched over the existing stuff. So, that makes it a little more work to get it all removed.

A couple findings now that more of the pass floor is gone: The frame is in amazingly good shape and appears to be powder coated or something. It's got a nice smooth finish! On the downside, the front floor cab mount/support looks pretty beat up and rusty. Are these a bear to replace? I was thinking I'd just make a replacement piece instead of using thin aftermarket stuff.
 
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