It’s not just the bolts. It’s all the washser and spacers and such. The polyurethane kits expect you to reuse a bunch of OEM parts that are generally rusted to almost nothing.
Martin
Martin
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
1990 K5 Build ( Ol' Blue ) : Rocker rust...
- Thread starter bix
- Start date
I took Martin's advice on my Blazer, and it was worth it. Get the LMC kit.
I am at a bit of a stand still today... So far i have repaired the two rocker / door jam sections that were rusted out in the previous photos, the front two cab support boxes with some flat stock, repaired the other rear by cutting back to good steel and welding the replacement in. ( I now know why the repo parts just dont fit well...) On the drivers side rear its cracked at the body mount area, so i have to patch on the new one or fully replace it. i cant do it from under the vehicle because of the sub frame ( that definitely has some extra weight on it from this outriggers not being in place as its cracking in the rear where its rusted bad ). So i have to do it from the top through the floor.
theres a few issues here:
issue 1-
The crack in the cab support makes it a really tough spot to weld so ill probably have to weld it from the inside.
issue 2 - getting the support in from the top is going to be tough because of the opposing wall ( where the seat belt is anchored to ). As the cab support is alot longer than the space available on the floor to cut open. Im assuming this replacement piece is meant to slip under the support that travels across the entire floor as the gauge of steel is alot thicker from body bolt to body bolt, and then gets thinner as it travels outward on either side to the rocker.. So i will have to remove the body bolt, and slip this one under as it has a hole for the body mount bolt in it. If i can manage to get it under and the bolt through i dont think ill have to weld it besides the spot welds on the tub floor but im not sure how to get this in.
issue 3 - To get this replacement piece under the cab support im going to have to lift the truck a little to gain access.. If i remove these two body mount bolts will i be able to jack up the body at all? The thickness of the cab support is 1.4mm or .056 which is 16 gauge i believe so it doesnt need to go up much. If so where can i jack up the body from, the floor seems like a bad spot and the sub frame isnt sturdy...
issue 4- i could maybe replace the cab support from the bottom, if i unbolted the body mouunt bracket from frame, but not sure where / how to support the body while doing so. My space and resources are limited....
idea 5- how much does a rust free tub go for these days ? im thinking it may very well be worth a trip down to the west coast of the US for a tub in the next year or so, So my repairs now arent going to be perfect but they will be solid enough to keep the blazer on the road until i can find a rust free tub or ill luck out and find a garage sooner than that where i can take this tub off the frame and repair all the crust.
if anyone has ever used the cab support replacements from LMC before or cut holes in the floor to replace them thatd be great. Ive searched all over the body work forum and havent found much thats relatable . I have 3-4 more days to work on this before it goes in storage. That rear cab support hasnt been doing anything for the past 6-7 months while being broken from rust so is it the end of the world if it sits without one for a few months in storage. The cab support is fine until about an inch or two past the body mount bolt so atleast the body mount is supporting that section of the tub, just not the outter 12 inches until it meets the rocker.
im going to take some photos later today when im done running errands, and selling the astro glide ( my astro van ) as i know this probably seems a bit confusing without all the correct terms.
theres a few issues here:
issue 1-
The crack in the cab support makes it a really tough spot to weld so ill probably have to weld it from the inside.
issue 2 - getting the support in from the top is going to be tough because of the opposing wall ( where the seat belt is anchored to ). As the cab support is alot longer than the space available on the floor to cut open. Im assuming this replacement piece is meant to slip under the support that travels across the entire floor as the gauge of steel is alot thicker from body bolt to body bolt, and then gets thinner as it travels outward on either side to the rocker.. So i will have to remove the body bolt, and slip this one under as it has a hole for the body mount bolt in it. If i can manage to get it under and the bolt through i dont think ill have to weld it besides the spot welds on the tub floor but im not sure how to get this in.
issue 3 - To get this replacement piece under the cab support im going to have to lift the truck a little to gain access.. If i remove these two body mount bolts will i be able to jack up the body at all? The thickness of the cab support is 1.4mm or .056 which is 16 gauge i believe so it doesnt need to go up much. If so where can i jack up the body from, the floor seems like a bad spot and the sub frame isnt sturdy...
issue 4- i could maybe replace the cab support from the bottom, if i unbolted the body mouunt bracket from frame, but not sure where / how to support the body while doing so. My space and resources are limited....
idea 5- how much does a rust free tub go for these days ? im thinking it may very well be worth a trip down to the west coast of the US for a tub in the next year or so, So my repairs now arent going to be perfect but they will be solid enough to keep the blazer on the road until i can find a rust free tub or ill luck out and find a garage sooner than that where i can take this tub off the frame and repair all the crust.
if anyone has ever used the cab support replacements from LMC before or cut holes in the floor to replace them thatd be great. Ive searched all over the body work forum and havent found much thats relatable . I have 3-4 more days to work on this before it goes in storage. That rear cab support hasnt been doing anything for the past 6-7 months while being broken from rust so is it the end of the world if it sits without one for a few months in storage. The cab support is fine until about an inch or two past the body mount bolt so atleast the body mount is supporting that section of the tub, just not the outter 12 inches until it meets the rocker.
im going to take some photos later today when im done running errands, and selling the astro glide ( my astro van ) as i know this probably seems a bit confusing without all the correct terms.
Last edited:
ohhh yea for sure ill go this route. I wire wheeled the big cup washers and what not but a lot of crap flaked off so id love to replace those. The rears are definitely going to be a lot worse also. Thanks for the heads up, almost wasted money on the poly ones which id need to buy the LMC kit for hardware anyway
