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72 K5 - Project 'fixing POs ghetto fab' MAYBE IN WAY OVER MY HEAD? [PICS]

A couple things (again)

Yes, the cab supports are frustrating because they don't give you a good "index" for the 4-bolts area. I decided to cut them vertically on the side that is closest to the bodymount bolt then bend/rework it to fit and weld in extra metal in the "v" shaped gap that I ended up with. It's a shame that you cut off both sides of you truck at once...now you don't have a reference for dimensions anymore.

For the doors, you might do OK by measuring straight across the bottom of the door area (where the verticals start)' then measure at the highest spot you can too. Ideally the dimension should stay the same. If it's smaller at the top, your body is sagging and you'll want to deal with that BEFORE you weld in any new metal.

A simple bar welded between the upper hinge area and the sticker plate would be a good start. Shim it, or adjust it with a piece of threaded rod until you get the dimensions consistent. Check those values against your door skins as a sanity check. With body gaps, you'd probably see the doorskin is about 1/2-5/8" narrower than the door openings.

As you already noticed, the entire windshield/cowl area gets pretty floppy when you cut out the rusty metal. Take you time and measure everything carefully. If your measurements are off from side-to-side spend the time to figure out why and correct it. Otherwise, you'll never get the doors or front fenders to fit right later on.

Good luck. :waytogo:

-G
 
Greg72 said:
It's a shame that you cut off both sides of you truck at once...now you don't have a reference for dimensions anymore.
Click to expand...

It would have helped, but not significantly IMO. All hinges are totally shot and the metal was crap. The doors were rubbing on the rockers as well as the fenders. I didn't measure gaps, but they certainly weren't aligned properly. That's one of the main reasons I wanted to fix the metal. The door jambs are worn from the doors rubbing :rolleyes:

Aside from removing the outer rockers and door, I haven't touched anything else on the passenger side. The floor, floor supports, and torsion boxes are still in tact, so maybe there's still hope.

Greg72 said:
A couple things (again)

Yes, the cab supports are frustrating because they don't give you a good "index" for the 4-bolts area. I decided to cut them vertically on the side that is closest to the bodymount bolt then bend/rework it to fit and weld in extra metal in the "v" shaped gap that I ended up with. It's a shame that you cut off both sides of you truck at once...now you don't have a reference for dimensions anymore.

For the doors, you might do OK by measuring straight across the bottom of the door area (where the verticals start)' then measure at the highest spot you can too. Ideally the dimension should stay the same. If it's smaller at the top, your body is sagging and you'll want to deal with that BEFORE you weld in any new metal.

A simple bar welded between the upper hinge area and the sticker plate would be a good start. Shim it, or adjust it with a piece of threaded rod until you get the dimensions consistent. Check those values against your door skins as a sanity check. With body gaps, you'd probably see the doorskin is about 1/2-5/8" narrower than the door openings.

As you already noticed, the entire windshield/cowl area gets pretty floppy when you cut out the rusty metal. Take you time and measure everything carefully. If your measurements are off from side-to-side spend the time to figure out why and correct it. Otherwise, you'll never get the doors or front fenders to fit right later on.

Good luck. :waytogo:

-G
Click to expand...

Thanks Greg, I do appreciate all this insight. I'm going through your build thread and analyzing every pertinent rust repair photo. It's helping quite a bit - thanks for the detailed documentation :)

Trying to figure out bracing right now. The bar + threaded rod is a great idea, will probably end up going that route.
 
Fresh hinges (or a new set of bushings and pins) are a must! You'll waste a lot of time shimming and chasing door gaps if the hinges are worn out.

Check for tearing or bloating in the a-pillar hinge mount areas. I have some photos of the drivers side lower hinge in my thread... It can be subtle but if you lift up on the door and can see motion in the mount areas, you MUST deal with it. It doesn't matter how tight the hinges are if the structural mount itself is sloppy.

You are peeling a big, rusty onion.... It will probably make you nauseous the further you dig in. And trust me, it hard to keep digging when things seem to get worse and worse. That is the essence of "might as well".... Once you commit to repairing things correctly, it get harder and harder to cut corners and half-ass repairs later on.

-G
 
I have new pins and bushings sitting right here, but having a heck of a time getting the old pins out. I've cut off both the top and bottom of a pin (still on truck), WD-40'd, have tried a baby sledge whack and punch method, and a ghetto press (c-clamp + socket).. not even budging. I read these pins are supposed to be easy to get out. Go figure. :rolleyes:

Next I'm trying heat or drill press. Unfortunately no vise here.. now might need to get one.
 
Something else you might want to do (since you are so far into it already) is to buy a new set of body mounts. I'd do rubber OEM ones, but you can do poly if you prefer the stiffness and constant squeaking... :)

For the same reasons you brace the doors, it important to insure that your body mounts are in good shape. Otherwise, you end up welding the patches in while the body is tweaked. At some point when you install new mounts, the body won't want to sit on them correctly. You'll end up with loads of shims everywhere trying to chase the twist in the body.

Better to start with a solid foundation (the mounts) and do all your repairs from a predictable starting point.

-G
 
I think the body mounts were replaced by PO. I'll have to check again to be sure, but I believe they look new-ish.
 
loren said:
I have new pins and bushings sitting right here, but having a heck of a time getting the old pins out. I've cut off both the top and bottom of a pin (still on truck), WD-40'd, have tried a baby sledge whack and punch method, and a ghetto press (c-clamp + socket).. not even budging. I read these pins are supposed to be easy to get out. Go figure. :rolleyes:

Next I'm trying heat or drill press. Unfortunately no vise here.. now might need to get one.
Click to expand...


Those can be really tough. I damaged one trying to use a press to remove it. New hinges were used instead, and the old hinges were used to weld some door braces onto them. It's all about recycling with these old trucks.
 
dremu said:
I think this may be the great Gregism yet, better than the one about "A cheap first gen will be the most expensive truck you ever buy" :haha:

-- A
Click to expand...

Agreed!! Nice build btw. Keep at her, and you will get there!
 
dremu said:
I think this may be the great Gregism yet, better than the one about "A cheap first gen will be the most expensive truck you ever buy" :haha:

-- A
Click to expand...

As long as I don't count my time, I'm way in the green here. Still a good deal :D

If I do count my time... that's another story.
 
I posted this last month some time in the 1st gen section. Maybe it will help you out too. :dunno:





"Here are a bunch of measurements that Kurt (VTBlazer) sent me in a PM back in 2010. I checked with him this morning and he is good with handing out the link.

It sure helped me when I was neck deep in rusty panels. Hopefully it will help you guys, too.

http://s639.photobucket.com/user/vtb...?sort=3&page=1"

http://api.viglink.com/api/click?fo...photobucket.com/user/vtb...?sort=3&page=1
 
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