Body work question????

[GRINCH]

I am in the process of completly restoring a 1982 4x4 shortbox. Someone drilled over a dozen holes in the back of the cab behind the seat. Should I braze them closed(Worried about warping), Fill with bondo (may fall out) or use something like jbweld?? I also thought about using pop rivets and paint them.

Thanks

 

[tRustyK5]

I would spot them closed. Use a piece of aluminum on one side as 'backing' and spot weld the hole closed. Then grind and prep...
Brazing will put way too much heat into it...the weld will not fuse to the aluminum but it will allow you to close up the hole fairly quickly. The aluminum will also draw the heat away so the sheet metal won't warp...

Rene

 

[JK5]

Bondo is for filling dents not holes, but Dura-glass will work. I personally would MIG or Braze them, but if you want a quick easy to use product, try some 3M window urathrane adhesive sealent, it`s for windshields, but I`ve used it to fill a couple of holes on my truck (the inside tire holder, 1/2 in. holes). Window Urathane comes in a calking gun style container, when smoothed out it looks like seam sealer, so it doesn`t looked HACKED UP.

 

[BigBadCad]

MIG weld, grind a little under flush, fill with body filler and prep. It's pretty quick, easy, and correct this way. I filled all the trim mounting holes in my fenders in under a day the first time I tried.

 

[GRINCH]

Thanks all!!. My only prob is when I MIG'd before I stil got some warpage on the sheet metal. Granted this will be behind the box but I am somewhat of a perfectionist and want to get the truck as nice as possible, Yeh it will probably be a street Queen but how many 1982 4x4 shortbox trucks do you see runnig around? My 90 Blaze is for the trails.

 

[tRustyK5]

I would get a chunk of aluminum about 1/2-1" thick and decent sized. Have someone hold it over the hole and just fill the hole one tack at a time from the other side allowing the steel to cool between tacks. It will minimize the warpage enough that the prep and fill process will blend it perfectly. The aluminum will help draw away the excess heat too...

Rene