I have a 90 Jimmy that needs floors front to rear and rockers. I can afford the parts but can't really afford to pay to have them replaced. My neighor works at a body shop and was going to do it for me but once I removed the interior and he got a good look he said it would run me about 2-3 grand for him to do the work. The rest of the body is in great shape and it would really suck to get rid of my truck. I'm thinking of taking a welding class and doing the job myself. Would this be too complicated for somebody new to welding and require more experience?
CK5
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Floor boards welding question.
- Thread starter Jeff Carr
- Start date
rufusbooth
1/2 ton status
Welcome to the club of metal replacement. 
Metal replacement is not too difficult it is mainly time consuming. But the reward for a job finished is High on my list. Floor boards are the absolute BEST place to cut your teeth learning about metal repair. Even if it ends up not looking so pretty it will be covered by carpet anyway.
The usual way things go is the first side you do does not look too pretty but is quite serviceable. The second side you do will look much better and will take about half the time.
Post up some pictures of the rust that you have and the brotherhood can give you some honest answers on how long it will take to fix.
Oh, and once you learn how to weld...you will be hooked and will not know what you did without the skill. Once I got my welder I went looking for things to weld around the house it was so fun.
Cheers,
Rufus
Metal replacement is not too difficult it is mainly time consuming. But the reward for a job finished is High on my list. Floor boards are the absolute BEST place to cut your teeth learning about metal repair. Even if it ends up not looking so pretty it will be covered by carpet anyway.The usual way things go is the first side you do does not look too pretty but is quite serviceable. The second side you do will look much better and will take about half the time.
Post up some pictures of the rust that you have and the brotherhood can give you some honest answers on how long it will take to fix.
Oh, and once you learn how to weld...you will be hooked and will not know what you did without the skill. Once I got my welder I went looking for things to weld around the house it was so fun.
Cheers,
Rufus
offroadblazer764x4
1/2 ton status
Take the class and do it your self its a great skill to have
Classic "body" guy quote for rust repair. The MO is always to price it so high they don't get the work and have to deal with it. Actual hours required for the job for a pro are usually quite modest, it's just kind of ugly work.
I'm not a pro, I didn't stay at a holiday inn last night and I did this repair in under 10 hours.
Take a class, do it yourself. Your neighbor isn't interested in helping, but the only he could convey that to you without saying it outright was to quote you an obscene price.
Rene
I'm not a pro, I didn't stay at a holiday inn last night and I did this repair in under 10 hours.
Take a class, do it yourself. Your neighbor isn't interested in helping, but the only he could convey that to you without saying it outright was to quote you an obscene price.
Rene
Ck1500
1/2 ton status
nice work
Very nice looking job there tRusty!!!... seeing stuff like that keeps my motivation going on my projects!!! keep the pics comming!!!
Very nice looking job there tRusty!!!... seeing stuff like that keeps my motivation going on my projects!!! keep the pics comming!!!
Ck1500
1/2 ton status
i use a miller 140, it has the ability to use fluxcore, or steel wire with gas, for body panels i would go with the steel wire and gas..
i paid 350$ for mine used and it came with the regulator and everything, very happy with the welder, and i have found myself running around the house trying to weld everything, hehe its kinda addicting.
hope this helps, and yes i am redoing all the floor parts in my K-5 also. so any questions feel free.
i paid 350$ for mine used and it came with the regulator and everything, very happy with the welder, and i have found myself running around the house trying to weld everything, hehe its kinda addicting.
hope this helps, and yes i am redoing all the floor parts in my K-5 also. so any questions feel free.
OK...other side: Before pic
nasty stuff cut out, inner wheelhouse repaired, three coats of rust paint.
Multi-part patch panel, including a fuel door assembly.
Roughed out and primed for now.
Rene
So Rene, did you spot weld until you had one complete bead and grind down? Or was this just like the last pic, with the spot welds ~2" apart, hit with the grinder and then a layer of bondo used?
It sure looks like some nice work.
Sorry for the Hijack.
It sure looks like some nice work.
Sorry for the Hijack.
Ck1500
1/2 ton status
the more i see of tRusty's work, the more i wished i live closer to him lol.. looking good there my man!!!!
the funny part is my quarters were the BEST part of my truck lol, so i will be skipping this step on operation HOLY RUST ... keep them pics comming!!!! and move closer to me so i can hire ya out :P
the funny part is my quarters were the BEST part of my truck lol, so i will be skipping this step on operation HOLY RUST ... keep them pics comming!!!! and move closer to me so i can hire ya out :P
I finished the welding with a tack every 1/2" to 3/4" or so, then gently buffed them down with the sanding disc on a grinder. You don't want to re-heat those tacks to blue or red again as it'll cause even more distortion. The majority of those tacks burned through 100%. not a single one broke when i sanded them down. The floor patches will be done similarly, but right up until I have 100% weld coverage.
Then fill, sand, prime...repeat once so far. There are a few areas that appear good to the eye, but my hands tell me different so I'll have to go over them again. Max fill thickness is somewhere around 1/16" which is fine IMO.
I did prime and paint the backside of that patch panel I made, plus the inner part of the bedside on both sides. It may not last forever, but it should last a good long time.
Rene
My floors are pretty good, tailpan is 100% OK, rear floor is in great shape, seat belt mount areas are gone, but front floors are really good still too. This is one of the few K5's I've owned that looked worse on the outside than on the inside.
Rene
jimmyfloyd
Registered Member
This looks great. i will need to be doing this as well, and got a miller 135 to learn on. Just waiting to get the correct amount of power in my garage to use it, then I'll be following this.
I just plug my Millermatic 135 into any outlet...especially when doing body patchwork.
Rene
Rene
jimmyfloyd
Registered Member
Yeah, that's easy enough to do, except my garage is powered by one 14-2 line, which runs the lights and outlets. My air compressor will trip it when it goes to kick on. Soon though.
Recon!
Maniac
I like what you did around the seat belt area, mine has issues right there. You gave me some great ideas that I need to work on.
Ck1500
1/2 ton status
what guage metal did you use on your project? i unfortunatley bought all the repair panels from LMC and classic chevy.. and where the parts werent available i am using 16 guage metal. just curious what yours is?
looks good btw!!!!!
Ck1500
looks good btw!!!!!
Ck1500
