46 Power Wagon Restoration pt. 2

[Desoto61]

So I decided to do some wood working. I needed to create the bottom of the trough in the piece I cut out. So I took a piece of 2x4 scrap and chiseled out a shape close to that of the piece I cut out.

Then I cut a blank from some 16 ga. steel and clamped it to the form and started hammering. I used a piece of square tubing to start forming the divit and the end of the tube allowed me to apply force in a smaller area. It didn't work real well since I couldn't get the clamps to hold well enough to really form the shape. The vice worked a little better and I managed to get something close enough considering it will be hidden inside the door.

If I were to do it again I'd cut a larger blank so I had more metal to clamp to.

[Desoto61]

Picked up most of the paint and filler/surfacer I should need to get the cab ready for color, but I'm waiting on a few other supplies so I decided to start working on the doors.

The passenger door was dipped with the cab. It's in good shape other than the lower corner which had been dinged up somewhere along the line, and a spot below the door stop where the inner structure strapped water against the outer skin.

I decided to start there by cutting away the outer skin to find the extent of the damage. It took a few cuts but eventually found solid if rusty metal. I then cut the outer skin back a little further so I had room to weld.

The inner piece is a strip of metal that runs the length of the door to reinforce the hinges and door stop mount area. It has a stamped shape to provide extra strength, so I had to figure out how to re-create that shape.

[Desoto61]

New year, same truck

The long holiday break provides time to work on the cab, but it also means supplies can be tricky since different places are closed at different times. I took the lower valance panel to a local metal shop to have a new one bent up, but they're closed over the holidays so I'll move on to some smaller tasks.

I decided to cut loose the cowl vent trip tray. I want to make sure it gets cleaned and painted completely since it will see water and be prone to corrosion, it also allows access to the area under it. It's held in by two brackets and a series of spot welds around the perimeter. Most of the spot welds had let loose, there were three I had to cut loose.

The piece had some pin holes and rough areas as well as the three spots I cut loose. So I blasted the unit and then welded up the weak areas, cleaned up the welds and then re-blasted and treated the piece and set it aside to be primed.

Some other little repairs included welding up the mounting holes from the old teardrop spot light on the driver's A pillar, and fixing a stress crack on the lower drivers door opening. I cut the crack open with a grinding wheel and then re-weld. Someone had also hacked at the driver's side hood latch tab, so I cut a patch piece and welded that back on.

[Desoto61]

Got a little time in the garage the other night to re-install the drip rail. The spot welds didn't go as clean as I would have liked, but I've learned if you're not good just be persistent. A few rounds of grinding and re-welding and re-grinding and the end result seems solid and looks good enough for where it is.

Last major fix on the outside is the driver's lower valance panel. Mine was rusted along the front corner and pretty badly bent and damaged both from past events and with all the recent movement off the truck. I cut the old one off, it should still work as a template to have a new one bent up, or I might be able to get a good one from another cab.

Otherwise I have a handful of smaller areas I need to work on, some additional fastener holes I'd like to fill in, and a few other rough spots I'll try and clean up. Also need to install the studs for that brake light assembly.

[Desoto61]

With the drip rail removed I used a hammer and dolly to work it back into shape and clean up around the spot weld holes. I drilled out the weld spots that broke loose, then ran it through the blast cabinet, cleaned the surface and hit it with some of the weld-through primer.

The other fix was the strange hole in the roof. It looks like something punched it, the metal from the hole was bunched up in the back of the hole, but there was no damage to the drip rail.

I cut out around the hole and put in a small patch and cleaned up the area with a sanding disk. I'll clean up the lip for the drip rail, prime it and then I can weld the drip rail back in.

[Desoto61]

More progress today. Bent up my patch piece for above the door opening. In trying to get the drip rail out of the way the next spot weld gave way and the two behind it, I have a feeling it was weak to begin with and further compromised by the acid dip. Regardless one braze spot was all that was holding it on, so I cut it loose and removed it. That will let me clean up the mounting lip and the drip rail before re-installing. The good news is that there were no other bad spots underneath, though I did find a strange hole.

I bent the patch piece a little differently in that I didn't cut the slots, just slowly bent it over with the hammer in the vice as I moved the piece. Seemed to work just as well and no cut lines to repair. I did have cut lines but this time I cut them in the long side of the L that welds to the door pillar. I could clamp it in place and slowly work it into shape, adding or opening the slots as needed to get the piece into the right shape.

Once I got it close I drilled some holes for the spot welds, cleaned up all the surfaces and hit them with a coat of weld-through primer then welded it in and dressed the welds. Definitely came out better the second time.

[Desoto61]

I pushed the drip rail on the passenger side back into place and spot welded it to the roof. Not the easiest task, there's always variability in the welds, sometimes its a good weld, other times its thin and blows out. Guess that comes with the territory on old metal.

Last step for the drip rail was to replace the piece I had cut loose. It was thin had holes on the portion by the door opening. Since the curvy portion was OK I cut the straight part off and welded a new piece on then cut it to length. I drilled a hole for a spot weld, put it in place and welded it in and cleaned up. Not perfect but few will notice.

Next will be to do the same repair on the other side.

[Desoto61]

To get into the corner I cut the drip rail and drilled out the spot welds behind the cut line so I could pull the rail back. As expected the acid dip revealed holes here too. The body saw took care of the rest of the seam so I could weld in the last piece of the repair and cut the slot for the reinforcing bar.

After lots of bending, fitting, and welding the other seam bar is welded into place. I need to figure out how best to dress the welds, the shape prevents normal access with the usual tools.

The final result won't look perfectly stock, but it retains the character line and should have similar strength to the original seam while being less prone to rust in the future. It will also provide more room inside the header panel which might make a windshield wiper setup easier.

[Desoto61]

Busy weekend, but only some of it was PW related. I managed a few hours in the garage today. Managed to finish fitting the piece over the door. Drilled a few small holes so I could plug weld it into place, the original was spot welded so this will duplicate that attachment method.

Welding in the lip was a little tougher due to the way the two pieces meet. Also welded in the slots I cut to bend it. Then went after it with the grinder to clean up the welds. Have to finish the area at the end of the roof seam. Meanwhile I drilled out the remaining spot welds on the drip rail and hit both surfaces with the weld-through primer.

During my pauses to let the weld area cool I worked on completing the other side of the roof seam. Have one last piece in the driver's corner, I have a feeling that drip rail is going to need the same repair though.

[Alxj64]

Any time, misery loves company! I'm probably going to need your services before too long anyway. Once I start on the inside of the cab one of the early tasks will be to cut a new panel for the new guages, which a plasma table will be perfect for.

Sounds good! Gimme a shout and we can get it done!

[Desoto61]

Wow! That is great! I love this thread! Thanks for sharing SO many details. I really need to get over and meet up with you one of these days so that I can drool over this thing in person!

Any time, misery loves company! I'm probably going to need your services before too long anyway. Once I start on the inside of the cab one of the early tasks will be to cut a new panel for the new guages, which a plasma table will be perfect for.

[Desoto61]

Good work!
You mentioned a shrinker stretcher .
I bought one on ebay during the build of my truck, then realized it could not handle 16 gauge or thicker steel. So I re-sold it on ebay.
These tools work well on thinner metals, but with the PW not too handy.

That has been the rough part of the sheetmetal work. Same thing applies to metal brakes. Most will do 18 and 20 ga but you start looking at very small sizes or big price tags if you want to go thicker and wider. I did see a heavy duty shrinker-stretcher somewhere that said it would go down to 16 ga, but naturally it was quite a bit more expensive than the ones you see everywhere. And again while I may find a future use right now I'd rather spend that couple hundred dollars on parts for the truck.

Of course the other issue is big tools require big room, and I'm already out of space.

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. The comments and discussions help me since for the most part I've never tried any of this stuff before either. I know this is the kind of information I like to find as I build my truck: The Idiots Guide to Building a Power Wagon. Of course I always thought those titles were because they were written for idiots, in this case its probably the reverse!

[cj7ox]

Desoto...

Your truck is coming together! It's amazing wathching it step by step.

[Doc Dave]

Good work!
You mentioned a shrinker stretcher .
I bought one on ebay during the build of my truck, then realized it could not handle 16 gauge or thicker steel. So I re-sold it on ebay.
These tools work well on thinner metals, but with the PW not too handy.

[Alxj64]

Wow! That is great! I love this thread! Thanks for sharing SO many details. I really need to get over and meet up with you one of these days so that I can drool over this thing in person!