46 Power Wagon Restoration pt. 2

[Jake]

[QUOTE= This also means the body lines don't line up at the back of the door. Trying to bend the hinge forward however causes it to hit the drip rail. This one is going to take a while.[/QUOTE]

I'm not sure I've ever seen the lines at the back of the cab line up with the lines on the door on a Power Wagon. All of my trucks are the same as what you showed in the above picture but do have a little more space in between.

[Desoto61]

The studs did a good job of pulling the metal, but left low spots between pins, so the first set of pins was broken loose and a second set welded in the remaining low spots. After the second set the area was pretty good. There are still a few low spots but the majority of the dent is gone. I used the hammer and dolly to work around the edge of the dent and along the front lip of the door.

Unlike more modern cars there's not a lot of adjustment to the stock hinges. They half in the cab can move slightly in their holes, but the door side is riveted in place. Any adjustments are done with good old brute force. Which is much harder than some slotted adjustments. Since the door had some damage from opening too far it's tricky to figure out what needs to be adjusted to make the door fit. Add to that that it's heavy and awkward and it becomes quite the ordeal to install, remove, tweak, and re-install.

After half a dozen times I still have too much of a gap along the top and front and not enough at the back. This also means the body lines don't line up at the back of the door. Trying to bend the hinge forward however causes it to hit the drip rail. This one is going to take a while.

[Desoto61]

Once the primer had a chance to dry for a day or two I mixed up some filler and started applying it to those areas that needed it. I've got the sandpaper and guide coat on order but the plan is to move move on to the interior repairs and modifications and come back to the body work once I'm ready to spray out the rest of the cab.

First step then was to put the cab back on the frame and bolt it down. The lift is great for this job. Roll the frame underneath and you can slowly lower the cab into place. I had to drill out one of the rear mounting holes in the cab due to the floor repairs.

I unbolted the rotisery attachment and installed the cowl support bars temporarily so I can work on some clearance issues with the engine as well. Plus it is very encouraging to see the truck start to look like a truck again, even if only temporarily.

After the cab was bolted down I installed the hinges and tried to mount and fit the driver's door. The original had a lot of issues so I bought a used one from Dave Horvath. It was solid but had a few issues. The biggest being a crease in the front between the hinges. Because it is so close to the front lip I decided to pull it out to make sure it wasn't affecting the door fitment.

Since I can't get behind it I had to use the stud puller. I welded studs every inch or two and used the slide hammer to start pulling the area.

[Desoto61]

Once I thought I had everything I suited up and wiped the cab down with the pre-painting prep and then mixed up the primer. I hit the cab with a tack rag and then started spraying.

I sprayed a test pattern on some masking paper first and then moved to the cab. I started on the bottom, this was one place the rotisserie was really nice. Every surface could be brought vertical and at a convenient height. A set of halogen lights helped to make sure I could see everything.

The P-sheet says 1-2 wet coats and the paint supplier recommended two, so I did the first coat, which may have been a little heavy, then waited the recommended time before applying the second coat. The bottom of the cab was tricky with all the curves and hidden areas, I played with the fan adjustment to try and make sure I got paint in all those hidden areas.

We had fairly warm weather for January, though it's supposed to get cold tomorrow so the heaters are on full bore to make sure the temps stay above 60.

[Desoto61]

Paint!

Washed and prepared the underside of the cab the same was as the rest, though there are more tight spots, so the cleaning and prep was a bit more tricky, I also haven't dressed most of the welds so there are lots of things that can chew up the cloths and sponges.

With everything ready I spent some time masking off the openings. I think the masking paper I got was too thick as it was a real bear to get into shape over some areas. Then it was a matter of getting everything set up. I hung plastic wrap around the perimeter of the garage like with the frame to protect the cab from dust and the garage from overspray.

The prep reminds me of work, you have to think out the entire job and try to make sure all the stuff you need is out and ready.

[Macadoo]

Thanks for taking all the time your giving to leave all this info. I'm looking forward (not as much as you) to seeing the end result. I'm sure you will have a nice truck.
My project is also moving along well and I hope to be done in 6 weeks.

[Desoto61]

Still working, just nothing that is exiting to show, plus the weather is putting the brakes on things. Finished scuff sanding the exterior of the cab. Vacuumed up all the dust and then managed to push the cab out into the yard Sunday and wash it down with some soap and water to get it ready for paint.

After washing it I wiped it down with some clean clothes and blew out all the seams and standing water with the air compressor. Then I wiped the exterior down with some Eastwood AfterBlast, which is a zinc-phosphate cleaner. That removed any flash rust and left a protective surface till I can get everything ready for paint. Only thing I didn't get to is the underside of the cab since I couldn't wash it while sitting on the cart. I'll probably have to do that in the garage and just try to minimize the amount of water used.

While the garage was empty I went around and cleaned it up to try to knock down all the dirt and dust, that included a mop of the floor, and running the vacuum cleaner around all the nooks and crevices. I'll use some painter's plastic to wall off the work benches and tools to protect them from any overspray and the cab from any dust.

Plan is to spray the two to three coats of epoxy primer on the exterior of the cab and after the 24-hour cure time specified in the P-sheet apply the body filler while the primer is still "open". Then I figured I'd leave it alone while I worked on the interior metal work of the cab. That way I can come back to the filler work after the primer window without having to scuff the primer first. Plus I'm sure I'll have to cut, drill, or weld during the interior work, so I will be able to take care of any of those areas when I go to spray the inside and start working the body filler.

Unfortunately while the temps had been nice, it's also been very wet, so actually spraying paint will have to wait. I have heat in the garage so the cooler temps aren't a huge issue, but the humidity is a different animal.

[Desoto61]

There is a slight curve to the door opening, the new panel was straight, so when it was attached at both ends it bowed in along the middle. A few relief cuts on the lower lip allowed the piece the freedom it needed to follow the curve.

From there I would move a few holes and re-clamp the panel to make sure it was tight to the inner lip. A body hammer was used to work the top lip tight to the cab structure before welding it in place. I repeated this down the lip till I had the piece welded in. The front lip was welded to the trim panel. Then everything got cleaned up including the relief cuts on the bottom.

I'll have a small piece to install in front of the door above the valance panel to close the gap and the exterior cab work will be done. Next is to sand everything with 180 grit to give the metal a key for the primer, then re-clean and start preparing the garage and cab to spray.

[Desoto61]

Had a local metal shop bend up a new valance panel for the driver's side. The original was too far gone to save. They did a really good job considering the template they had to work from, but it still required some modification and fitting.

They bent the top lip along the full length of the panel, but as far as I can figure from the passenger side the lip stops at the front of the door opening. I cut and straightened the front of the lip and then trimmed it down. I drilled holes to plug weld it to the cab along the top lip.

A couple of rounds of fitting and tweaking and it was basically ready to go in. I blasted the piece and cleaned it up the applied some weld-through primer along the top lip where it will be welded to the cab. I used some vice-grips to clamp the panel at the back aligned with the rear of the cab, then another set at the front. I welded the front and rear in place in one or two spots.

[Desoto61]

I had already cut the hole for the high mount stop light I'm installing, but there are two mounting studs that hold the light housing in place.

I fitted the lens which helps to locate the housing. Then marked and drilled out the stud locations. The kit includes two screws which I threaded through the holes in the cab. Then used a grinder to remove the heads and tack welded the studs in place.

It's a tight fit but shouldn't need to come back out after the final install.

[Desoto61]

No major progress today, seems like most of the various tasks are waiting on some piece, part, or supply. With most of the exterior metal work done I want to get it protected with some primer. Since the cab was acid dipped and not blasted in order to make sure the metal has the right key I'll sand it down with 180 grit per the primer instructions. Before I do that I want to wash the cab so I'm not driving anything into the metal.

I put the cab on it's cart and pushed it outside and hosed it down with some metal wash and gave it a good scrubbing then rinsed it with more metal wash. I used some compressed air to blow out all the seams and anywhere water was sitting and then wiped it down with clean cloths and let it air dry in the garage.

It was also good as it made you go over the cab and I found some minor issues and spots that needed some additional attention. A few pinholes in some weld areas, a small damage spot to weld up, a patch area I needed to re-do and one last task for the 3rd brake light.

[Desoto61]

The inner lip was kind of weak so the worst of it was cut out and a small patch installed. The area was cleaned up and the inner surfaces were primed before welding in the new piece of door skin.

The outer skin I templated with a piece of cardboard first to work out the overhang required to fold it over. Then cut and primed it. Once it was tacked to the outside of the door I used a straight edge on the back side and a hammer to fold the edges over. Since this was the corner I used the driver's door to figure out the original fold line.

Once I had them folded 90 degrees I flipped the door over and used a dolly on the outside of the door and the hammer to fold the lip the rest of the way over, using the cutting wheel to cut the corner to lay flat. I didn't get the fold line right the first time so I had to pound it back out flat and re-bend it.

I ended up cracking the inner panel during this so I had to weld it back, but I may look at a more extensive patch. Then I finished the welds on the back side and dressed all the welds.

The corner has been pushed in so I will need to pull it out once I get a new stud puller, the first one I bought didn't work well, it couldn't reliably grip the pins.

[Desoto61]

It's amazing the progress you can make when you don't have annoying distractions like work to slow you down.

I welded the inner patch panel into the door and dressed the welds enough to make sure the outer patch would sit flat. Then cut and fit the outer patch panel and cleaned and primed both inner surfaces before welding the outer patch in place and cleaned up the welds.

I also had some small stress cracks around the door hing rivets so I cleaned up and welded those areas too. The welds are kind of ugly but solid and not very visible.

Next was the damage to the lower corner of the door. I used a dremel to cut away the outer skin. This corner was pretty heavily rusted so the metal is thin in places. The acid took care of most of it, I used some rust converter into the open corner to take care of any remaining areas.

[Desoto61]

I get the feeling that even if you have the right tools it is still a time consuming and difficult job. Luckily most of the complex curves and shapes are OK on my cab, the roof seam was the worst of it.

One of the big tasks coming up will be how to get paint on all these surfaces to try and prevent the rust from coming back for a long time.

[Alxj64]

I've been messing with forming patch panels for my Carryall lately too and it is a major pain in the neck. I like the idea of making the template with wood. That looks like it works decent. When I made my little dies for my rear radius for my Carryall tailgate, I made the mistake of no compensating for extra depth needed for the material to spring back while forming it so my parts turned out shallow. One of these days I am going to make it over there to take a look at this thing! Can't wait to see it done!