Bodywork- filling seams

[Ammo]

Wondering if you all weld in or fill seams when doing extensive body work on the cab? Here are a few pics of my cab that has been media blasted and primed. I'm wanting to fill the seam across the roof and cut out the drip edge above the door (not sure if it's a good idea but I like the clean look). Also wondering if I should spend some time filling the various seams on the floor around the door.

[fanboatman]

I have also been thinking about welding and filling the cab roof seam on my truck, and possibly remove my the drip rails. I am thinks about using lead to fill the roof seam after welding. As for around the doors, I would say it's personal preference. The rocker to floor gap in your pic seems to be a bit large to me, but I am no expert. I would think if you do anything with that, would be to get the gap as small as possible then weld it all the way using small tack welds about an inch apart until it's welded solid. Again I am no expert, so you may wait on an opinion from someone more knowledgeable. I do wish my floorboard was as nice as yours. I can't find a replacement, so I will have to fab a lot of mine to repair the rusted parts.

[Cheyenne Dave]

I would point out, in passing, that those drip rails are there for a very good reason. Things stay much dryer inside when they are complete and in good repair.

cd

[knucklehead]

for the floor use Norton 636425-97120 heavy bodied seam sealer. For the drip rails use Norton 636425-97121 self leveling seam sealer. For the top seam (photo #2) that repair can be tricky..... what I did with mine is that I used a mig gun with silicone brass wire and filled in the lost piece then used needle and swiss files to get shape and edges back.

[Ammo]

Thanks for the replies and ideas. It's easy to get carried away (fancy) with these type projects. I ran my ideas by a guy at work and he quickly reminded me that my whole plan for this truck is to keep it as close to stock as possible. Filing seams and removing original parts defeats that purpose.

I may have mentioned in an earlier post that its a 52' with 8000 original miles and parts. It was used as a brush fire truck around the Boston area. It was stored at some remote fire station surplus garage for a lot of years. I also have a 56' PW stake bed that I plan to someday heavily modify-- I'll mess with the drip rail and cab seam with it.

I'm probably going to start a build thread to cut down on all the individual posts regarding this truck. Thanks again guys!

[Greg Coffin]

....I used a mig gun with silicone brass wire and filled in the lost piece then used needle and swiss files to get shape and edges back.

Knucklehead, I'm interested to hear more about using silicone brass wire to repair rotted steel. Could this be used to fill in some small pitted rot areas behind the seat of the cab? I'm reluctant to cut and patch this area, since it runs high up along the inside of the cab wall, and will be super-difficult to reweld into place.

[knucklehead]

Greg... I get brass and bronze scrambled up! Silicon bronze is not recommended for automotive structural repair,,,, But in your particular case, I would get the metal super clean-fill the holes up, use a #36 grit roloc disc to get bottom surface flat, cut a patch panel of 14 gauge 1/8 inch narrower than the bottom of the depression where the cab mounting bolt locates and run a lap filet around the perimeter. It wouldn't hurt to place several 3/8" plug welds as well. Another thing to note is when one does ANY repair that requires welding panels it is best to use an anti corrosion aluminum or copper spray to inhibit rust. The reason these cabs rust out in these areas is that water sits and doesn't drain. When your'e done hole saw a couple of places and install a pair of rubber plugs