'65 GMC 1500 project. From the Netherlands

[Prowbar]

Front fender work. The support was completely packed with dirt. Replaced the outer skin and inner support. Made big drain hole to prevent dirt from trapping in there. Using a cardboard template with the right contour to check my work.

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Some flat black paint for now. Filler and real paint prep to follow when everything is finished.

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Long time no post. Have been busy graduating.
Went ahead and tackled the driver side rocker and floor after completing the door and front fender.

Removed the rocker, which turned out to be not too corroded, except that the spotwelds were a pain to remove.
The inner rocker had definitely seen better days, so did the floor around the kick panel.

Didn't buy the inner rocker + floor section patch panel, figured I make my own out of sheet metal. For the other side I'll buy the premade panel, though... Saves a lot of time.

Ended up repairing the inner rocker. Removed the bottom of the A pillar, since there was a lot of rust in the floor there. Steve (tbucketnut) sponsored me with the patch panels some time ago, thanks Steve.

Cab mounts were still solid except for the a small section that I could weld in easily.. Was glad that they did, since it gave me a good point of reference to work from.

[Prowbar]

Went ahead and tackled the floor, which had some holes in it. Didn't think it would be this bad, though. Replaced all the sheet metal that looked like the landscape of the moon...

Bought a new kick panel, had to change the location of the holes to make it fit but otherwise fit fine. Made a complete floor section out of multiple pieces, replicating the original, including the bend section where the floor panels are spot welded to each other.

When the floor section was tackled, I welded in the bottom A pillar.

We have access to a portable spot welder, used this where I can to replicate the factory look.

Gave the new section a good coat of paint and spot welded in the rocker. Had to rework the rocker quite a bit to match the original, and cut and weld all the stepped sections to fit the contour of the cab properly. When all was said and done, the rocker was spotwelded in.

Took quite a bit of time to do it properly, but am satisfied with the repair. The door fits in great and the gaps are nice and consistent. New door seals are in as well.

Next task is to remove the front window and weld in a new inner roof section.
There is some rust in the roof as well, in the upper a pillar and outer roof section as well. Drip rails need to be cleaned and re-sealed. Will probably be a heck of a job. That repair has the most priority because of the severity of the rust, but wanted to do this repair first to get the hang of sheet metal work, then move on to the more challenging tasks.

For now, the truck is back on the road and I am enjoying her again. Maybe in a few months I'll start on the front window.

I figured out my mysterious driveline noise and am working on a fix. It ended up being in the SM420 transmission. This will be shared in another thread in the transmissions section.

Also had issues with a intermittent misfire, that ended up being caused by one of the PCV valves. Capped them off and am using a Ford 460 PCV oil cap now, just like sclor posted on the forum.

[BobBray]

Nice job!

[Prowbar]

Thanks Bob. Now onto the rest of the sheet metal. Suspect the windshield/roof will be a major operation... A nice task to do when the weather turns.
Back to enjoying the truck again now that we have sunny weather.

[tbucketnut]

This is bringing back a lot of memories David. You are doing a good job on the replacement panels. As bad as it seems, I really enjoyed that part.

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Originally Posted by tbucketnut

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This is bringing back a lot of memories David. You are doing a good job on the replacement panels. As bad as it seems, I really enjoyed that part.

Thanks for the compliment Steve. It is tedious work, i.e. lots of trial fitting, grinding, rewelding on patch panels to make them fit. But welding the panels in and creating fresh sheet metal is a rewarding task, something you can take pride in. Knowing that with a good rustproofing treatment, the truck is ready for another 60 years of service.

The main gripe I have is where you figured you cut enough rusty metal out to have solid, fresh, weldable sheet metal. You trim the patch panels to size, only to burn a hole through what looked like good sheet metal, but was already rusted out.

By the way, Steve: did you recieve my email?

[Prowbar]

Short update: Got the truck on the road after this side of the rust repair was completed.
Also rebuilt the vent windows with new rubbers.
Have been using Goliath (David in his Goliath) the last months as a daily driver. The 478 has plenty of git up and go to keep up with traffic. Turns a lot of heads for sure.

Next project is to do the other side and replace the windshield, along with the needed rust repairs. The next phase of the project is to completely strip the truck to the bare chassis. Planning to tackle the front suspension, strip the bed and start prepping for paint. Have been doubting between the original Flame Red and Turquoise/Teal but the Turquoise is winning me over.

Some engine work is due as well, including a camshaft ground by Mike Jones and the rubber rear main seal upgrade. A reinforced clutch will be put in, along with the original rebuilt SM420 transmission with new bushings, bearings, synchro's and an upgrade to fix the annoying rattle that I've been experiencing.

Hope to start working on the truck in a month or so. Have to finish my last school assignment first.