|
|
|
Jan 21, 2016 16:52:41 GMT
|
Ha!...Ive been checking in on Craigslist and have found some terribly tempting deals....arggghhh.... anyway...a bit more progress! Got this panel welded in and am very happy with the results. best results yet as far as weld quality and lack of distortion. the welds shrunk into the panels just a touch so a skim coat of filler should hopefully do the trick....  and the next section to do at the front edge of the fender...Ill either have to remove the bumper or the fender to do this part right...there is a shelf of sorts inside the fender lip protecting the battery tray. This shelf is totally gone!  JP |
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jan 27, 2016 21:22:56 GMT
|
I got a bit distracted by a hole I found in the drivers door at the lower rear corner...I made the mistake of poking around with a screwdriver and got emotionally involved...After I was done with the grinder, I had a nice square hole where the corner of me door used to be. both sides were rotten. anyway...the passenger door is worse, but thats for another time....  The welding went fairly well...still, I have to work on being neater and having more patience.....  the inside piece was a bit tricky, but surprisingly I was able to shape it fairly quickly.... a few rounds of grinding and filling holes left by sloppy welding and I got this:  the outside looks smooth so I'm happy there. One thing that happended: I must not have cut the piece perfectly because it looked fine from the inside where I was welding, but from the outside it was angled outward and I had to cut a slice in it to straighten it out...bummer there, but it went well in the end. I'm using way to much welding wire because I'm rushing things too much...I should just slow down and I'm sure Ill have better results.... thanks for looking JP |
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
got some more progress done on the front fender...just about finished with that now!.... the front leading edge had 2 or 3 layers to get through and rebuild....but in the end it turned out pretty good I think...... heres what I started with...I had to chop out a bit more than I thought, but this simplified the replacement piece....   Welded in a few patches to the inner lip as well as getting the replacement piece shaped...  Refining as I went...trying to dial in the welder for better results...ended up increasing the wirespeed which helped with burnthrough...   then took the flap disk and smoothed everything out a bit...  Ill get a skim coat of bondo/glass on there and it should be pretty good to go for a while... JP |
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Next up is the radiator support, which luckily bolts to the front clip...The bottom is all but rusted out and will need to be replaced sooner rather than later. I also found a worn tie rod end on the drivers side. both parts are on order along with a drivers side mirror glass unit.
ah well, the fun never ends around here!
JP
|
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
Ian
Part of things
Posts: 977
|
|
|
|
|
Looks pretty good to me and a damn sight better than anything I could do! I like rolling repairs threads as much as the full restorations.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I reckon you're metal working skills are coming on leaps and bounds! Fabulous bit of panel work!
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
thanks, guys.... Funny thing about welding for me is that sometimes it goes great and other times I fight and struggle with it. I did more welding this time with the panels on the vehicle which is MUCH harder. Hats off to you guys who tackle sills and floor repair...(I'm not far behind on these areas seeing rot starting nearly everywhere) sometimes you have the luxury of taking a vehicle off the road for a while...the wife's car is in the shop right now so the truck has to keep on truckin so to speak. I had the thing in the air, wheel off, bumper on the ground, no headlights, ect and made the mistake of asking said wife for my wagon for a few hours this weekend...you can imagine how the conversation went from there....  JP |
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
just thought of a funny analogy that we all can relate to:
I'm chasing the rust...and hopefully Ill catch up to it...but right now in the chase I am feeling like the guy in second place who just lost visual sight of the guy who is in first !
|
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
just finished a bit of sill prep cutting out the nasty bits. I ordered up the replacement panels today too...
as far as my analogy above...(after looking at the cab floor ect....I think I just got a leg cramp!
JP
|
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
With the outer sill, I will be able to cut higher up as the new panel has enough material that comes up and over the edge of the sill sides but does not go so far as the pinch welds where the rubber door seal is. I'm planning on spot welding the bottom flange to the inner rocker, which is rusty, but will be salvageable with rust converter, cavity wax and undercoating. Ill continue to prep the whole rocker panel and inner area. Ive also started the long road of cleaning up the frame and cab supports, floor, ect....its pretty crusty under there and I have already found that I will need to patch a small area on one of the cab mounts.....   wish me luck! thanks for looking JP |
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I received the rocker panels today in the mail and they look to be great quality...made in the USA too (for me thats good!)I will check the fitment and see how they match up to the truck...hopefully they will need only minor tweaking.
They are lightly primed, but mostly coated in an oily substance....I'm quite pleased really!
JP
|
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
so here is one of the replacement rocker panels...very nice for a "slip on" unit...I would say this company gives you more than others!...it is longer than I need, does indeed go up to and include the flange for the door opening pinch welds, ect.....  my question is...what is the best approach here?...I'm thinking I want to use as much new metal as possible. where to start? any advice on how best to do this is appreciated.... thanks JP |
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hi there
I personally would only replace up to 10mm down from were the sill meets the door bottom. Cut the original sill 10mm down, joggle the edge,trim and fit the new sill to match the joggled part on the old sill.
Seem weld the joggled joint and plug well the bottom of the sill.
Advantages of this method are, invisible joint of new sill to old one ground down,little to no distortion when welding the joggled joint, more of the original structure is maintained.
Cheers - mike
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What he ^^^ said really, there's no point fitting more than you have to/ need to.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hi there I personally would only replace up to 10mm down from were the sill meets the door bottom. Cut the original sill 10mm down, joggle the edge,trim and fit the new sill to match the joggled part on the old sill. Seem weld the joggled joint and plug well the bottom of the sill. Advantages of this method are, invisible joint of new sill to old one ground down,little to no distortion when welding the joggled joint, more of the original structure is maintained. Cheers - mike Thanks, Mike....Ive made a good start on tweaking and cutting the new rocker. I'm taking your advice except for the back door sill where the rust has begun to creep up towards the pinch weld at the top. Ill get some pics taken.....I did decide to do this in 2 halves as the rear door needs a recess in the rocker panel so it opens without binding....its just a bit too complicated for me to try to get it all to fit in one piece.... JP |
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 10, 2016 21:04:42 GMT
|
The lower radiator support came in this afternoon and I couldn't wait to get started. Glad I did, really, the old one nearly folded in half getting it out....but I wanted to take some measurements so I was careful to keep it in one piece. The replacement is an aftermarket unit with a good reputation, but still, you never know... ends up the measurements were spot on...good deal... heres bumperless sad face:  the old support. I literally had to keep it from breaking....   and the new lower support with a few extra coats of paint and some undercoating on the bottom sections. I also refurbished the upper support tie in piece, hood latch bracket, ect....  the upper piece had some serious crusties on the ends and underside...glad I got to this piece too! I'm hoping to get it all back together tonight after dinner...I need the truck tomorrow for work! JP |
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
|
|
|
Feb 12, 2016 14:21:24 GMT
|
|
So its back in and done with only minor tweaking of the hood latch and rubber stops to adjust. I ended up having to take the hood and right fender off the truck so I could get the new support in....2:30am is really just a bit past my bedtime.....
In aftermarket parts news...I was a bit optimistic when the measurements looked good....I ended up having to fight with most of the bolts to get them in and ended up elongating ALL of the holes for the top crossmember and fenders. But I won in the end and everything looks good again...I also have the peace of mind that its all solid again so Ill put this in the win column.
Ill get some pics up soon...thanks for looking...
JP
|
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
So I started taking a look at the area behind the spare tire underneath and boy do I have a lot of work to do!...its really gotten crusty under there again so I have plans to take the bumper off and either weld in new sections or make a new bumper from different material or graft something cool from another vehicle entirely...maybe an old 30s or 40s car or truck.... the rear shackles tend to rot out on our trucks and Ive already replaced one set and found the paint was peeling right off the second set and rust was taking hold underneath......but I got one side cleaned up and will start on the other side tomorrow night.....  Then,moving around the back of the truck, I decided it was time to fix the truck caps broken and crusty latch mechanism. broken cables, springs and rust really make this a frustrating operation just to get into the bed.....  I am stalled on working on the rocker panels for now as the wifes car is back in the shop and I cannot work on the truck for any real extended period of time.....so its on to little projects for the time being.... thanks for looking! JP |
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
|
|
|
Mar 16, 2016 23:41:20 GMT
|
|
The wifes car is back up and running (loooong story with the car ending up in my own garage for 2 more weeks after not being able to afford the mechanic anymore and the job just was not getting done...!) so that gives me some time to get going on the Dakota again. I took the door off and cut back the old sill area to match the replacement piece and it fits pretty well with minor tweaking to do still.....but I am pretty stoked!
pics tomorrow.
Question for you guys....how should I best treat the inside of the rocker against rust before welding the new panel in place.
I have some rust converter, galvanizing primer (weld thru) and even picked up a similar product to waxoyl.
The galvanizing primer works quite well against rust , so Ill definitely start there...but then what?
I can access the rocker from under the truck as there are rubber plugs every so often that I can spray the waxoyl into after I'm done welding.....
thanks for looking
JP
|
| |
I know its spelled Norman Luxury Yacht, but its pronounced Throat Wobbler Mangrove!
|
|
Rebel
Part of things
Posts: 343 
|
|
|
|
|
I usually mix old engine oil with waxoyl or just use old engine oil alone. If you mix it it stops the waxoyl stuff drying out through time
|
| |
1968 Dodge Charger
1985 Chevrolet Camaro
1993 Toyota Hilux Surf
2001 Ford Mondeo
|
|
|
|
