cab

[hotrod24]

hey how hard would it be to put this piece on my cab i have seen how it is done on here with the whole cab corner but how would this be done

[Swims350]

ALOT easier IMO.

We put on two sets of cab corners, the full ones and done them over the originals, and it was a PITA. I kow you aint supposed to put em on over the old ones but we did since we don't have a welder.

Those would go over them easily because they are made to be slip ons, and we plan to get two for our 84 and put them on.

I'd say go for it they'd be alot easier then the full ones.

Now if yours is rotted behind the cab you need a full corner, but you could get away without one. Just personal opinion there.

[hotrod24]

how did it go over it looks like it would stick out and not be smooth

[Swims350]

Yea up top it stuck out the thickness of the metal piece you buy, you can just smooth over it with bondo or fiberglass, it's what we did and never showed after.

If you cut the old out you can flange the old back, lay in the new and it'll be smooth.

[hotrod24]

ok cool if i cut the old one out how do you do the measurements that is what i am afraid of. here is a pic

[Swims350]

well wait til you get your new piece, then throw the new piece on and mark it. Draw a line on the cab where the top of the new piece is and all around back if you get a full corner.

Then this gets different, are you going to screw or rivet it on or weld?

If you rivet I'd come down say a good 3/4 to 1 down from your mark and cut, below the line you drew, then ig you want to flange that back do so and lay on your new piece. if you are going to weld you can cut it at your line and but weld, or still flange it and leave extra then weld and grind smooth.

I know it aint the best but hey we're broke alot of the time and we just put them on over the old, grind or sand to make it fit, pop rivet it on then grind the rivet heads down and the lip up top then fiberglass and bondo smooth.

If you put it on over the old you could cut out an inch into the good metal with no rust, then hit it with undercoat, por-15 or etching primer, just something to protect it, then put on your new piece.

[hotrod24]

yea i am going to weld it and i would like to cut it out and then put the new piece on i dont understand if it is a slip on why would you have to cut to put it on

[Blazin]

To make a long story short. Get your new piece, cut out the bad stuff, hold the new piece up and mark it, cut off the new piece a little bit bigger than the cut out. Flange it if you are going to, screw it in place with self tappers, weld it, remove the self tappers, weld up those holes, do your body work.

[Swims350]

you don't have to cut anything to put it on if it's slip fit, even the ones that aint slip fit we don't cut.

It's just personal prefference if you want to cut out the bad or whatever, or if you don't want it to overlap.

As you said if you throw it on over the old and then weld it on they'll be a overlap joint that you'd have to fill with filler to blend and smooth.

[Bitzer!]

I've always cut as much bad away as possible so it doesn't continue to spread. Weld and grind and weld and grind and fill and sand! sounds like a song lol

[Blazin]

Yes you do have to cut out the old / bad. If you don't you are just wasting your time and money. It will keep rusting underneath and the next time it will be major surgery. I don't care if it says slip fit or not. they don't fit right layed over the top of old metal. I only over lap the new panel about and 1/8" to a 1/4" I flange the edge of the old panel. So the new one set down flush. My flange is twice as wide as my over lap, so the weld bead is down flush too. Or I but weld the patches, but thats more on a high dollar restoration.

[JJSZABO]

To make a long story short. Get your new piece, cut out the bad stuff, hold the new piece up and mark it, cut off the new piece a little bit bigger than the cut out. Flange it if you are going to, screw it in place with self tappers, weld it, remove the self tappers, weld up those holes, do your body work.

+1  this is how I did it.  If I can do it, anyone can!

DO NOT LEAVE OLD RUST BEHIND THE NEW PART - this will only start rusting out the new part.  Fix it right.

[Swims350]

yes it might come back but it's gonna take awhile to do so. We put cab corners over old ones on an s-10 that had fist sized holes, and about 3 years later we took them off, and they had not got any worse, and we put the cab corners right back on it, painted it and got rid of it a few years later, never showed any signs or getting worse.

You are definately supposed to cut out the old stuff though.

[hotrod24]

what kind of wire do you use for the mig welder i would like to weld with out the gas so i would need the wire that dont use gas if that is possible

[JJSZABO]

That would be flux core .023 wire - but I would NOT use it for sheetmetal.  It burns too hot and is susceptable to burning through.  Gas is the way to go - then use .023 regular wire.  Is there a reason you cannot use gas?