Tried welding the cab yesterday.

Carter · Post by **Carter** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 7:33 am

I have never been a good welder, I'm OK with elec. arc on thicker steel but sheet metal is new to me. When I needed body welding done and done right I have always ask my old friend Howard to do it but decided to give it a try on the red trucks rusted out area at the left lower rear cab corner. I sectioned the bad spot out with a air powered cutoff tool, cleaned the rusted inside with a wire wheel and a sand blaster, gave the rusty areas a coat of primer and a top coat of black, cut a piece of patch steel and gave it a try. Other than burning a couple of holes in the thin cab metal that had to be repaired it didn't turn out to badly. Not in the same league as Howards work but I did finally get it welded in solidly, didn't set the truck on fire and it's better than filling in the rust holes with bondo. I still have to grind things flat, prep. and prime but it's rot.

Dicktater · Post by **Dicktater** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:28 am

Looks good to me,a weld doesn't have to look pretty to be strong.
The thing I learned is to do small spot welds across all points from each other and then fill in between going very slow and letting the parts cool to prevent warpage.

Nickathome · Post by **Nickathome** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 8:30 am

Carter;

Looks real nice. Give yourself some credit.... Welding is my favorite thing to do on these old trucks. I pretty much taught myself to weld using my truck as the subject.....

Post by **Cal_Gary** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 11:47 am

I, too, am still a MIG rookie, burning too hot some of the time, striking a lousy arc at other times, but it's steadily improving. I'll get some more practice this weekend, welding in some missing well nuts for the floorboard bolts, and a scattered patch panel of two while I wait for the throwout bearing carrier to be delivered....
Gary

Carter · Post by **Carter** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 12:01 pm

Dicktater wrote:Looks good to me,a weld doesn't have to look pretty to be strong.
The thing I learned is to do small spot welds across all points from each other and then fill in between going very slow and letting the parts cool to prevent warpage.

That's what Howard tought me and that's why it looks like someone stood back and tossed burned scrambled eggs at it.

it's just not the pretty straight weld beads the pro's make.

Carter · Post by **Carter** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 12:10 pm

Nick said: "I pretty much taught myself to weld"

Yeah Nick, me to, I usually burn lots of holes in thin stuff and that's why I was afraid I'd screw it up. That's the same reason I didn't do any welding on my other truck other than I didn't have a MIG then. If I'd tried with stick arc it would have looked like swiss cheese.

Carter · Post by **Carter** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 12:26 pm

Wish I could have helped you out with that bearing carrier Gary, I first thought you needed a trany input shaft collar the TO brg. rides on and have several of them extra but not so. Oh well we tried.
As far as the welding goes, unless something needs welding that I haven't found yet, that's about it for this truck. It's in very solid condition unlike the other one I own which was a mess of rust held together with layers of paint. 20+ years ago when Howard did that job it cost me over $500 and you can figure what would be today. According to the inflation calculator it would be over $987 as of last year, a grand by now most likely.

k8icu · Post by **k8icu** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:43 pm

Looks good to me... not bad for a first time... As you practice and get more knowledge you will get better. The only thing I can add is to make sure your metal is good and clean before you start welding.

m-37Bruce · Post by **m-37Bruce** » Thu Jul 23, 2009 4:03 pm

They will never see and of that "Hammered Dog Doody" from City Hall?
Seriously, you got the job done.
One Spot!

Post by **T. Highway** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 5:32 am

Carter, Looks like you did fine. Any day you weld on a vehicle in your garage and neither one catches on fire........you did good.

Nickathome · Post by **Nickathome** » Fri Jul 24, 2009 5:56 am

Carter wrote:Nick said: "I pretty much taught myself to weld"

Yeah Nick, me to, I usually burn lots of holes in thin stuff and that's why I was afraid I'd screw it up. That's the same reason I didn't do any welding on my other truck other than I didn't have a MIG then. If I'd tried with stick arc it would have looked like swiss cheese.

Oh yeah, I burned through on many a project. I have learned to turn down the juice on the thin metal. My beads still look like shit most of the time, that's where the grinder comes in. As long as the weld is strong, that's all that counts, the grinder will take care of any unsightly bumps, etc.

As a floor tile guy told me once, "DO YOUR BEST AND CAULK THE REST". Well, the "caulk" in this case, is the grinder.......

refit1701 · Post by **refit1701** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:37 am

Great job Carter! I'm in the same boat, welding on my cab. I just ordered three panels from Jeepanels plus so it will make my job a bit easier I think.

Carter · Post by **Carter** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:53 am

Thanks John, I found another small spot on the right side of the cab yesterday so I'll give that a try and see if I can do any better.

What area of the cab will be repaired with the panels you ordered? Post some pix when you get a chance if you don't mind. I like to ckeck-out other peoples work, sometimes it gives me good ideas.

refit1701 · Post by **refit1701** » Mon Jul 27, 2009 11:41 am

I got both cab rear corners and the cab floor under the passenger seat. The battery rusted through the box bottom and right into the cab floor.

I will post pics when I get the panels and progress photos of the install!

Post by **Cal_Gary** » Tue Jul 28, 2009 5:52 am

I got the well nuts tacked in last weekend. As I was setting up my MIG I noticed a small hole just behind the driver's cargo box door. Grabbed a punch and started tapping-bigger, bigger, and a bigger hole. Looks like I'll have to patch a 3 x 4 inch section-odd spot for a rust-through, as so it appears to me....
Gary

Tried welding the cab yesterday.

Tried welding the cab yesterday.

Welding....

Works For Me

Welding