53 Chevy - Cab Repair

Cab Repair

I purchased a used Miller MIG welder. It's the smallest model they make but perfect for welding sheet metal. I have never welded before so I learned what I could from the internet and lots of practice on scrap metal. After awhile, I got to the point where I was ready to work on the cab. The portions of the cab which were rusted out were the usual suspects. Lower cab corners, rocker panels, and the inner/outer cowl panels. Exact reproductions of each of these parts are readily available. I ordered mine from Grumpy's Truck Parts.

Here's a good picture showing the quality job someone did in an earlier attempt to "repair" the rusted out corners. It was a combination of fiberglass and bondo up to 1.5" thick. Nice, huh?

Under all that bondo, not much metal left to work with. Any questionable metal will need to be cut out. Although the corners are in such rough shape, the rest of the cab above these areas is very sound.

Passenger side rocker panel and rear inner cab corner done. Moving on to the driver's side.

Now the other side. Starting to take shape.

Here's the front floorboard kit from Yogi's Hot Rods. It was made by Bitchin Products and looks to be a very high quality. Includes bracing for added support and a transmission tunnel.

The first step in the floor replacement process was to cut out what was left of the old floor. I also had to cut out most of the old toeboard.

After a lot of trimming and fitting, this is a pic with the new front floor temporarily held inplace with sheet metal screws.

About a hundred spot welds later... Next, is the installation of the new rear floor kit (also from Bitchin).

Similar process as the front. I decided the last 8 inches of the original floor was sound enough to salvage. So, I cut out everything back to the point and installed the rear brace which was included with the kit.

Voila, final product after a coat of POR. As it turns out, should have waited to POR the floor until after I stripped all the old paint from the inside of the cab.

Time to finish installing the last of the patch panels. Here's the right rear cab corner all set to weld.

Good as new after a little bit of welding and a lot of grinding.

"Before"

"After" - Primed

"After" - Painted

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