'57 Bodywork Help pls

[57picupnewbie]

Need advice on how to repair this A-pillar damage. It is about 4 inches of pitting and rust out. Area has been blasted out and cleaned and now etch primed. This is my worst place on the truck and no patch panels availible. Also, this is way above my knowledge and skill level. Should I hire a good mig welder, tig welder, or try metal body fill??? I may can cut that section from an old cab with plasma and have a good welder try to splce it in but then I worry about windshield and door alignment. Attached are pics.

[olBlue]

These repair parts are available but spendy.

"A" pillar repair

[55metalmonkey]

The area looks intimidating to work on but it realy isn't too bad. by the looks of it it's just the exterior sheetmetal and can (somewhat) easily be fixed. here are a few options depending on your skill and budget.

Metal filling is definately out when it looks like swiss cheese... the metal in that area will be difficult to weld because it's so thin and after a while of chaseing holes you burnt in you'll think your making sheetmetal out of mig wire... not fun. and if you mean metal based body filler I would say your just delaying/ hideing the problem. since your at this stage of blasting and priming might as well do it right

A: buy patch panels and weld them in, it will cost a few bucks but not a lot of skill involved

B: find a wrecker with a cab that is toast and hopefully you can cut out the section you need, might be hard to find in some areas

C carefully cut the area out making sure you don't twist and distort the peice and see if a local sheet metal place is willing to bend one out. some places won't take on such a small job but may defer you to an apprentice looking to pick up small stuff on the side. if you go this route make profile templates before you start and mark a grid on it for reference, a negative "buck" might be an idea too. talk to a sheetmetal shop before you get all cutty with the metal

D same as C but do it yourself and make your patch panel before you cut the repair area off the truck, you'll probably mess up the patch piece a few times before you get it right but on the + side you get to learn and it will give you confidence that it's not all that hard to do. lots of good tips and helpfull guys on Allmetalshapeing.com if you are concidering it

[Flames97]

I agree with metalmonkey, looks like mostly the exterior is rusted throught. At least from the pics. I think it would be easiest to find a cab that you can cut the whole section Inner and outer just in case when you start getting into it you find that the inner is bad. Also Brace the cab with metal that way things wont move around if indeed the inner is weak.

If it is just the outer. alignment doesn't look like it will be hard to get by matching up the pinch weld.
Hope this all makes sense.

[hotrodrookie]

If you want to learn how to do it, then you should look into how shrinkers and stretchers work and the concepts of metal forming. http://www.eastwood.com/shrinker-str...stwo-jaws.html The eastwood unit isn't cheap but will last. HF also sells a unit that looks very similar but be warned on the quality... From what I can see here, it looks like most of the rot is exterior and that you could fix it all by forming a couple strips of steel and welding them in. No need for a tig, mig will do just fine.

As far as door gaps and alignment, brace the surrounding area of the pillar if needed before the work is started and then try not cutting all of the material out at once.

There's more then one way to skin it, hope this was helpful.

[papastrk]

You really need the a-pillar pieces in hand before you can make a decision on how to repair. If you have to fabricate your own, this will require a shrinker/stretcher tool,etc and require skills and experience you may not have. If you can find an a-pillar section, you should first try to remove the outer section of your original pillar and replace this only if the inner part is solid. If not, the job gets more difficult. You should get skilled help to replace entire post. Your windshield opening must be held exactly as original dimension, or you will have major problems with windshield install. Keep weld gaps small and mig weld will be fine. Good luck.

[57picupnewbie]

Thanks all for the inputs. Let me do some research on your ideas and I will get baxck to you. I am learning as I go and do not want to make a MAJOR mistake. Especially in this area.

[_Ogre]

i'd find a slice off a gooder cab and weld it in.

all the guys on this forum that have cut up trucks in their back yards and nobody is offering to go out and cut this off one of their scrap cabs?
hint hint

[55metalmonkey]

This piece (or pieces) could easily be formed with basic hand tools, MIG welder and and a decent amount of time. That being said, a new or wrecker piece would be the best way if you just want it done so you can move on to something else

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

i'd find a slice off a gooder cab and weld it in.

all the guys on this forum that have cut up trucks in their back yards and nobody is offering to go out and cut this off one of their scrap cabs?
hint hint

Beat me to it...come show some love guys!

[55metalmonkey]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

Beat me to it...come show some love guys!

If I had a piece to give it would be in the mail already

[_Ogre]

i'm not feeling the forum love...

[papastrk]

The rust damage is on both posts and along the cowl edge, so you will need quite a few patch pieces to repair this. Keep your post active and maybe someone can help you with these pieces.

[57picupnewbie]

Hey guys I did find this drawing in the Factory Installation Manual. If I understand it correctly. There is an A-pillar and a B-pillar panel. These two are spot welded together. My rust is just rhrough the A-pillar side. Theoretically, I should be able to drill the indicated spot welds, saw the small section out just to the B-pillar panel and replace the damaged A-pillar portion. Respot weld and mig the saw line. By the way, I have found a donor cab. Thanks Orie!

[57picupnewbie]

Sorry Ogre. Miss spelled it. Thanks to all you guys. I will post pics. Working with migraine today.

[_Ogre]

i'd cut out what's rusted and weld in a patch panel, if drilling/grinding the spot welds out work, then that's what i'd do.
very weak pillar, weld a brace in the windshield frame to hold the roof up.