Unbolted the passenger fender to check the rust. Someone already welded a patch. It wasn't sealed up very well so it just rusted all over again . All the dirt and leaves that get into cowl get washed into that spot and sit behind the plastic fender liner.
That is exactly why i took those plastic liners off. When i pulled mine off and cleaned back there i had a pile of dirt and grime big enough to fill a small flower pot. It was ridiculous.
Yeah im debating whether or not to ditch them. Id just need to undercoat the fenderwells real thick so they dont get blasted by road debris.Originally Posted by DroppedMitsu
This is the passenger side flower pot on my silver truck. The rocker isn't too rusty but the lower fender is. Good thing I s swapping fenders anyway so i could clean this up.
wow im going to check my truck
Typical rust on these trucks.My current cab I repaired all the rust in that area on both sides.Then cleaned them up and sprayed from the cowl down in truck bed liner.
Yea I had a ton of dirt on both sides but luckily nothing is rusted up under there, neither the rockers or the fenders so I'm pretty lucky.
Used a small sand blaster to remove rust on my replacement fenders they had rust around all the bolt holes and lower fender areas
Looks like concrete or mortar splashes on the other fender . Lots of fun scraping it off!
don't scrape it off - use vinegar to dissolve it. Get the new Heinz cleaning vinegar - its stronger than cooking vinegar and will dissolve it faster.
Pennyman1
The best Dodge that Dodge never made
Living the D-50 lifestyle since 1980
hmm...... I never would have thought about using vinegar. The fender is getting repainted so I wasnt worried about scratching paint while scraping, but I will have to remember to try that. I think there are still some specks of that gray stuff on the wheel lip.
Its a trick I learned from a brother in law in the cement industry - he used to drive to the cement factories and jobsites and had to clean off cement residue all the time and thats how he did it.
Pennyman1
The best Dodge that Dodge never made
Living the D-50 lifestyle since 1980
Pulling the bed off with my engine hoist. I had it chained to the tie-down hooks at the corners. Flexed quite a bit so Im glad the tailgate was still on. I had to get the hook as close to the middle of the chain to try to balance the weight and stop it from tilting wildly. I doubt that Ill be able to put it back on this way since ts too hard to keep it from rubbing on the back of the cab. Ill just call a few friends instead.
Last edited by crvtec90; 08-03-2012 at 07:03 PM.
Pull the tail gate off and come in from the back and do it just like you did with the chains and it can be done one person no problem, just did it a week or so ago im only 5'7" 140.
ell I guess if it comes down to me having to do it by myself Ill give it a try. Unfortunately I dont have a smooth surface to move the engine hoist around on when lining it back up. I want it all painted before I go back together so I have to avoid scrapes and scrathches.
Build a frame that fits under the rails from 2x4s and put an eye hook in the middle. I used to take off and reinstall Geronimo's bed by myself by sliding it off and on to a pinball dolly and I am only 5'6" and 130 at the time - this was before the paint on him now.
Pennyman1
The best Dodge that Dodge never made
Living the D-50 lifestyle since 1980
2 guys and 2 beers. They don't weigh crap... I used 2 saw horses with a 2 X 6 across them under the wheel wells. Then backed the truck under it.
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I knew I wasnt gonna be the only one who tried to remove it by myself.....lol....thanks guys! Makes me nervous trying to avoid beating in the lower portion of it while manuevering it where I want it to be.
Now that the bed is off I can weld up the endlink brackets for my rear sway bar much easier. I also noticed that I put the bar bushing brackets on pointing the wrong way. whoops!
The back of the cab is beat up and full of bondo and I believe the cab vents have been leaking water into the rockers. I hate rust! I have three cabs. One has the roof beat in, second has rockers rusted, and the third has dented rockers. I guess its gonna take three trucks to fix one. I want to stick with the cab on my silver truck because its already wired for my engine / accessories ,it has a new windshield, and its already registered/insured.
Needed to make some rear sway bar endlink brackets and wasnt sure how I wanted to go about it. I figured On using some angle iron but I decided to look at the front ones to see how they were set up. Then when I saw them I figured I might as well just cut them off the front of the parts truck and weld them on the rear of my truck frame. Less fab work is good. They already have side bracing and a pocket for the bushing to sit in.
Last edited by crvtec90; 08-07-2012 at 05:36 PM.
Shaving door handles. I used a spare passenger door that was already dented so that I wouldnt screw up a straight door. It had a low spot under the handle area that you could push up from the inside of the door to try to pop it out but then when you release pressure it just pops right back. I guess you call that an "oil can" dent right? The metal is stretched slightly and needs the pressure relieved? Anyhow when I was done it seemed like the dent didnt do the popping anymore but looked like it was pushed in even more. I did my best to take my time and not build too much heat. I used a blow gun to try and cool it down in between welds. Only making small tack welds and moving around a lot to try to keep the heat out of one area. Not sure if I had enough clearance between the patch and the surrounding metal and I think the weld might have pushed into the surrounding metal and forced it to buckle inward.
Not too bad for a first try I guess. Ive made the patches for the other side at the same time and will try to weld them up next week. Anybody got suggestions?
Last edited by crvtec90; 08-31-2012 at 03:12 PM.
Use a dolly and hammer, heat the metal and then hammer it out from the inside - this is hammer welding the seam.
Pennyman1
The best Dodge that Dodge never made
Living the D-50 lifestyle since 1980
Can I use my dinky little propane torch? or do I need the real thing? I know on older cars where the sheet metal is much thicker they used to heat it cherry red and then quench it with a wet rag and that would shrink the metal back down.
Hammer weld the seam? The low spot on the door is not really on the door handle patch but lower down where i wasnt welding. I dont think I can get a good pic of it. I might try going over it with a flat board so you can see the low spot from the paint that doesnt get hit by the sand paper
IMG_20120901_221634.jpgI finally welded the brackets for my rear sway bar endlinks. Tomorrow Ill clean them up and spray some undercoating on them. The bar ended up being really close to the driver side shock but i think Ive got enough room. At worst it might touch the shock dust sleeve deal. Its gonna be waay overkill since there isnt much weight in the back besides the bed. I wont really know until I get the bed back on and take it for a spin. Driving a truck with no bed feels crazy enough as it is, let alone with a big rear sway bar.
I don't know the word for it .....always heard people call it an " oh sh!t " handle. I never saw one in a mm/d50 till this one so I grabbed it. A lil cleaning/ dye and it'll be good to go.
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