derekf.com

31 Mar 2019
Rear Rust Repair, pt 6

Continuing the unending saga of the car that will end up made entirely of weld bead.

So - apropos of nothing, but does this really mean my brake booster has not the original but a damn near 50 year old reman?

I cleaned out the back side of the bed.

Also - and not pictured - the front panel is ground and trimmed so it fits "flush", for certain values of "flush". I still need to finish welding the side flanges though.

Start with scraping the putty stuff. Note the hole left center.

And here's the passenger side. The putty here needs to go.

Pass side, with the putty gone. Note that the bottom edge of the panel is also gone. That's... unfortunate.

On the driver's side, without the putty. The rust on the side panel isn't as bad.

Rust bit next to/just behind the rear wheel.

and rust at the trailing edge of the bed.

Shoved an L-square in there so I could tell how big the patch needed to be.

When checking the depth of the square... what kind of half-ass repair is this?

I mean - really - I know my first round on the car I did some seriously questionable repairs, but this is worse than what I'd have accepted even then.

Probably the same kind of half-ass repair as this one.

Seriously, wth?

Still, probably mark this one as "won't-fix"; might just cut off the screw shanks.

Same deal on the driver's side. Since I couldn't read, just use the yellow paint marker to get a distance.

Ooh.. math!

Looks like an inch and a half.

Also - I don't much like the way these stacked panel edges look but probably won't do anything about it.

Hey look, a hole!

Patched.

So I figured I'd just rebuild the flange , then screw them together to take up the gap.

That's not how it worked out - new flange, but the screws opted to not pull anything together.

I don't know yet how I'm going to fix this.

Opted for a different option on the pass side - single patch, for both the bed floor and sidewall. That should prevent that issue.

And, of course, fix some rust -> get more rust.

Filled these with weld bead, because that's how I roll.

Partially welded the seam. Need to finish welding.

Patch for the hole near the wheelwell.

Weld, grind, weld, grind.

Similar with the rust at the trailing edge.

Still to do:

Fully weld the side brackets for the front bed panel
Finish the pass side rear panel cleanup
Figure out a plan on the driver's side rear panel
Wire brush lower quarters looking for hidden rust

(ninja edit)

oh yeah

Fix the spinny cage nut
Close up the tonneau cover snap holes
Pull drivetrain and weld up any pinholes in the patches

Then maybe I'll be done with body welding (knock on wood)

Go back to the previous day (31 Mar 2019)

	So - apropos of nothing, but does this really mean my brake booster has not the original but a damn near 50 year old reman?
I cleaned out the back side of the bed. Also - and not pictured - the front panel is ground and trimmed so it fits "flush", for certain values of "flush". I still need to finish welding the side flanges though.
	Start with scraping the putty stuff. Note the hole left center.
And here's the passenger side. The putty here needs to go.
	Pass side, with the putty gone. Note that the bottom edge of the panel is also gone. That's... unfortunate.
On the driver's side, without the putty. The rust on the side panel isn't as bad.
	Rust bit next to/just behind the rear wheel.
and rust at the trailing edge of the bed.
	Shoved an L-square in there so I could tell how big the patch needed to be.
When checking the depth of the square... what kind of half-ass repair is this? I mean - really - I know my first round on the car I did some seriously questionable repairs, but this is worse than what I'd have accepted even then.
	Probably the same kind of half-ass repair as this one. Seriously, wth? Still, probably mark this one as "won't-fix"; might just cut off the screw shanks.
Same deal on the driver's side. Since I couldn't read, just use the yellow paint marker to get a distance.
	Ooh.. math! Looks like an inch and a half.
Also - I don't much like the way these stacked panel edges look but probably won't do anything about it.
	Hey look, a hole!
Patched.
	So I figured I'd just rebuild the flange , then screw them together to take up the gap. That's not how it worked out - new flange, but the screws opted to not pull anything together. I don't know yet how I'm going to fix this.
Opted for a different option on the pass side - single patch, for both the bed floor and sidewall. That should prevent that issue.
	And, of course, fix some rust -> get more rust. Filled these with weld bead, because that's how I roll.
Partially welded the seam. Need to finish welding.
	Patch for the hole near the wheelwell.
Weld, grind, weld, grind.
	Similar with the rust at the trailing edge.