Well, I got the windshield glass out today and guess what I found? Yep, years of neglect...60 to be exact! The rest of the windows look good. Now I need some suggestions on what you guys have done to fix yours. I'm new to this body stuff so throw it all at me. I'm guessing that cutting out the old and welding in new is going to be the favorite? Thanks, Rick
Ouch ! Rick ; Stop right now and go find Larry Kepheart's page with the Billy Bob Chronicals on it , also had Notes From The Krash Lab , he's in Florida and repaired just this exact awful damage on his daddy's old 1954 Chevrolet pickup named ' BillyBob ' ~ his site has tons of pictures and detailed notes as to the tools , methods failures & sucesses he's had , it makes good reading , tell him I said ' hello ! ' .
First of all, not an expert. So hopefully you get some addtional opinions. I pretty much learned on the job myself working on mine. However, this was the one place mine was not rusted out. I think you are on the right track (cut out and replace). I don't think I have seen a patch panel available for this but I would think that you should be able to form your own. The corner will be difficult but the rest shouldn't be too bad. Just work in sections instead of trying to get one single piece to fit right. I had to do a lot of similar patching on my truck and I didn't even know how to weld before I started. It can be done.
Billy Bob? Nate, Sounds good. How do I find Larry or the chronicles? I did a search on this site and came up empty. Thanks Rick
Here's the link http://www.laroke.com/larryk4674/1998/billybob.htm Lots of good info. Navigate around and have fun. I've spent alot of time on the site.
Lead Fix? I really like the job Larry did on Billybob. It's a little too agressive for me to attempt although it is probably the right way to do it. Besides, I don't have the patience or the money he put into it. Heck, I've got a garage and couldn't store have the stuff he bought for his project. Well, maybe, if I could get my wife's car out of there. Any thoughts on lead filler? I've talked to a couple of guys that thought it might be an easier alternative? Rick
Why not fiberglass? Don't know about lead, but when I saw your pictures yesterday the first thing I thought of would be to go below and put in a layer of fiberglass and then fill everything with some good bondo. Definitly not as good as steel but would probably last for a while. (I'd clean the rust with phosphoric acid first to make sure there was something good to stick to!)
THANX Ken ! DO NOT use lead ! when you grind & sand it , the dust is highly carcinogenic ! Use lots of Phosphoric Acid on cotton swabbing to kill the rust , then use some fibreglass matting & dope to close up the hole . You MUST neutralize the rust with the Phosphoric Acid , I use ' JASCO Metal Etch ' found at all big box hardware stores in the flooring dept'. in white plastic quart bottles ~ it's good stuff and can be re-used over and over to de-rust things .
