Cab Floor Repairs/Cleaning Input

[CO54]

Moving along with things, and getting ready to start working on the needed floor repairs, and getting the underside of the cab cleaned up, sealed and undercoated.  Looking for some pics or suggestions of how to get at it.  I tried the search function looking for cab floor and found 117 posts with the term, only 2 pics of cabs.  1 on the firewall, 1 on the rear which option is better and why?  Looking for some more pics, suggestions.  I already figured I'll need to put in some bracing between the A pillar and B pillar to keep things square.

Thanks in advance. 

Eric

[Los_Control]

I am sorta at the same stage. I have my old floor cut out. There is just so much access to other items, I am in no hurry to weld in my new floor.

I need to replace the bushing on the clutch/brake pedal. The new brake lines connect right there and easy to get to. I need to replace my E-brake cable. I want to paint the frame ... thinking about replacing the cab mounts since they are so easy to reach. Just thinking the floor will be the last thing I put in ... contemplating making it bolt in.

 

I have no idea how much floor repair you need ... just a idea to consider when doing the repairs.

I am hesitant to use undercoating on my truck. Paint worked for 70 years in the past, will work as long as I need it the 2nd time around.

I live in a dry warm climate so my experience would be different from yours. I am hesitant to use any undercoating or even por15.

I can not say anything bad about por15, I have never used it and do not plan to in future. My concern is proper preparation and trapping moisture rust under the product.

Same thing with any undercoating. You can cause more danger & harm if not done perfectly.

 

What I do like for weather protection against different salt and ice melt applications is bar&chain oil for your chainsaw.

Long video for other issue, but shows the results after 4 years in service.

 

 

 

 

 

[CO54]

Los_Control, as I sit now, I'm down to a rolling chassis.  I have my cab sitting on the frame now, simply for storage purposes.  My intentions of getting all plumbing, and frame stuff done prior to final installation of the cab after it's body worked, painted etc. I'm also in an extremely dry and hot climate too.  When it comes to "undercoating" I haven't fully decided what option I'm going with.  As for floor repairs needed, there's a seam on the pasg floor where the firewall meets the floor, and a couple small open holes in the pasg floor. Really not as bad as it could be.  I'll work on some pics of current floor situation though. 

 

 

Edited January 3, 2021 by CO54
add photos

[Dave72dt]

Bottom of the cab was stripped using scrapers, wire wheels, a lot of wax and grease remover, then primed and painted.  Most of the work was done with the cab on it's back, cradled in a dolly keeping pressure off the rear cab panel and giving good access to the rear corners and also the transition portions of the firewall to floor as well access to the inner cab roof.  I think I had the cab on it's nose to access the underside of the dash but it's been long enough ago  I'm no longer sure.

[ggdad1951]

12 hours ago, Dave72dt said:

Bottom of the cab was stripped using scrapers, wire wheels, a lot of wax and grease remover, then primed and painted.  Most of the work was done with the cab on it's back, cradled in a dolly keeping pressure off the rear cab panel and giving good access to the rear corners and also the transition portions of the firewall to floor as well access to the inner cab roof.  I think I had the cab on it's nose to access the underside of the dash but it's been long enough ago  I'm no longer sure.

 

looks familiar?  Didn't we put POR15 on the underside?

[CO54]

14 hours ago, Dave72dt said:

Bottom of the cab was stripped using scrapers, wire wheels, a lot of wax and grease remover, then primed and painted.  Most of the work was done with the cab on it's back, cradled in a dolly keeping pressure off the rear cab panel and giving good access to the rear corners and also the transition portions of the firewall to floor as well access to the inner cab roof.  I think I had the cab on it's nose to access the underside of the dash but it's been long enough ago  I'm no longer sure.

When you say cradled in a dolly, do you mean on the outer sides, the main contact points, or did you build a special frame?  Thanks for the input so far though. 

[Dave72dt]

3 hours ago, ggdad1951 said:

 

looks familiar?  Didn't we put POR15 on the underside?

Yes, we did, now that you mention it.  Like I said, it's been a while.

 

I think I also put it in the cab corners and along the rear panel to floor seam inside the cab and I'm sure it's in the bottom of the doors.

Edited January 4, 2021 by Dave72dt
added info

[dcotant]

This is how i did the underside of my cab. I used POR15 on it and was very happy with results, though time will tell.

 

 

[Dave72dt]

1 hour ago, CO54 said:

When you say cradled in a dolly, do you mean on the outer sides, the main contact points, or did you build a special frame?  Thanks for the input so far though. 

I had built a dolly that bolted to the cab mounts so I could move it easily around the garage floor.  Those same mounting points become a cradle on the outside of the cab when it's laid on it's back.  Later on I removed the cab mounts on the dolly, put on some taller mounts, added a couple 2 x 4's and it became a dolly for metal and body work on the truck box.  

 

Dolly was made of 1 x 2 or 1 x 3 rectangular tubing with a couple of crossmembers, 2 straight and 2 swivel.  Main bars are about 6' long, crossmembers are the long enough to weld the upright mounts in the corners  and bolt those to the cab mounting points.  Upright mounts were only 1' or less tall to keep total cab height down for hammer and dolly work on the roof.  One change I would make to the dolly would be to use a couple casters with brakes on them.

[CO54]

21 minutes ago, Dave72dt said:

I had built a dolly that bolted to the cab mounts so I could move it easily around the garage floor.  Those same mounting points become a cradle on the outside of the cab when it's laid on it's back.  Later on I removed the cab mounts on the dolly, put on some taller mounts, added a couple 2 x 4's and it became a dolly for metal and body work on the truck box.  

 

Dolly was made of 1 x 2 or 1 x 3 rectangular tubing with a couple of crossmembers, 2 straight and 2 swivel.  Main bars are about 6' long, crossmembers are the long enough to weld the upright mounts in the corners  and bolt those to the cab mounting points.  Upright mounts were only 1' or less tall to keep total cab height down for hammer and dolly work on the roof.  One change I would make to the dolly would be to use a couple casters with brakes on them.

Thanks for the input on what you did. I'll try to get a picture of the "cradle" stand I built for my cab with some scrap materials at the house when I get home tonight.  I can't upload pics to the site from work. 

[Merle Coggins]

I used furniture dollies with 12x12 wood blocks to support my cab and move it around the shop. The cab rested on the sills. When I needed to work on the bottom side I could tip it over and place one of the block/dollies under the rain gutter above the door. I couldn't seem to find a pic of it on it's side, but that worked well for cleaning and painting the bottom side. Plus it was great for painting the inside, especially for getting up under the dash. 

 

[CO54]

Did you guys but reinforcement in the door openings at all?

[dcotant]

I reinforced that section of the cab with square tube and angle underneath before I pulled the cab.

[ggdad1951]

I built a wood dolly with 4x4 and 2x4 and screwed it together no problems.  Even using it on TODD.  Supports up to the cab mount locations.

[Tooljunkie]

Por 15 is the go to now for rust prevention. Proper surface prep is all you need. 
if i recall,its as hard as glass and moisture wont penetrate it. So if its dry when you apply it, you are good. 
some chassis paints cure better if humidity is high. Not wet.

[Tooljunkie]

While cab is torn apart, do whatever you need to do to the cowl vent. I went to put in my new seal and it was a brute with cab on chassis, and everything istalled in cab. Hood was on,made it even more difficult. 

[bkahler]

11 hours ago, Tooljunkie said:

While cab is torn apart, do whatever you need to do to the cowl vent. I went to put in my new seal and it was a brute with cab on chassis, and everything istalled in cab. Hood was on,made it even more difficult. 

 

Yep, I wish to heck I had installed the cowl vent before doing anything else with the cab.  Even more so after installing the first seal only to find out it was a piece of crap and had to remove it.  

 

Latest seal came from VPW and is cut to length.  Unfortunately, still not installed yet......

 

 

[Jeff Balazs]

I built a dolly similar to what Merle shows. The underside of the painted cab was up high enough for me to work from underneath. Being a SoCal truck it was not rusty. I gave it 3 brush on coats of Rustoleum and allowed that to cure for about a month. I then applied 3 or 4 coats of brush on Bedliner material. I also did a ton of sound proofing while I was at it.

 

It has all worked out really well. I probably have one of the quietest cabs of any vintage truck. It was totally worth the extra effort. I drive it every day and when I have friends out for a ride they all comment on how quiet it is in the cab. A lot of little details result in good things.....

Jeff

[CO54]

17 hours ago, Tooljunkie said:

While cab is torn apart, do whatever you need to do to the cowl vent. I went to put in my new seal and it was a brute with cab on chassis, and everything istalled in cab. Hood was on,made it even more difficult. 

I'll keep that in mind. Fortunately I'm what you'd call "vertically challenged" at 6'5" reaching certain things isn't the problem, it's folding into certain places for working on things.  If memory is right when I removed the center section of hood, I pulled the 2 rear bolts while standing at the front of the truck.  

 

I appreciate everyone's input too.  

[Bdblazer1978]

Just primed my cab today. Thanks for the inputs. I laid mine on its side and it was easy to step through the windshield to paint the roof. 

 

Also, can someone tell me how to adjust the photo?  I tried rotating in the gallery and then re-posting, but it turns it sideways every time. 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Bdblazer1978

[billrigsby]

3 hours ago, Bdblazer1978 said:

Also, can someone tell me how to adjust the photo?  I tried rotating in the gallery and then re-posting, but it turns it sideways every time. 

 

If you are using Windows 10 I have found that if you resize the photo after you rotate it even ever so slightly it will stay in the new position. I had this problem on a couple other forums. If you're on Apple, Mac or I whatever, not sure what the current flavor is, I'm not sure about it.

[Dodgeb4ya]

I started having rotating pic issues about two months ago.

Using the cell phone pictures and also using pics stored on my win 10 desktop.

Never ever had an issue.

Anyway I would edit/ rotate ..do a small resize and save it.

Come here to post the pic...it would end up sideways, upside down...crazy!!!!

Read on this issue endlessly. Exif data on and on.

Finally out of frustration I post pic....delete it... re-post it and then magically it posts properly.

These can be pictures I have posted on this site with no problems before.

Anyway I will try to get the picture right two try's after that it will be posted any orientation that happens.

Frustrated to the point where I don't care anymore.?

[Tooljunkie]

10 hours ago, Dodgeb4ya said:

I started having rotating pic issues about two months ago.

Using the cell phone pictures and also using pics stored on my win 10 desktop.

Never ever had an issue.

Anyway I would edit/ rotate ..do a small resize and save it.

Come here to post the pic...it would end up sideways, upside down...crazy!!!!

Read on this issue endlessly. Exif data on and on.

Finally out of frustration I post pic....delete it... re-post it and then magically it posts properly.

These can be pictures I have posted on this site with no problems before.

Anyway I will try to get the picture right two try's after that it will be posted any orientation that happens.

Frustrated to the point where I don't care anymore.?

I agree, its a nuisance. 
i took pictures of my home made grille,same thing. And editing it seemed to work. Flip it, save it,flip it back and save it. 
iphone, take photos with volume button on bottom left. 

[CO54]

Got the cab pulled off again, and put it back on the stand I'd made before.  It was just tucked in storage under other parts and couldn't get a picture.   Should work out ok with setting in on the back after I get the door reinforcements in. 

[bkahler]

That's very similar to how I built my cart years ago.  I might have had larger castors but that's about it.

 

Progress is good