Hey guys. Another day in the shop.
Big items on my list this weekend:
-Finish the passenger rocker
-start attacking the rust on the hardtop.
-Make some new parts.
As for the top, the rear lower (either side of the rear doors) flange and the “swallow tail” shaped curves are almost completely missing.
This is causing my top to sink down into the tail gate. Makes it’s tough to open the rear doors.
Each side of the top will require recreation of the lower quarter skin, the inside flange (where the top bolts to the tub) and most difficultly, the vertical post that supports the top.
Let’s make some cuts.
In this photo you can see what I chopped out.
Ignore the that quarter, while mostly repaired, it’s still an unfinished disaster. The truck has been wrecked. So I had to make some relief cuts on the inner tub frame and smash the tub out.
Shaping up a new skin:
A bit difficult to get the bottom flange. A 180 bend in is called a “hem” in sheet metal terminology. I don’t have hemming dies at home… who does? So it’s not going to be pretty.
I do, however, have a finger brake and many hammers.
So I’ll cut some slices (more bite sized portions, way easier to bend) bend the slices to 90* on my brake.
Place a piece of steel, same material thickness, next to the new bend and hammer the bitch down.
The extra piece of steel butted up to your bend allows the hem to have a small radius, (looks factory) without it, hammering the hem over would result in a pointy and work hardened edge. See below:
A lot of hammering, a bit of welding and a few beers later…
Old and new.
On to the next piece.
