I’ve felt the need to fix some of the body panels on my 74 FJ40 including the rust holes and makeshift rear sill. Below’s a before and after I removed the aluminum tubes that were welded to the gram as a sill. The rear floor boards are some aluminum panels but I think I’ll have to save that project for another year. I’m hoping I can make this work in the mean time. I bought a rear sill and qtr panel patches from real steel and they look great, but I wanted to ask y’all if my order of operations makes sense or if I should change something up. My plan is:
1. Flatten those welds on the frame and paint the rear crossmember frame with POR-15
2. Paint the bare metal rear sill with self etching primer before mounting (how far do I go with the painting before mounting the rear sill btw? Primer and top coat? Or keep bare metal for welding then just paint what I can reach after all is said and done?)
3. Mount the rear sill on the energy suspension poly mounts to the frame
4. Tack weld the rear sill to the aluminum floor board (or maybe just using some sealant since it’s temporary?)
5. Weld the quarter panel patches to the rest of the panel.
6. Tack weld the rear sill to the quarter panel patches
7. Drill out all the holes I need for barn doors, spare tire carrier etc., then paint the quarter panels.
1. Flatten those welds on the frame and paint the rear crossmember frame with POR-15
2. Paint the bare metal rear sill with self etching primer before mounting (how far do I go with the painting before mounting the rear sill btw? Primer and top coat? Or keep bare metal for welding then just paint what I can reach after all is said and done?)
3. Mount the rear sill on the energy suspension poly mounts to the frame
4. Tack weld the rear sill to the aluminum floor board (or maybe just using some sealant since it’s temporary?)
5. Weld the quarter panel patches to the rest of the panel.
6. Tack weld the rear sill to the quarter panel patches
7. Drill out all the holes I need for barn doors, spare tire carrier etc., then paint the quarter panels.
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