Restoring early running boards (1 Viewer)

[wngrog]

Oops. Never mind. I see your reasoning. Carry on.

 

[middlecalf]

Maybe because the white is hideous. Yes, I said it, now I’m in trouble.

 

[jvincig01]

Just got these back from having them media blasted. I love the way perfectly clean metal looks

I sent in all 3 running ( 2 L and 1 R) boards and 2 top pieces. The extra running board I found in the garage had tons of holes from rust so I am putting that one aside for now.

Sending these your way @kevos37 !!!

 

[Splangy]

Those cross-head screws are Japanese Industrial Standard (JIS), not Phillips. JIS pan head screws have a different profile than their ANSI counterpart.

FYI - You can purchase JIS pan head screws at McMaster Carr, however they’re not quite the same as the early cruiser screws.

 

[kunzma]

Interested in what and where you find the jis bolts.

 

[jvincig01]

I received my reshaped running boards back from @kevos37 today! They came out amazing! Hard to tell from the pictures but they are super straight again and the old rust holes are all filled up. The dark spots are way smoother in person than the pictures show. Thanks again, Kevin! You're a metal working maestro!

I am going to have these hit with an epoxy primer in the coming days. After epoxy primer, I will probably use a high build primer on a few spots and then paint them up. I think the white paint with the black diamond rubber is going to look good. Yeah, yeah, i know white diamond is stock. But my rig is far from stock anyway and I like the black diamond better.

I purchased the hardware from Overland Metric. They look great but are not an exact match to early year hardware. The early years are more of a dome shape. Regardless, they look good and I will continue to use these on other areas on my rig.

We all love pics... here you go

 

[kevos37]

You go Josh !

 

[jvincig01]

Cut the diamond rubber matting yesterday and epoxy primer will go on tomorrow.

 

[kevos37]

I like the black.

 

[jvincig01]

Started applying epoxy primer but ran out half way through the job.

I need to apply another coat here in a few days. So in the mean time I punched the 6mm holes on the rubber matting. I was going to use a standard punch but it wouldnt cut through the rubber. I picked up a pack of metric hole punches for $10 on amazon. They did the job

 

[jvincig01]

I epoxy primered these the other days and then used some body filler to smooth out some of the small side dings. Looking back, I probably should have used a filler putty but they still came out nice. I only needed to do this to the sides you see when they are on. After they were smooth, I applied another coat of epoxy primer to seal them up before I painted.

 

[jvincig01]

I finished painted the running boards yesterday and put them together today. I purchased stainless JIS heads but unfortunately they are not an exact match to original. The original hardware was more dome shaped. These still look good though.

Putting them on the rig tomorrow and I will post some final pictures. Special thanks to @kevos37 for reshaping and welding these things up! They came out great!

 

[Living in the Past]

I will definitely buy the white rubber for the middle.

Maybe because the white is hideous. Yes, I said it, now I’m in trouble.

Yes you are.

 

[jvincig01]

Yes you are.

Perfect use of emojis. haha
I decided against the white rubber with the white paint. But could always switch back once I paint my cruiser to a stock color. Unfortunately my wife is telling me that will be around 2118.

 

[raymond2335]

I picked up a set of early running boards that I plan on restoring. They need a ton of work as the passenger side is pretty beat up and the bottom channels on both are gnarly (The board pictured is the better of the two). The sides of both are really wavy and dented up. I am going to do my best at shaping the metal again but this isn't my forte.

I was racking my pea sized brain on how I can restore these boards. I think I have an idea but it might be challenging.

Let me know if anyone has a better way to approach to fixing these.

1st - My plan is to take the new running boards apart and then have them media blasted.
2nd - Start working out the dents and bends on the top ring pieces. This is the piece that holds the rubber floor material in place.
3rd - I will then take my existing floor boards and remove the top diamond plated cap by cutting the welds off that hold it in place.
4. Once I have the top rings from my new boards off, and the bottom piece from my old boards cleaned up, I can then combine those two pieces.

Here are some pictures. The new driver side board I am holding is in MUCH better shape then the passenger side. That one is all jacked up. Of course I will include the appropriate rubber when I put them together.

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I was in the same boat and decided to go ahead and build my own. I built an extra set that I have here if you’re interested. $100. For the bottom channel i used 1“ x 1“ square tubing and cut the slot for the mounting hole. They look great and are even more sturdy than the originals. The top is diamond plating with a 1 1/2 inch Skirting.

 

[raymond2335]

I was in the same boat and decided to go ahead and build my own. I built an extra set that I have here if you’re interested. $100. For the bottom channel i used 1“ x 1“ square tubing and cut the slot for the mounting hole. They look great and are even more sturdy than the originals. The top is diamond plating with a 1 1/2 inch Skirting.

 

[raymond2335]

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I have a cousin who owns a water jet business. He cut a whole sheet Of the diamond plating tops. I’ve got 16 more sets of them left and right. If anybody needs a new top just let me know. I had the weld shop bend and tack weld the skirting and I put the one by one square tubing in its original position. Cutting the slot was easy with the cut off wheel and a holesaw

 

[Trialsallday]

Why don’t you buy the original white diamond pattern rubber for the inside... there is an identical match to it still

Johnny I’m gonna restore some old ones I just scooped up. Do u run the old running boards too ? Got pics ?
I was thinking of going original white pyramid vinyl with these but noticed that they also offer a “tan milk” color
Thought it might look cooler with my beige 77 40.

 

[illinikev]

I finished painted the running boards yesterday and put them together today. I purchased stainless JIS heads but unfortunately they are not an exact match to original. The original hardware was more dome shaped. These still look good though.

Putting them on the rig tomorrow and I will post some final pictures. Special thanks to @kevos37 for reshaping and welding these things up! They came out great!

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Quick question here - did you use any kind of adhesive underneath the rubber padding, or just used the screws to secure it? I know it's an older thread but i'm hoping someone is still paying attention.

 

[wngrog]

No adhesive for me