salans7 Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 I don't think I'd worry too much about that whole area...you can't see it when the truck is all assembled anyway. Weld and then keep pulling and bending to get it all back into shape, and then weld again. Slather the seam sealer on it when you're done, and it'll be fine. I have a set of those clamps that Gary posted above. They've come in handy a few times. I think my worries about this area come from the belief that they initially cracked it in a few spots, but over time the weight of the front clip hanging on it just tugged on that area enough to spread the cracks around. I may be wrong on that, so I will just focus on finding all of the cracks and making sure they are all welded up. Clamps have been ordered, should be here Wednesday. Thanks guys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted January 3, 2023 Author Share Posted January 3, 2023 I don't think I'd worry too much about that whole area...you can't see it when the truck is all assembled anyway. Weld and then keep pulling and bending to get it all back into shape, and then weld again. Slather the seam sealer on it when you're done, and it'll be fine. I have a set of those clamps that Gary posted above. They've come in handy a few times. I think my worries about this area come from the belief that they initially cracked it in a few spots, but over time the weight of the front clip hanging on it just tugged on that area enough to spread the cracks around. I may be wrong on that, so I will just focus on finding all of the cracks and making sure they are all welded up. Clamps have been ordered, should be here Wednesday. Thanks guys! Made some progress today. Got the cracked sections of the firewall/cowl cut out. Since there were so many spots that were broken, I opted to just remove the entire section and will graft the repair section back in. But first I had to fix all of the lower sections that were also cracked/broken. One piece was broken in a zig-zag pattern right on the cab, so I just brought it to bare metal and welded it back to it's mate so that I would have something to weld to. Then, I had to make a piece for the upper part of the cowl to rest on since the other one had broken into four pieces. That's about as far as I got before I lost daylight. I still need to make another piece for the lower section that is also broken. I will have to figure out the section right below the windshield because I'm not sure I have enough metal to weld to in that section. Worse comes to worst, I can pull the windshield since it's junk anyway. But then I'd have to cover the truck until I can get another one in, so I'd rather not if I can get away with it. We'll see. As for my welding, it wasn't too bad, but I did fight blow through when I accidentally moved the voltage knob . I think you can see it in the photo. I still might play with the settings because I think the welds could be better, but seam sealer is going to be my friend anyway, so as long as it holds, we're good. Penetration was fine for the most part, so it was a good test run at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Made some progress today. Got the cracked sections of the firewall/cowl cut out. Since there were so many spots that were broken, I opted to just remove the entire section and will graft the repair section back in. But first I had to fix all of the lower sections that were also cracked/broken. One piece was broken in a zig-zag pattern right on the cab, so I just brought it to bare metal and welded it back to it's mate so that I would have something to weld to. Then, I had to make a piece for the upper part of the cowl to rest on since the other one had broken into four pieces. That's about as far as I got before I lost daylight. I still need to make another piece for the lower section that is also broken. I will have to figure out the section right below the windshield because I'm not sure I have enough metal to weld to in that section. Worse comes to worst, I can pull the windshield since it's junk anyway. But then I'd have to cover the truck until I can get another one in, so I'd rather not if I can get away with it. We'll see. As for my welding, it wasn't too bad, but I did fight blow through when I accidentally moved the voltage knob . I think you can see it in the photo. I still might play with the settings because I think the welds could be better, but seam sealer is going to be my friend anyway, so as long as it holds, we're good. Penetration was fine for the most part, so it was a good test run at least. Good job Shaun! You can stitch that hole up easy enough. Just tack, tack, tack your way across it. If I were to make any further suggestion it would be to get yourself multiple 4 1/2" grinders. (even Horrid Fate ones should last if you add a little grease to the gear head) I usually keep one with an .049 cutoff disc, one with a 36/40 grit flap wheel and one with a cup brush (for rust) or a red grinding disc for weld prep and flattening. It is SOOO nice to have all the choices available without having to fiddle with a spanner or changing the guard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted January 3, 2023 Author Share Posted January 3, 2023 Good job Shaun! You can stitch that hole up easy enough. Just tack, tack, tack your way across it. If I were to make any further suggestion it would be to get yourself multiple 4 1/2" grinders. (even Horrid Fate ones should last if you add a little grease to the gear head) I usually keep one with an .049 cutoff disc, one with a 36/40 grit flap wheel and one with a cup brush (for rust) or a red grinding disc for weld prep and flattening. It is SOOO nice to have all the choices available without having to fiddle with a spanner or changing the guard. Thanks Jim! It feels good to be able to tackle this because the rust on my F150 was a big reason for why I lost sight on that project. I refuse to let that happens with this one. I have a Bauer 4-1/2" that has treated me well, but I can definitely see where multiple would help. I do have a bench grinder with a brush and stone, but obviously can't take that and use it on the truck. It is working great for prepping my small patch panels though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Thanks Jim! It feels good to be able to tackle this because the rust on my F150 was a big reason for why I lost sight on that project. I refuse to let that happens with this one. I have a Bauer 4-1/2" that has treated me well, but I can definitely see where multiple would help. I do have a bench grinder with a brush and stone, but obviously can't take that and use it on the truck. It is working great for prepping my small patch panels though. That does look good! Well done. I had two 4 1/2" grinders for a while and that worked nicely. I kept a cutoff wheel on one and a flap disc on the other. Fortunately the hand-me-down didn't die until most of the big projects were done, but I'm down to one at this point and changing is a pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpin Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Made some progress today. Got the cracked sections of the firewall/cowl cut out. Since there were so many spots that were broken, I opted to just remove the entire section and will graft the repair section back in. But first I had to fix all of the lower sections that were also cracked/broken. One piece was broken in a zig-zag pattern right on the cab, so I just brought it to bare metal and welded it back to it's mate so that I would have something to weld to. Then, I had to make a piece for the upper part of the cowl to rest on since the other one had broken into four pieces. That's about as far as I got before I lost daylight. I still need to make another piece for the lower section that is also broken. I will have to figure out the section right below the windshield because I'm not sure I have enough metal to weld to in that section. Worse comes to worst, I can pull the windshield since it's junk anyway. But then I'd have to cover the truck until I can get another one in, so I'd rather not if I can get away with it. We'll see. As for my welding, it wasn't too bad, but I did fight blow through when I accidentally moved the voltage knob . I think you can see it in the photo. I still might play with the settings because I think the welds could be better, but seam sealer is going to be my friend anyway, so as long as it holds, we're good. Penetration was fine for the most part, so it was a good test run at least. Nice job! Keep on keeping on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 That does look good! Well done. I had two 4 1/2" grinders for a while and that worked nicely. I kept a cutoff wheel on one and a flap disc on the other. Fortunately the hand-me-down didn't die until most of the big projects were done, but I'm down to one at this point and changing is a pain. Even the cheapie $20 angle grinder is okay for intermittent use like this. I figure I spend well more than that on discs, flap wheels or a single knotted cup brush so I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I didn't already have two DeWalts, a Hitachi and an old Metabo (both now HPT)Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted January 3, 2023 Author Share Posted January 3, 2023 Even the cheapie $20 angle grinder is okay for intermittent use like this. I figure I spend well more than that on discs, flap wheels or a single knotted cup brush so I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if I didn't already have two DeWalts, a Hitachi and an old Metabo (both now HPT) Thanks guys! I appreciate the encouragement. If only daylight savings time wasn't fighting me and taking all of my daylight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salans7 Posted January 8, 2023 Author Share Posted January 8, 2023 Thanks guys! I appreciate the encouragement. If only daylight savings time wasn't fighting me and taking all of my daylight. Got the lower "ledge" burned in. It's tough because of how thin the metal is. But I was able to close up the other burn through from last week too, so a pretty productive few hours. Tomorrow I'll work on fitting the replacement firewall panel from the donor truck. I'll have to trim down the two "ledges" since I left them wider to help keep them from warping. Not sure if I'll get the upper firewall section on this weekend, but I should have it on by next weekend. I also did some final welding on my dash mounts as well as the column/pedal assembly support, so the dash is ready to go back in once I fix the rust holes inside the cab and find a way to keep the rats and squirrels out of my A/C box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 Got the lower "ledge" burned in. It's tough because of how thin the metal is. But I was able to close up the other burn through from last week too, so a pretty productive few hours. Tomorrow I'll work on fitting the replacement firewall panel from the donor truck. I'll have to trim down the two "ledges" since I left them wider to help keep them from warping. Not sure if I'll get the upper firewall section on this weekend, but I should have it on by next weekend. I also did some final welding on my dash mounts as well as the column/pedal assembly support, so the dash is ready to go back in once I fix the rust holes inside the cab and find a way to keep the rats and squirrels out of my A/C box. Looking good, Shaun. You are getting there. As for the rats, I've heard they don't like mint or Pinesol smell. We've at times saturated cotton balls with Pinesol and it seemed to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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