F250 rust repairs

[dieselcrawler]

A few weeks ago I started a project on the boss' truck at work. Cab corners and rocker panels need replaced, and rear frame cross members are rusted out. We pulled the bed and then I got to work.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Took a few hours to strip the cab of interior and doors





I cut out damaged rocker panels and cab corners




The floor came out in a few hours work with a cut off disk and spot weld cutter.

 

[dieselcrawler]

Bottom of cab floor




Back of cab cross member/cab mount chanel



Old cab mount



New cab support next to old...

 

[dieselcrawler]

In progress



As of friday at quitin time... floor cleaned and painted and cab supports cut out.

 

[Egon]

Rust, on a Ford?

 

[2458n]

You can see why the new aluminum trucks will be popular in the rust belt states. Harbor freight needs to stock up on migs that can weld the stuff. It is great that you can order all the parts you need to replace the rusted out stuff.

 

[mfreund]

Rust on everything here in the midwest.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I wish we could buy everything. The cab floor support channels are not available, I have to custom fab both ends of all 3 channels. The ones of biggest concern are done, the ones at the back of the cab that are where the cab mounts to the frame. The other ones, which stiffen the floor and the front seats bolt too, are more elaborate and more time consumeing. The rocker panels and outter sheet metal was easy enough to obtain.

 

[Scooby074]

I wish we could buy everything. The cab floor support channels are not available, I have to custom fab both ends of all 3 channels. The ones of biggest concern are done, the ones at the back of the cab that are where the cab mounts to the frame. The other ones, which stiffen the floor and the front seats bolt too, are more elaborate and more time consumeing. The rocker panels and outter sheet metal was easy enough to obtain.

Just did this same basic repair on a F150. Your right, none of the xmembers are available (wth???) Didnt do the entire floor but patched it and made inner rockers and bought OEM outer rockers and cab corners, both sides. A ton of work.

 

[dieselcrawler]

I did one side of a reg cab truck earlier this year... had to fab the outter edge of floor pan from scratch, took about 30 hours to fab it all... but it was nearly the same contours as the factory metal. But that's a whole 'nuther story.

 

[The Fred]

You are very talented nice work.

I always wanted a cool truck sprayed with that bedliner stuff; it's indestructible.

Fred

 

[SPIKER]

Shame what the salt does and NEW stuff they use is 5 times worse than the salt... I have been looking at trucks but 10 years old in this area and they are showing rust thru on sheet metal and 3 or 4 years later the frame members are rusting thru. It is not a FORD problem it is a EVERYTHING on the road problem...

Mark

 

[BHD]

Nice Work
glad I live where I do, the 1978 and the 1980 are good, no rust
and the 1953 is in excellent shape as well body frame wise for its age, no rust

 

[SPIKER]

Nice Work
glad I live where I do, the 1978 and the 1980 are good, no rust
and the 1953 is in excellent shape as well body frame wise for its age, no rust

got some good supplies of trucks to ship to North East ??

make some hard cash with body parts we can ship drive lines as they rust out before ya get 150K on em...

 

[dieselcrawler]

I started the day by laying the floor pan upside down on some buckets, and used sheet metal screws to hold the floor brace in its proper location. I started in the middle, as I had the outter edges to use as a guide, and started cutting, bending, and tacking.





Like eating an elephant, one bite at a time, I cut away and replaced, using the remaining brace and floor pan as my guide.



Today's progress... lots of trim n fit. 8 hrs plus...



I still have some to finish on the upper right corner as viewed in the last picture. Quitting time came and I was ready to get home.

 

[Egon]

You do nice work.

 

[RoMad]

Very nice job. I have an F250 from up norh that was bad on the corners but not in the center. I bought a cab from a truck that had an engine fire for $250. I took it to a local body shop and he cut both sides off my cab including the rocker panel and about a foot or so in. When he repainted it he did away with the silver on the bottom and made it all one color. I did not have him repaint the entire cab, only where he did the work. He did a very good job and I am real happy with it. It cost me $1700 plus the $250 for the donor cab.

 

[nc redneck]

You do really nice work. Skilled technicians like yourself are in short supply at high volume collision repair shops and I think it would pay more than rust repairs. Just food for thought. At your level I bet you have been there before and did not like it.
Very Nice Work.
Scott

 

[aczlan]

Shame what the salt does and NEW stuff they use is 5 times worse than the salt... I have been looking at trucks but 10 years old in this area and they are showing rust thru on sheet metal and 3 or 4 years later the frame members are rusting thru. It is not a FORD problem it is a EVERYTHING on the road problem...

That's why when it came time to get my wife a car, I went down to North Carolina. Same price as in NY, but I got a 2 owner '05 with ~110k miles and no rust.

Aaron Z

 

[dieselcrawler]

Thanks for the compliments... means a lot.

I'm kinda cuttin my teeth on this project... the reg cab truck I did earlier this year wasn't this in depth, but I'm confident in my ability to 'fly by the seat of my pants' and get the job done. I am a self taught welder/fabricator, wish I could do it more often.

$1950? Heck of a deal... with the panels we bought plus my labor, boss will likely have $2500-$3000 in this... not counting new doors and fenders he plans to make a trip to GA to pick up, as well as a rear frame section from the cab back.