Ron D

Glad to hear your making good progress. Look at the bottem pictures in Mac's post and you will see the holes I drilled in the inserts to allow me to plug weld them in place. Make sure the metal that you are welding to is very clean and you should get great results. Trial fit everything and check your elevations as the rear portion of the new sills kick up a bit into the lower B-pillar. A plug weld is about the only way you can make it look close to correct if you going for that kind of look and will provide great strenght as well, nice and clean. :)

JmpnJckFlsh

It seems like Eastwood sells a drill specifically made for cutting out spot welds. Its like a hole saw, but smaller than anything you can buy. It cuts through the outside metal, leaving the spot weld slug on the underlying part. You then grind off the slug, position the new part, and weld it on. If you don't have a "spot welder", you use plug welds.

For the benefit of those who may not know what a "plug weld" is, the new part to be welded back has holes, maybe 1/2"diamter, drilled at each location where there was originally a spot weld. The plug weld is made by first welding around the perimeter of the "hole" with a strength weld, then back-filling the "hole" with weld metal. To finish it up, the weld is ground smooth on the surface.

There, Ronster, did I get it right? Just trying to assist the old master here with the questions I might ask. :D

Ron D

WOW CHUCKETTA BONANA you is getting smarter by the second. so what book did you get that outtah der hot shot :D Okay okay I will give you that one... Everyone, Chuck is correct ...there I said it heehee :D So whats happening to you down there in the lone star state of mind my good man. So what are the new fall fashions this year...same as last year or are more accessories in this time round :jester Khaki (sp?) tilly hats with rhinestones, a big pink bow and propeller on top or is it the purple snake skin leisure suit open at the top with the Mr T starter kit in full view with the white shoes? You do know that you have to put the white shoes away after labour day... dontcha you know :D

JmpnJckFlsh

I can't remember...it was either the smattering of welding technology I was exposed to in my career, or (OHMIGAWD) Super Chevy Magazine. :D

You must be confusin' us Texans with some of our feller Americuns on the left coast...Rodeo (Rhodayo) Drive is NOT, I repeat NOT, in Texas. :D :D

If you were to walk into an "icehouse" (a non-airconditioned beer joint with a building front that opens up) down in Pasadena (TEXAS) with those duds, you would likely never be found again...well, if you were extremely quick on your feet, you might be found hiding back on the left coast. :lol: :lol: :lol:

Big Fish

Just received the new rocker channels. These new channels are a little different than the originals. The upswept extension forward of the hinge pillar is a seperate piece, looks like that one gets welded first, then the rear insert, and finally plug welds from the replacement channels to the existing structure and new inserts. I still ned to fabricate a new seat belt bracket which will also need to be welded on before final assembly. Hopefully I'm on the right track here? hoping to get this thing done this weekend. :)

Big Fish

I installed the new rocker channels today, went much better than I thought. Didn't have any trouble at all getting things to line up. The new channel was made in 3 basic parts. the forward section already had the insert welded to a short piece that went from the hinge pillar to the #1 body mount. The rear insert is then inserted into the rear pillar, then the channel fitted to both pieces. I used a few tek screws to temporarily hold everything together until welding was complete, then removed the screws and welded those holes as well. We were able to weld the new rear inserts through the access covers for the body mounts, didn't have to cut any fiberglass. I still need to install the new seat belt reinforcements, but that won't be a big deal now that the old ones are out. I really do appreciate all the help everyone on this thread has been, especially Chuck Sangerson, Mac, and Ron D. Wouldn't have attemted this if it weren't for you guys! Thanks a bunch! :cheers:

Mac

Our part was pretty easy, Big Fish. In fact, I didn't even break a sweat. If you get a chance, post a few pictures so we can see how it turned out!!

paul blankenship

I have a 78 and i need to do the same thing in addition i am doing the windshield frame. I have found pics on line about that but not about the rocker channel. I would love to see the pics but they wont come up. New member.help. The info has helped but the pic's would make it more clear. Thanks.

Easy Mike

Paul: This thread is from 2002. Post your question in the C3 Technical section.

paul blankenship

Thanks