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1st Gen. Ram - All TopicsDiscussion for all Dodge Rams prior to 1994. This includes engine, drivetrain and non-drivetrain discussions. Anything prior to 1994 should go in here.
Well it was the last day of summer for my friend Walter [as a school teacher], so we decided tonight before dinner to have a few cold beers, hang out and tinker on the RC for an hour or two.
I have been talking about this being a summer punch list thing to do for a while now...
We took turns drinking beer and cutting out the floor board on the drivers side. We ended up using the wiz wheel and a small jig saw for cutting out the old metal. It is a little bigger of a patch panel then I had hoped but we are finding good metal on the edges, to weld up to. Most of the pop top RCs rust out around the throttle pedal lower mount and the center of the floor pan as the removable roof tends to have leaks.
I have owned several basically rust free pop tops RCs from out west / south west that have rust on the floorboards from rain soaked carpet.
Even my Dodge bro. out in Phoenix sees it on otherwise rock solid rigs. Nothing like gross soaked jute padding to rust out things.
Out here in the land of rust I see it all the time, but the fenders, rockers, bed sides and cab mounts are junk as well. Around here they tend to rust from the outside in. Most of the solid pop top RCs floors rust from the inside out.
Also pull the big plug that covers the bolt for the cab mount, and add a couple extra holes in the floor ribs for moisture to drain out. My old 48 Desoto I had was like this, previous owner had done the work, and even after several decades sitting derelict in a field the floors were in beautiful shape, so I did the same to the floors in Patches.
Walter and I rolled the 2wd RC OUT of the shop for the first time in about 3 years.
It was a nice temp. outside, so we did some welding with the new torch. I bought a 24X24 inch piece of USA made steel of 16 Gauge thickness. I built a custom formed panel for the drivers side as Walter melted in the smaller holes on the passenger side with a couple of piece of that sheetmetal.
We got a good session in for a few hours and I am pleased with the forward progress.
I have to get the sheetmetal work done while the weather is still nice enough for paint outside... If I have any hope of getting this project together over the winter.
I sent some pictures to T-man to keep him up to speed, he might post a few of them up.
I have owned several basically rust free pop tops RCs from out west / south west that have rust on the floorboards from rain soaked carpet.
Even my Dodge bro. out in Phoenix sees it on otherwise rock solid rigs. Nothing like gross soaked jute padding to rust out things.
Out here in the land of rust I see it all the time, but the fenders, rockers, bed sides and cab mounts are junk as well. Around here they tend to rust from the outside in. Most of the solid pop top RCs floors rust from the inside out.
The only time that things ever rust in Phoenix is when wet or damp stuff is in contact with it for a considerable amount of time.You are exactly right that wet carpet padding is a major culprit, but also when door drain holes get clogged and when sand and dirt build up inside body panels. You can throw a tool out in the yard for months and find it in near perfect condition. Now, if we want to talk about plastic and rubber parts,that is another story...Mark
I am back from the garage to grab a beer. We got it rolled out of the shop again today and are getting a little more done.
We are finding some spots that need more attention around the patch panel, which is pretty standard for rust work. The rest is very solid.
I will send you some picture later Blue Goose. Thanks Man!
08-11-2018, 08:53 PM
