Skidmore '67 C20
 

I have been a long-time member of auto enthusiast forums but have never made a build thread. I figure it is time to change that. I probably won't keep up with some of the more motivated builders on here, but I appreciate the knowledge that this board has to offer and hope to contribute in some small way.

I had been casually looking for a 67-68 in "Light Green" C10 for a couple years, with a white roof being a bonus. I had a few search alerts set up, but nothing had really been something that I couldn't live without. My goal was to get something that was a driver, not overly restored, and do an LS swap plus single turbo and just drive it. I had done my research, but only as much as you can with these trucks. This would be my first "classic car" without EFI . What does classic even mean anymore? It is 2020, everything over 25 years old should be a classic, but I can't really get behind much from 1995 and say that's a "classic".

This truck came up for a great deal 15 miles away and looked great in the photos, so I emailed within 10 minutes of it getting posted. I asked-told my wife about it and left the house within half an hour (I get a lot of leeway with my projects). I drove out and met the nice guy who owned it, and he had some great stories about the truck. It was exactly what I was looking for in terms of the condition. Someone had loved it and done a bit of upgrading and maintenance. It had rust but nothing catastrophic. It had been repainted somewhat poorly in single stage paint, with bad adhesion to a gold basecoat. Unfortunately, it was hard to start and barely ran. We did a couple low speed laps around his neighborhood, re-starting and trying to keep it running. It felt pretty solid. He had receipts for all of the work he had done (not much), he had the original for sale info from when he bought it, and he had the original to the truck paperwork. I plan to post that info, build sheet, protecto-plate, SPID, etc. when I get a chance.

So I couldn't not buy it (negotiated down to $5500) and took the risk, in that this is my first carbureted car and my first Chevy truck, and I had no idea if the poor running was due to something basic or catastrophic. As you can see it photographs very well and looks great from 3 paces. The guy was super nice and drove it back to Portland while I followed and gave him a ride home. It made the trip, somehow.

I then proceeded to offer my wife a ride in our "new truck". Well, it didn't make it around the block in front of all of our neighbors. I think she may be scarred from the experience, but she's come around to like the truck. Unfortunately, she has requested that I clean the interior (cigarette smell from the PO) and do something about the fuel smell (gas tank in the cab). Neither of these things bother me, so I haven't prioritized that yet. I haven't had a lot of time to do much to the truck besides get it running.

Here is my 1967 C20, "Skidmore".

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Beautiful truck. I love that color.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

It looks like a great start.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

So I have been neglecting this thread, but I haven't neglected the truck. I'll try to get it caught up from memory.

The first thing that I did was tackle the non-running situation. I took an inventory of the engine/ignition/fuel system and found a lot of bodges.

The plugs were all fouled with oil from the outside and unburned fuel on the inside, there was even a spark plug "spacer" on one of the plugs.

The original distributor was pretty beat up and base timing was out. The vacuum advance was non-functional.

The original carburetor was still on the engine, and in dire need of a rebuild. As I looked into it, I found that it was a little small and proprietary to the intake that was on the truck. Learned another interesting thing, which is that the intake manifold/carb was from the 283 engine and Chevy had installed them on the early 327 - "275 HP" engines. The heads are also the 283 heads from the factory, which means they aren't very high performance.

The headers had the internal flap on one side and it was seized solid.

There were numerous vacuum leaks, and the vac line to the transmission was completely rotted out.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Compiled a list of what to do to get it running:
Used Carb - Edelbrock 1406 (eventually rebuilt as it wasn't working right)
New Intake - Edelbrock Performer
New Spark Plugs
Distributor refresh- New Points, Condenser, Gasket, Vac Advance
New Waterneck and thermostat
New valve cover gaskets (super leaky cork gaskets)
New Air Cleaner
Service the header exhaust valve
New Fuel Filter
Transmission kickdown swap
Electric Choke
Oil Change
Transmission top-off

I then installed and taught myself as I went. I learned a lot, especially that unlike newer cars- older cars were built with a lot more room for error. They kind of just grabbed whatever was on the shelf that day and it was assembled by whoever was standing closest. It makes it pretty hard to get to the bottom of things sometimes. It is why this board is so helpful.

All of these new parts and work really made this thing really wake up. It isn't quick (even with the 4.55 gears), but it is fun to get around town. I attempted to do a bit of tuning on the carb as it had a tendency to lean out on tip in and full throttle. It now runs well at full throttle but has an issue with transient throttle response where it goes momentarily lean. I will install a spare wideband I have in the parts box to get to the bottom of it.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Nice work on the engine. It sometimes amazes me how much can be wrong and they will still try to run.

503 green is my favorite! Rg

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Thanks! 503 is my favorite as well. I got lucky when I found this one.

Now that I had gotten it running well enough to drive around (fingers crossed on the carb tuning!), I took on another interim project. It was supposed to be a quick refresh (tune-up, wash, and wax) and sell my in-law's 2003 VW Eurovan Camper. They are worth a bit in decent shape, so I figured I'd help them out.

Big mistake, it was a rust bucket from a handful of Ohio winters! It would not have made it another year out there. I was hoping for $12k and after a thorough inspection I don't think I would have gotten $6k. It was a basket case, rust everywhere, rear brakes were dead, wheel bearings were dead, springs were broken, abs and traction control lights were on, exhaust was rotten and broken in half, they had backed into a pole, the back hatch wouldn't open, clear coat had failed on the roof, and did i mention rust?

And this is where it makes a relevant turn. I did an inventory of what it needed, and did a quick cost-benefit analysis. I realized that this would be a great low-risk opportunity to teach myself the skills to tackle similar body and rust repairs on my truck (and Vanagon) and get this van back on the road. I hadn't done rust repair or bodywork before, but I figured with Youtube I could figure it out.

I had some false starts, for example having to buy a mig welder (Hobart 175) when I realized that my tig (or my skill) just didn't want to weld thin, dirty, and corroded metal with factory coatings.

I also underestimated the scope of what body panels needed to be replaced, and got lucky in finding a guy locally to cut the whole section out of another van. My initial plan was to replace only sections using custom patches, but I found that this really wasn't practical. In the end, I only made the replacement inner rocker from steel sheet.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

I won't bore you with photos from the suspension and chassis that needed to be wire-wheeled and rust converted and then painted. It looked pretty great under the car when it was done. I will also omit the mechanical work.

I used all professional paints, and learned the process of filler, glaze, 2k primer, two stage paints (learned that blending pearlescent paint is a tough place to start!), and how (not) to apply two part clear. I also used tinted bedliner for the roof and the lower rockers.

I think it turned out pretty well and I learned a lot and made a connection to the local auto paint shop. I also added some new tools to the garage.

Anyways, everyone likes photos (which I didn't take as many before photos as I probably should have):

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

It turned out pretty well for a first time in a garage, but I wouldn't do it again the same way.

Key take aways:

• Rent a spray booth next time
• Just use an air compressor and sprayer, don't think you are doing yourself any favors with a two-part can
• Don't try to cut corners to reduce scope, just do the work that needs to be done the first time
• Don't be afraid to use body filler coverage (not thickness)
• When you sand filler and hit metal, apply more filler before sanding again.
• Don't be afraid to use a finer grit sandpaper earlier in the sanding process when you need to sculpt a fine detail
• Don't be too hard on yourself and match the job to the requirement, it doesn't need to be perfect

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

The point of all of that was to give some context for my next job on the truck, attacking the body and chassis.

I live in Portland and it rains, and I don't want to worry that my truck is rusting into the ground. I want to reach a happy equilibrium of cab sealing, no active rust, good window seals, good door seals, etc. I think I learned enough from the Eurovan to make that happen.

I don't have the time or space for a cab off restoration (maybe someday), but I hope that my truck isn't so rough that it needs that. I want to make a solid driver that will last another 10-15 years before it needs major attention (read new sheet metal). I also don't like to do things twice. Everyone has a different version of what is good enough, and mine is making the truck look like it is about 10 years old, instead of better than new or 53 years old. I also want to keep it no more than 2 months away from being on the road at any given time.

I am hoping to get some advice here on what I can't see that will likely need replacing, and things that are usually missed/overlooked. I would like to order as much as possible through Classic Heartbeat (they are close by in WA), and I may get the truck up there when I place my order to make sure I don't miss anything.

The first step was to get the truck in the garage and wheels off (for the first time), and spend a good couple hours just scraping off oily dirt (someone loved their grease gun, it was filthy under there!). I didn't get it clean, but I could at least see what I was working on. My next job was to take an inventory of what was there and the relative condition... I'll share a list in my next post. I also took the opportunity to remove the exhaust and the saddle fuel tanks.

I also ordered a Boyd's tank this morning to move the gas tank out of the cab, it's important to me and a step towards my ultimate goal of an LS swap (LQ4, 4l80e, run by Holley Terminator X Max), and it will work to meet my immediate goal of keeping the truck driveable during this process.

As of right now, the interior is out and I'll post pictures tomorrow, along with actual questions.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

That's a neat truck and you did a great job on the van. You seem practical and level-headed and will probably move your project forward quickly because of that. You've already gotten a lot done. If you're still fighting grease on the undercarriage, I'm always surprised how well Simple Green works away at that. I spray it on the engine, wheel wells, and undercarriage when I get a new project. Work on something else, letting it soak in and then rinse it off. After three times I'm always surprised how much cleaner it is with so little effort. I look forward to seeing your progress and thanks for mentioning Classic Heartbeat. I will check them out.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

I took some photos of the worst rust areas, the passenger and driver's side look roughly the same. I can't see exactly where the water came from, but I think it may have been the windshield seal and the drip rail. I would appreciate any experience that you all can share when it comes to what to expect and need to replace.

The windshield seal doesn't sit completely flat, and the previous owner used bathroom caulking on the drip rail. I plan to strip it out this week to investigate. I am hoping this is the source of the water, there is no rust from underneath and the cowl looks really good. I am also hoping that the drip rail isn't completely rotten.

Let me know if there are any areas that I should be looking at that I haven't mentioned. The photos are the passenger footwell and kick panel, the door channel (looks pretty rough), and down into the rear lower rocker. I see some rust through the outside of the rocker, but I can't tell if it is from under the bad respray or from the backside of the metal.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

roof rail, especially at the seams at the forward corner of the doors. I usually clean them out and weld them solid. Seams at the bottom of the windshield corners. There's a seam in the cowl above the heater box. It's a sneaky one that a lot of people miss. On the cowl, there's some spot welds at the top corners. there's usually some there. poke with a awl, see what happens. Nice truck, good start!

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Nice truck!
From the pics, it looks like you will need, at the very least, inner and outer rocker panels as well as kick panels and most likely the patch panel for the door pillars.
These repairs are not too difficult, but are a bit time consuming. A lot of good information on this board, just do a little research, gather all the parts and materials first, and have fun. I just did this on my truck this past spring when Covid first hit, I had a few weeks off at the time before being called back to work.
Looking forward to seeing your progress. I would also add, that if you have any slop in your door hinges, rebuild them first, this will help you later when aligning your sheet metal.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

It looks like you are correct, I pulled the rocker last night to do an inventory and it looks like I'll need all of the parts you listed. I was optimistic that the lower outer pillar would be good after removing the fender, but the door side was totally rotted. I have attached the photos, let me know what you think.

I have the chassis manual (original and came with the truck), but it doesn't cover the sheetmetal. Is there a guide for the sheet metal to guide my cutting? There is some layering at the pillar that I would like to understand better.

I also would like to know what folks do for some of these pinch welds and seams around the cowl and footwell, they are super loose and are just asking to leak. Do people use seam sealer (quality 2 part) to seal these up? Is it worth it to weld some of them? What other improvements, outside of the advice for the drip rail above, are worth doing now? I was thinking of seam sealing the door channel with a bit of an angle and adding a drain at the back of the door opening to allow the water to go somewhere. With the overlapping rockers acting as the "drain", we are just asking for the rust to start again between the spot welds.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Ok, first make sure your door gaps are as good as they can be. Then before any additional metal is cut out, test fit your new rocker. Some fit good , others need help, especially in the front door pillar area. Use sheet metal screws to hold the rocker in place while you work out the areas with fitment issues. Place the screws in areas that will be plug welded later, also make sure they are not in a spot that will eventually need to get cut out. By doing it this way you are able to tell that the problem areas or fitment issues are with the new rocker, and can sort them out before moving on to the other panels. This only works on trucks that don’t have extensive rust damage. Now that you know the rocker can again fit well the other panels can be addressed.
As far as a guide to cutting.... I like to save as much of the original sheet metal as possible, only cutting out the rust until you get back to good clean thick metal.
The area of the kick panel has multiple layers. Working from the inside of the cab back to the rocker, start with mocking up the inner rocker portion, then the kick panel, then the lower pillar patch, which will most likely just be able to slide over the rusty pillar, at this point the old pillar helps to locate the new patch, clamp it in place and dill out the 4 holes that go through the pillar patch and the inner rocker and floor support, this helps to locate the patch properly after the old rusty portion is cut out. Now reinstall the rocker and check your gaps again with door aligned properly. If good pull it all back apart and drill out your areas that need plug welds, sand spots getting welded to bare metal and apply weld through primer. Reassemble again, check door gaps, plug weld and tack a few areas so you can then remove door again for final weld and a ton or grinding.
This is obviously a simplified description of what you may have to do, but I hope it may help. Others may have more suggestions for you.
I may not explain things clearly at times, I do have some pics that may explain things better, but I don’t want to overstep on your thread. Also perhaps others have a better/faster/easier approach?

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Thanks for your response, I am lucky that the doors fit pretty well. The gaps are 60's car even, the hinges are tight and the latches close easily. I may also not be as picky as others.

I plan to order all of the sheetmetal before I move forward with the cab repair, so I hope to order that ASAP. I have put out a request for a source in the main forum section. I also need a windshield and seal (with trim).

In the meantime, I have started cleaning out the drip rail. As I toil away at this sticky chunky mess, I have started referring to the last guy who did the last "restoration" as the "Caulk Master". There is bathroom silicone everywhere. It is in the driver side rocker seam, holding on the door seals, and filling in the drip rail. "The bigger the gob the better the job". I scraped some of it away and found water, it hasn't rained in a month and it has been over a 100* multiple days. I am really happy that I started this work now, I think that it would have been a much larger repair in another year.

I have attached some photos for reference, the photo of the "cleaned rail makes it look worse than it is. The pebbly rust texture is a lighting effect.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Do yourself a massive favor and get a 4 1/2" grinder and a flat wire wheel. Lay that sucker in there and have at it. Much easier. Good for cutoff wheels, too.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

:agree:

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

I hear you on the grinder, I was taking it slow for the first 20 min to make sure that I wasn't going to find that it was so rusty that I was ripping the seam out. It should progress a lot faster next time.

I am waiting on the sheet metal and some other parts, I will hopefully drive up to Classic Heartbeat to pick up my order this weekend. I had to buy my inner rocker with floor extensions from summit (Tri-plus). They arrived in 2 days, amazing.

In the meantime I started cleaning up the chassis. It is filthy. I have removed at least a cat food bag's worth of dirt, gravel, and oil. I also removed the old saddle tanks and valves/fuel lines (which included the exhaust). I then took an inventory of what needed replacing, I like spreadsheets, so I put it all in there and won't bore you with tables and priorities.

I may have gotten a little carried away on the suspension. It was by far the dirtiest part of the truck, and as I dug into it- the more I realized it needed. For the steering it needed new outer tie rods and a pitman arm, everything else looked pretty good. The springs are all sagging, or they were heated to create a drop, so those will need replacing.

See if you can guess what impulse upgrades I have been working on...:metal:

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Ok, so I won't make you wait long in anticipation.

I did the math and found that to get the suspension back into safe, operable condition, I was looking at about $850. A brand new QA1 front coilover setup came up for sale locally and I snagged it. Seems like a pretty good value for what you get. I did a bit of research and I am still undecided for the rear of the truck, but I may fab up my own version of a shock relocation and get some lowering springs. I have the rarer '67 HD rear axle (HO72?), It's 4.55 and you can't really get any upgrades for it, so I will figure out a plan for a junkyard late model cab and chassis axle with disc brakes and LSD.

The QA1 install is a surprisingly difficult job on these old trucks. The disassembly is 75% of the work, and could be more based on how dirty everything is and how nice you want it to look. I think you could do a Motortrend style install in 4-6 hours, where you spray paint over the dirt and don't clean up your cuts. I probably have 8 hours in and have another 4 to go. Unfortunately, I ran into a big problem and have to wait on parts. I thought I had later model C10 spindles. Turns out that I have 73-87 C20 spindles with 1" ball joints. They will not work. I ordered CPP cp4s4 73-87 2" drop spindles. They should allow me to continue to use my 1.125" disc brakes that happen to be 8 lug, and are also the generation that QA1 recommends for the geometry of the kit and the ball joints. Fingers Crossed that summit can get the here early next week. Also, what a waste of time to get my old spindles cleaned up. I have at least 2 hours into cleaning and painting those... Oh well.

I also picked up about $50 in upholstery supplies and a new seat cover. I am hoping to do a bit of arts and crafts to bring my old frame/foam back to life and add some contoured foam density under the driver and passenger. Pictures later this weekend.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Awesome job on the suspension. I’ve been leaning towards the QA1 setup for both the front and rear. Keep up the updates, guys like me need the motivation!

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Excellent work so far. And it’s amazing the mission creep that happens when you go down that rabbit hole. I started with trying to fix a leak in my lower cowl. Now I have no engine in it, trans is out at the shop, CPP lowering kit on the front, powdercoated the crossmember and control arms and I still have to finish welding in the new inner cowl. THEN I can start on the kick panels, rockers and one cab corner! Keep up the documentation, it is great reference material for the guys in the future doing the same work. (And those of us doing it the same time as you too)

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Ok, so it's a bit smoky here so I decided to take a swing at recovering the bench seat in the basement.

I have discovered a bit of automotive archeology. This is the 1967 early bench seat. It has been recovered before. The springs are in alright condition as far as rust but the driver's side edge spring and z spring are broken. I plan to DIY some improvements as I can't find replacement springs, and they aren't exactly perfect from factory anyway.

Unique features of the 67 bench seat:
it tilts forward with a wingnut locking it in the back position
it has very thin foam on the lower seat
it has even thinner foam on the seat back, and thick coils (may actually just have been a bit of burlap and 1/2" foam)
It has rounded corners on the seat back
It does not have provisions for hog rings around the front of the seat bottom

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

The plan is to re-use the old lower foam (It's actually in great shape). I will add some jute, 1/2" felt beneath the foam and layers of foam with different densities to contour a bit around the driver and passenger on the seat bottom (less than 1"). With the new suspension, it will be nice to not be sliding around on the seat as much. I will also add some springs, zipties, and foam to the frame to support the edge.

I am not sure what I will do with the back of the seat. The foam I scored is way too thick, and I don't know if I have enough material to DIY something. I'll leverage the experience of doing the bottom to do the top.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Great work! I can't believe that original seat cover was in one piece!

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Nice work man.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

So, just like everything else with an older car- it took more time and more material than I had planned for. If you are thinking of doing this job, hope that you only have to replace the covers. Putting the cover on is the easy part!

Here are some links to what I used for references:
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/reco...10-bench-seat/
https://www.americancarcollector.com...ng-solid-bench

I ended up rebuilding and improving the lower half, you can see the what was required in the photos. I am happy to answer any questions. I tried to improve the structure of the foam bottom for some bolstering. I added new burlap and 1/2" jute padding under the foam. I glued the jute to the foam around the perimeter. The doubled up foam under the edge frame is glued to reach 3" thick and then hog-ringed with a piece of welding wire running down the length to keep it in place but movable. Hopefully this also prevents the edge and Z springs from fully collapsing, which is what I theorize causes them to break. I used the S spring to replace the broken Z spring, which was surprisingly difficult to recreate. I then attached the springs with 1/2" padding and hog rings to the old springs., this was a tip from the link above. I need to buy more 1/2" open cell foam to finish contouring the top side of the foam, it has compacted about an inch on the edge of the seat. Then I will put the cover on.

The seat back was a lot of work as well. It turns out the '67-68 folding bench seats don't use a preformed foam- they are just coils and thin foam from the factory- check out the link above for more info. I had to re-do my plan after figuring this out. I had expected to just use a foam core and be done in an hour, and use my other materials for improving the bottom seat. For the seat back I used the same burlap and 1/2" pad, and then I had to wrap the frame in 1/2" open cell foam. I kept the corners square to match my cover and glued the foam to the frame. I then used the low density dacron to fill the corners. Cover fit over pretty well at this point, but then I discovered that the cover didn't extend far enough down to wrap to the bar where you are supposed to secure the hog rings. I ended up using zip ties to bridge the distance and attaching the cover to the padding and the zip ties. It looks pretty good. I will have to post this photo later today.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Finished up the seat this evening and I am happy it is over, but I needed an indoor project with all of the smoke in Portland. Turned out pretty well for a first time, I think it will be a good match for dash pad in the truck. I also plan to use a black carpet (ACC essex with mass loaded backing from Rock Auto), and I think the black in the seat panels will tie it together. I think I have $165 in materials in the seats, and about 14 hours of re-engineering the seats :dohh:! Getting the covers on is the easy part! At some point I will go with buckets- but it's not in the budget for now.

I had to pick up some 2" foam from Home Depot as the upholstery shop is only open during the week, and the contouring and bolstering really made a big improvement. You can see what I did in the photo (not shown is the dacron to puff up the low spots to hold the cover). The cover is still a snug fit, but the different foam layers make it feel like it has bolsters.

It looks like my Classic Heartbeat order will be ready tomorrow, my pitman arm will be here tomorrow, my drop spindles will arrive by Friday, and my Boyd's welding tank will be here Friday as well. Should be a busy couple weeks! I put in for 2 weeks of vacation starting tomorrow- but it looks like I will have a delayed start with getting called to work tomorrow and Wednesday. It's alright, they are usually pretty flexible and I'll get the time back.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Wow! That seat looks amazing

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Looks perfect! I like the insert material.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Looks great :thumbs:

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Thanks for all the support, I'm still in the garage. I have been working away at the rust repair. I'm waiting on a lower A-pillar and some other sheet metal to be delivered. I am treating the surface rust, I've almost reached the lowest point in bodywork where stuff just starts to go back on.

I had to make one patch for the upper kick panel (above the footwell at the cab seam). Fit up well and was kind of a pain to tack in.

I got a little too aggressive in removing the floor and had to put back about .75" back, don't think I have any photos of that, I ground back the weld even though no one will ever see it.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

I also added a bit of scope by picking up an 8 lug Dana 60 (3.54). It should be a nice upgrade over the tractor-style Rockwell (4.56) that’s in there now. I bet the old one is twice as heavy as the Dana, and I should be able to get replacement parts.

I also picked up some 4” HD rear lowering springs and trailing arm bushings. I will swap it all over at once and do rear suspension update. I’ll relocate the shocks at a later date.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

So I am a bit overdue for an update. I have made slow progress, with lots of hours put into fixing the rust and reworking the replacement sheetmetal.

I put in the patch that I made above, it fit really well. I welded both sides so I could grind back the weld.

I then went to install the inner rocker with the floor extension and found I had made a mistake and cut too much out of the floor, and I had to put it back on :eek:. I measured from the wrong point and was about 1/4" out. I also discovered that the outer corner of the patch panel wasn't well formed and didn't reach the edge of the floor when the kick panel was installed, and also left a big gap to the floor. I made some relief cuts and reformed the corner so that it would meet.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

I then needed to do my rust treatments and priming before welding in the inner rocker. I really don't want this thing to rust away after putting in all of this work.

I used Ospho rust treatment after wire brushing (I used a brush zip-tied to a metal bar to get inside the cab supports) everything that had surface rust. I then primed using Cobre weld-through primer. I also had to rust treat and prime inside the A-pillar, B-Pillar, and the cab corner. It is amazing how much time it all takes to do it completely.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

After a lot of rust treatment and removing rusty sheet metal, I was finally ready to weld in the inner rocker and start moving forward with adding metal back.

I used a mig welder, and some butt welding sheetmetal clamps to get everything lined up. It was pretty close, but the rear section and the channels in the floor didn't really line up, and neither did the holes for the cab support. This isn't a big deal because it will be under some soundproofing and carpet.

This was a surprisingly high-effort welding job to do the entire length of the floor, and the complex shapes out of position. I will definitely do it differently on the driver's side. I will save more of the original metal, it's really thick and even some heavy rust scale can be removed and still be as thick as the replacement sheet metal. I will also try to cut fewer complex shapes. I found that I didn't really need the outer reference for the rocker because the cab supports locate it in space.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Ok a bit of a reflection on where I started, before I continue.

The good thing was that everything was still in alignment and hadn't been poorly repaired before. Unfortunately it was far enough gone that I couldn't see exactly how it went together.

The bad was that everything needed to be cut out and welded back together.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Okay, then I moved (slowly) onto the kick panel. the patch really didn't want to fit. It had a poor overall shape, flange width, and didn't match the floor patch or the existing cab... It had a 1/2" gap between the floor and the rocker upon my first test fit, and stuck out past the firewall seam.

After many hours of thinking, and a few minutes of judicious relief cuts and an hour of welding, I was able to get it to fit the correct shape. I even broke out the tig to weld up the relief cuts. In the end, it fit up really well. It will be covered, but it could be body worked to be a finished surface.

Re: Skidmore '67 C20
 

Kick panel done and I was then ready to install the lower a-pillar patch...