Stainless steel rocker panels

[lts70]

Is there a company out there that produces stainless steel rocker panels for our trucks? It sure would be nice not to have to worry about rust in that area. Put new rocker panels in my daily driver 16 years ago. And now they are roached out again needing replacement both inners and outers

[Xeen]

Remove the regular steel rockers and then take them to a metal fabricator and tell him to reproduce them in detail in stainless.

[EARNHARDT#3]

I was thinking about this the other day. When installing new rockers, why not cut the bottoms off and coat the inner side with POR15? They'd be protected by the POR15 and they'd also be open so they would dry out all the time and not hold moisture. You wouldn't be able to see that there's no bottom unless you looked underneath.

[Redline novdog]

That would be a 70k truck,piece by piece stamp it stainless. put it together,BAM timeless! Hope somebody does it. that would be sweet! I have not heard of stainless panels,but maybe you are on to something its70!!!! I'm In!!

[FirstOwner69]

Originally Posted by Redline novdog

That would be a 70k truck,piece by piece stamp it stainless. put it together,BAM timeless! Hope somebody does it. that would be sweet! I have not heard of stainless panels,but maybe you are on to something its70!!!! I'm In!!

The truck John DeLorean would have built?!?!?!?!?!

[tommys72]

Originally Posted by FirstOwner69

The truck John DeLorean would have built?!?!?!?!?!

You beat me to it, I was gonna say the same thing

[drewbert41]

Originally Posted by lts70

Is there a company out there that produces stainless steel rocker panels for our trucks? It sure would be nice not to have to worry about rust in that area. Put new rocker panels in my daily driver 16 years ago. And now they are roached out again needing replacement both inners and outers

16 years ago did you do anything to seal the insides of them when installing? Or did you do the same thing GM did and just leave the insides bare metal?

[lts70]

I wonder how much harder it would be for the companies that build the steel rockers to stamp them out of stainless. I know I would pay the premium for the upgrade.

[Jrainman]

the reason why it is not done is the fact of welding two different types of metals is difficult to weld , being SS has very low carbon amounts

it is not that it cant be done but you really have to have good equipment to get good results ,

Tig or brazing would give best results though,

Well there is always the new Ford aluminum body F150

I will say I am not a Ford guy but the paint on those new aluminum body f150 is something to look at , I looked at one at a outdoor show in a dark green and the paint was amazing almost flawless

[bill3rail]

Would love to see a set of these! I'm not a welder and I was curious about dissimilar metal welding procedures...

Bill

[In The Ten Ring]

Originally Posted by Jrainman

the reason why it is not done is the fact of welding two different types of metals is difficult to weld , being SS has very low carbon amounts

it is not that it cant be done but you really have to have good equipment to get good results ,

Tig or brazing would give best results though,

Well there is always the new Ford aluminum body F150

I will say I am not a Ford guy but the paint on those new aluminum body f150 is something to look at , I looked at one at a outdoor show in a dark green and the paint was amazing almost flawless

I am a novice welder but I am in a welding class. I thought the same thing concerning the welds.

[Greasey Harley]

I don't know about SS body panels but, my truck gets the garden hose treatment regularly. Turn it on and stuff it in the back corners inside the cab and just let it run. Wash out all the dirt/salt (crap) that is packed into the cab and rockers. The dirt is what holds the moisture and rots the metal. I also do this to my fenders and cowl. I am always amazed at how much mung comes out.
Yes, the interior gets very wet when I do this, it dries though.
clean trucks don't rust

[Clavo106]

SS ???? /// IF THIS WAS NEVER GOING TO BE PAINTED IT WOULD BE OK./ .. it would probably be better to make the hole truck made of aluminum lite weight and you would just have to polish it every so often. my 2cents

[special-K]

The problem is when stainless touches steel it ain't so stainless anymore. You need all stainless or it will give out where they meet. Just look at a stainless exhaust system. Anywhere the metal mixes is where they fail.

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by Jrainman

the reason why it is not done is the fact of welding two different types of metals is difficult to weld , being SS has very low carbon amounts

it is not that it cant be done but you really have to have good equipment to get good results ,

Tig or brazing would give best results though,

Well there is always the new Ford aluminum body F150

I will say I am not a Ford guy but the paint on those new aluminum body f150 is something to look at , I looked at one at a outdoor show in a dark green and the paint was amazing almost flawless

You forgot that the weld is now a mixture of metals and corrosion starts aggressively at the weld line due to electrically dissimilar metals coming together with moisture!

[EARNHARDT#3]

Slap em on with seam sealer LOL

[michael bustamante]

Originally Posted by Jrainman

the reason why it is not done is the fact of welding two different types of metals is difficult to weld , being SS has very low carbon amounts

it is not that it cant be done but you really have to have good equipment to get good results ,

Tig or brazing would give best results though,

Well there is always the new Ford aluminum body F150

I will say I am not a Ford guy but the paint on those new aluminum body f150 is something to look at , I looked at one at a outdoor show in a dark green and the paint was amazing almost flawless

i actually read Chevrolet is going to be doing the same thing to our chevy and GMC trucks

[dell72]

Originally Posted by EARNHARDT#3

Slap em on with seam sealer LOL

You could use panel bond adhesive like some new cars use.

[kingstrider]

FWIW "stainless" is a misnomer and will rust given the right conditions. Even the highest grade of stainless steels found in guns or knives will rust if not cared for. Seems like a long run for a short slide to me.

[Ironangel]

I like the idea and would spring for the difference in material costs. As for the welding aspect? The high carbon T-309E is the "stainless to mild steel" alloy in wire or stick and I never seen a rocker rust out at the welds so it's a very doable endeavor. I'm a retired certified welder, it was my job for 40 years to know these things...Aluminum? Now there's a different breed of cat. Nobody's come up with the weld process for aluminum to steel, "yet." As far as those Fords go, the whole fastening process of panel to panel and body to frame has changed completely. No welds involved and are fastened with high tech rivets that bond the aluminum when they are shot into place by mainly robots. I was fortunate enough to work for Ford at the Claycomo truck plant installing some of the various conveyor systems through the years...That's why I drive Old Chevy's!

[DarkFlounder]

Originally Posted by EARNHARDT#3

Slap em on with seam sealer LOL

Pop rivets worked for my dad, they'll work for this!

[WarMonger]

you got 16 years out of the last set. That is pretty good. Just put new ones on and go another 16.

[BrianG]

I've thought about trying to spay some oil up in the drain holes of mine every so often. Is this a good, or bad idea. If this might help them, what oil or spay should I try spraying up there?

[EARNHARDT#3]

Originally Posted by BrianG

I've thought about trying to spay some oil up in the drain holes of mine every so often. Is this a good, or bad idea. If this might help them, what oil or spay should I try spraying up there?

Definitley a good idea. Just some WD40 would do fine. Put the red straw on the can and hose the inside of the rockers real good. My dad bought a 67 LeMans the original owner who used to spray WD behind all the lower trim and the car had basically no rust there. Whereas this was a very common place for them to rot out even 25 years prior to this.

[unclesalty]

I bet aluminum would be easier to fab than stainless, some of the modern panel adhesives would probly hold them on fine. I just did both of mine and por-15ed the insides. I haven't put the inners on yet, I guess I will hopefully before the snow. It would be nice to have, aluminum body panels, but the cost would be scary. I would do the cab corners and rockers if they were available- why not? Sounds like a great idea to me!