Skidmore '67 C20

[Corts60]

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

[TA_C10]

Nice work man.

[SkidmoreGarage]

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.

[SkidmoreGarage]

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 ! 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.

[Ol Blue K20]

Wow! That seat looks amazing

[Corts60]

Looks perfect! I like the insert material.

[TA_C10]

Looks great

[SkidmoreGarage]

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.

[SkidmoreGarage]

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.

[SkidmoreGarage]

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 . 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.

[SkidmoreGarage]

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.

[SkidmoreGarage]

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.

[SkidmoreGarage]

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.

[SkidmoreGarage]

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.

[SkidmoreGarage]

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

[SkidmoreGarage]

I didn't get any photos of the a-pillar job. It was a lot of prep of the rusty a-pillar, trim and test fit, tack, hammer, pry, weld, grind, and weld, and grind...

You know how it is when you are behind where you want to be, and just want to move on to the next part. I'll attach a photo of it done.

The next job I really didn't enjoy, which was to grind back all of my mig welds. It took hours of out of position grinding with many different implements to get it respectable. I found some porous welds and had to re-weld some spots, but overall it looked really good. I used my finger sander with 36 grit 3m belts to do the sections that were detailed or hard to reach. If you don't have one, I highly recommend picking one up. They are very efficient at removing mig welds and not touching the surround area. The can also contour when an angle grinder and flap disc can't.

I then did another round of rust treatment to the cab floor, applied my seam sealer to the passenger cab floor and my butt welds (SEM heavy body seam sealer). When this dried, I used 2 part epoxy primer to seal it all up. I prepped the surface with red scotch-brite, wax and grease remover, and did two coats.

The goal of doing this partial prime was to get ready to apply the outer rocker. Once it is welded in, I won't be able to get anything inside the rockers, and I don't want this thing to rust. Did I mention that already?

[SkidmoreGarage]

Ok, that brings me up to where I am today, here's a list of what else has been happening:

The outer rocker has been a nightmare to fit. I have spent two afternoons just looking at it and trying to adjust the door. If you are the type of person who uses construction adhesive to put on your outer rocker (no judgement!), then the rockers I have would have been fine. Bend it and send it! But I was not happy with the fitment to the bottom of the door. The door stuck out like 1/4" from the rocker and the gap was huge. Compared to the drivers side (still factory), it looked like junk. I found that the issue is that the stamping (Triplus from Auto metal direct) has the bottom pinch weld seam too far from the inner rocker. When you butt them up, it pulls the rocker down. This seam is also crooked. I decided to take the plunge and start cutting. I put it on the bandsaw and took the pinch weld flange off, leaving enough material to pound flat to butt up with the inner rocker. I am now committed to shaving the pinch weld under the door, which I think looks better but will be way more work. I will leave the weep-holes, but stitch weld the rest of it up.

Had to switch to 5 lug front rotors, which necessitated new rotors, bearings, wheels, etc. I found out the hard way that all 1.25" thick HD rotor/brakes are not the same. 1/2 ton parts are 1/2 ton parts and 3/4 or 1 ton parts are their own thing. Nothing interchanges. I was planning to change my wheel stud pattern, but just not now. I am leaning towards picking up some wheels that match my rear but in the different bolt pattern. It is the cheapest way (~$300 total, cheaper than quality adapters) that I can see to get this thing driving while I wait for the next phase of my build. I don't want to change out my rear axle without upgrading, and I am not ready for that now. I also don't want to spend the money required to get the wheels that I want without a commitment to a bolt pattern (5x5, 5x4.75, 5x120...). The selection for mass produced 5x5 wheels isn't great. If you want nice 5x5 wheels, you pay the muscle car/mecum tax.

I also bought a high hump tunnel, it made sense to do it now before I prep the floor and install carpet. Should be a straightforward install.

I bought 4" lowering springs for the rear, new poly trailing arm busings, and a dana 60 to swap for my old rear end. I am waiting to turn the car around before starting this stuff. I am sure it will take a bit longer than I expect to do this job, as I will probably clean everything up and do some rust mitigation. I may just throw in the springs to get it moving again.

I also have a new rear bumper waiting to go on, but I need new bumper bolts. I want to replace the camper style bumper that is on there.

I also have a new steering wheel to complement the new carpet, bench seat, and overall interior refresh.

I also have a new windshield and gasket to replace my broken one when I pull it out to do rust repair around the windshield.

There is no shortage of work in the garage. I am trying to push through the outer rocker. I think I will feel a lot better when that is done.

[1971Stepside]

Great progress and great job on your welds and grinding. It takes a lot of work and patience to do that for sure.

[Chevys4life]

Subsribed!!!

[TA_C10]

Keep it up man it's looking great

[SkidmoreGarage]

Figured I'd post an outer rocker update. It turns out that they were "key parts" brand and not Tri Plus, if anyone is curious. I'd recommend avoiding these rockers for your project. I'd rather chase an unknown than tread this path.

I spent last weekend massaging the outer rockers. I finally have them in a position to weld up, and wanted to share what was needed to get them to align properly.

On the back of the rocker, I needed to slice it into 3 pieces to allow the door flange to move back relative to the outer face. I tigged these up to allow for a bit more flexibility and hopefully less twisting.

On the front, it looks pretty simple but it was actually pretty difficult to get everything to line up. You can see how poor the quality of the pressing is in the photos. The outer lip is very wavy, and it just trails off at the front of the door. Also, the overall shape is wrong. I had to slice way back into the outer edge, insert a pie cut, and also do some major surgery on the front where the vent hole is. You can see in the photos.

I wanted a sanity check, so I compared the reworked outer rocker to the old rusty one. It is spot on the same shape. I took a photo of the patch I had to make for the new rocker, held up behind the old rocker. Fits the profile exactly. These patch panels were trash. Not even close.

[SkidmoreGarage]

And here is the rocker ready to weld, I'm still not sure what I'll do about that weak edge at the front. I may just used body filler, or I'll lay a bead. The rest of the gap looks great.

[Chevys4life]

Very nice work on some bad panels!!!

[TA_C10]

Looks great man, nice job.

[SkidmoreGarage]

I feel like I owe this thread an update, as I have not been a great steward. I have been plugging away, but I took a pause on the rust repair, and specifically that outer rocker.

I also just reviewed the thread and it looks like I have missed a lot of the small jobs that I have been plugging away at. I'll try to get it caught up

• Finally painted and installed a new pittman arm (had to buy a new tool)
• Installed new brake dust shields (the 1/2 ton spindles use a smaller dust shield)
• Pressed out and replaced the front wheel bearings, which was the first time I have done that job with traditional tapered roller bearings.
• Did a final torque check on the suspension and all castle nuts