OldIHC

Well, the time has come to make my truck rattle less going down the road. I'm going to lizard skin the inside of the cab, as well as underneath, and most likely the doors. My real question is, how have you guys that have restored your trucks sealed the door skins. My driver's door skin is pretty loose and it looks to me like the original skin was just pressed on rather than spot welded or seam sealed. I figured I could clean up the loose areas as best as I can and use seam sealer from inside the door and several spring clamps to hold it in place while I let the sealer dry. There isn't a lot of space and I don't want to actually separate the skin to do it correctly, but my main concern is causing any waves or wrinkles in the metal if I have to pull too much on the skin to get the seam sealer in there. My truck is in pretty good shape, so I don't want to tear anything down too far. Also, has anyone identified the correct rubber bushings that go between the front fenders and the running boards? I made a set, but they don't work as well as I would prefer.

I wonder if your door skin was replaced at some point. There are a variety of crimping tools out there that may help you "tighten" your skin. My doors were in great shape, though I did crimp the passenger side skin a little to get out the "oil can" flex. After blasting I just epoxy primed inside and out. Restoration Specialties has the fender/running board rubbers you need.

Two important thingees going on here. If you seal the door skins and leave rust under the sealant the door will rust through in about a year. If this were my truck, I would try and pinch the seams with a big Vise Grip. Another possible way to fasten the seam to the door frame may be a strong epoxy placed about two inches apart so the seam can vent and dry.
If the finish is good and paint damage is a situation, use a piece of hardwood and maybe piece of leather over the paint to keep the Vise Grip off the finish.
Make sure the seam is dry and free of dirt. Compressed air is a good choice for seam cleaning. Wear eye protection.

my door had spot welds about every 6 inches, a few gave up the fight and the outer skin flapped,

my knucklehead uncle told me he could fix it, OK. I said,

he fired up an oxy-acetylene torch and before I could stop him warped the whole thing, I think he did it on purpose,

he was an odd duck.

I cleaned out the inside of my doors and then coated with a rust converter working through the access opening. I then sprayed undercoating inside of them again working through the access hole. This was done before final painting the outside. Made sure to keep the weep holes on the door bottom open.

Thank you everyone for your responses. Apparently, my notifications were turned off which seems pretty weird since I started this topic.

I actually haven't gotten to the doors yet. I had to pull the front clip off to add a larger amperage alternator to support future mods and one thing after another has piled up. I did go ahead and undercoat the fenders, inner fenders, and hood with the lizard skin sound deadener. It sprays very well, but you need to make more passes that I would have thought. This probably has to do with the water base. However, it's important to note that this stuff goes very far. I bought a two gallon bucket and really don't think I'll hit the half mark by the time I'm finished. I'll try to post some pictures before I get the truck reassembled. I still need to undercoat the running boards, rocker panels, and the inside of the cab after a few minor floor pan repairs. I'm going to spray the inside with a thermal barrier as well.

Once the truck is reassembled, new front wheels and maybe a trip to have the original seat rebuilt for a more comfortable ride. Fingers crossed.

http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a56 ... 04xd0g.jpg

http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a56 ... vzqckm.jpg

http://i1284.photobucket.com/albums/a56 ... or2pjy.jpg

Well, the truck is reassembled for now. I got a friend to fix the big dent in the right rear fender and weld up a split on the left rear fender. He reported that the metal was VERY hard. I already knew that... I should have the evaporator core installed under the dash by the end of the week, but may not finish the A/C install until Spring since I'll need a higher ambient temperature to get it fully charged. Here's a pick of the truck with new wheels. I never would have thought that the 18's up front would look small. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with the bumper yet. The truck just looks so much better without it hanging two feet in front of it.