Thread: Body work expertise required!!

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I need some professional help!!
On my F100, the back of the cab is in pretty bad shape and I'm not sure on how to take this on as I'm not a body-man.
The corners have been replaced with patch panels welded in okay There is a natural curve in the cab from the center out to the cab corners and down from the back window to the floor but the panels are quite wavy both vertical and horizontally. Do I shrink these with heat( they are somewhat oil canny) to get them straight? I have included a few pics with a straight edge trying to show what the problem is.


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Sections 3&4 seem to be okay
Section 2 bulges out
Sections 1&6 bulge out as well but closer to where the patch panels were installed.
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Section 2 looking from the side
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Section 3 looking from the side
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Section 2 looking top down
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Section 3 looking top down
Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Warning - I am NOT a professional!

This guy had a similar issue on a military vehicle.
Probably a little heavier metal than you are dealing with.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mptiiRLEJs0

I would think with flopping metal - you either have to shrink it as you were thinking - or add some reinforcement.

one thing he didn't mention BUT did do was use less air and more gas to get a high carbon flame it just works better

Welcome to the world of old truck bodies. There is usually nothing that is as abused as old trucks. For decades people throw things in the bed, slam stuff down on the bed sides and tail gate, and generally don't give a rats' @$$. Then one day someone wants to make a nice rod or custom out of it!

First I would see how much of it really shows when the bed is in place. That way you can decide how straight it needs to be.

Thanks for the replies, Seeing the U-tube videos gave me some ideas. One being that they used was a shrinking disk rather than heat from a flame...any thoughts on this process. They make it look easy! Any one use them?

i use a heat gun instead of a torch. best practice on something first.

I have the same problem on my truck ('49 chevy), and i am just hoping the bed covers enough of it! but actually i will be adding reinforcement inside as well because i want to remove the original center cab mount (allows for movement) and make a cab mount on each side. Not sure on how your cab mounts but may want to do the same. Will be tricky i know because it will want to pull the metal in if the reinforcement is not darn near perfect, but at least then its solid and you can work on it without it moving around on you!

Originally Posted by toofast_28

I have the same problem on my truck ('49 chevy), and i am just hoping the bed covers enough of it! but actually i will be adding reinforcement inside as well because i want to remove the original center cab mount (allows for movement) and make a cab mount on each side. Not sure on how your cab mounts but may want to do the same. Will be tricky i know because it will want to pull the metal in if the reinforcement is not darn near perfect, but at least then its solid and you can work on it without it moving around on you!

On the 53-56 Fords, the cab mounts are in the four corners, so that isn't an issue. I have some lead to get rid of in the corners before I start to straighten this cab out around the patch panels. I really like the way this shrinking disc is suppose to work, not too much heat and it only affects the high spots. The problem I have with hiding it is with the box front panel being straight anything not straight will show up like a sore thumb. I'm trying to find this disc up here in Canada...if it is only $40, what have I got to loose?
I can't believe this! These shrinking disc's are not available in Canada and no body has heard of them up here...I truly live in the far north!!!Ordered them from Dagger Tools be here in a week. Will let you know how they work.

Well I got the shrinking disks and they work well. After a little dolly and hammering, it takes out the high spots and shrinks any stretched areas. It doesn't leave the metal hard like when using a flame on the metal. Still haven't used it on the cab until I get a bit better at working with the disk. For a novice it really has made this body work at lot easier.

looks like a doly and a shink file /slap file would do alot of it this is the way i would go at this you may need someone to hold the doly or long arms them back panles are some what oil canny you need to work up the dent . try not to over work the steel they were wavy new so at apoint you going to fair it in with a thin coat of body filler you can kink the steel with a fine tip pick hammer around the stamp lines just very small lines like this ............ well draw up some of the steel . hand sand or use a low speed sander with new sharp paper as a hi speed sander with warp steel . i have use a worn sanding disc to put heat in steel to shrink it with a wet rag . shrinking is about the last thing you want to learn on a panle thats hard to get after you work alot of steel you can get to a point were you do not have to shrink much with heat. were i had to fix metal is were some one has over work it . trick is not to smash the hell out of the steel any more then needed

The shrinking discs are probably a bit more forgiving then using heat...or I guess they don't move as much metal as quick as heat does...

I'm old too, Pat, and still like to get out my slap file..for me it's still the easiest method of controlling how much and what direction the high spot moves!

Pay particular attention to what Pat said about overworking the metal!!!! Everytime you ding and ping on a piece of sheet metal it expands!!! If you're not careful you'll end up creating more high spots then you take out!!!

The back of a cab is a good place to learn, not quite as visible as a hood or roof when the body work is done and there's still a few boo-boo's.. Take your time and you can smooth out the metal, nothing like practice to make the task go better and the panel come out flatter!!

Thanks for the tips. This moving metal around is something I still need practice at. Just when I think I will have some thing flat, it has just move a little further over. The disks have helped, the hammer and dolly is getting more consistent but it never is perfectly flat/smooth? I can always feel something just not right. Not sure how the guys that pick and file get it done!. Good thing I have a lot of time to work on this or I would be getting stressed out. And there is filler!