Holy rusted metal, Batman! Probably not what you want to hear coming from your sidekick as you start your new project, but the cold hard truth is that's just the way it goes. When dealing with vintage sheetmetal, there's pretty much no getting around rust, because when living with years of Mother Nature's trials and tribulations, it's only a matter of time before vintage sheetmetal begins to wear thin.
Just like anything, trucks have their Achilles' heels as well. Places where water tends to fill, such as bed corners and fender corners, are prime victims of rot. On '55-59 Chevy trucks, one of these high-risk areas is the inner step plate. These flat steps lay in a danger zone for water to drip down the truck's cab and doors and set up shop. Long story short, before too long, those inner steps will begin to look like Swiss cheese.
The good news is, the steps are just sheetmetal, and just like the rest of the sheetmetal on a truck, they're replaceable. Even better is the fact that aftermarket companies re-pop sheetmetal to replace the rusted spots on a vehicle, including inner step plates. Brothers in Corona, California, is one of the places that specializes in classic Chevy and GMC truck parts. Because of the volume of enthusiasts looking for a way to repair the rusted steps, Brothers decided to add a replacement step to their already extensive repertoire.
The new Brothers '55-59 inner step plates are as close to the original equipment as possible. The Brothers steps are stamped from heavy-gauge steel equal to the original steel's quality. The step's pattern is the same as the OEM, and the step also includes a support brace underneath. Brothers offers two different step options. One step includes the rocker panel, and the other step is just the step. Both are trim-to-fit and install fairly easily-well, as easily as a patch panel is going to get! For our install, we visited 714 Motorsports in Westminster, California, where they were repairing the step on a '55. The procedure took them about an hour, but they still had to do the finish work. All in all, the installation is pretty easy-see for yourself.
Here's the step before 714...
Here's the step before 714 Motorsports started. Notice the grooves in the step were rotting out, along with the two inner corners. Before any cutting took place, a metal brace was tack welded to keep the door jamb and cab from springing.
Todd at 714 Motorsports started...
Todd at 714 Motorsports started by cutting the bulk of the step out. Marking about 2 inches inward along the step,...
...he then followed his markings...
...he then followed his markings with a cutting wheel (a plasma cutter could have been used as well).
Along the step seams, there...
Along the step seams, there are a series of spot welds roughly every 1 1/2 inches. What remains of the step needs to be removed from the step flanges. Todd started off by drilling a small pilot hole through each of the spot welds.
There are drill bits specifically...
There are drill bits specifically made for drilling out spot welds, but Todd used a slightly larger drill bit, which works as well.
With the step seams removed...
With the step seams removed from the flanges, the next step was to grind along the flanges, including the middle support bracket. The flanges may be a little bent from removing the spot welds....
...If that's the case, a hammer...
...If that's the case, a hammer and dolly can straighten them out.
Another area that needs to...
Another area that needs to be ground down is the bottom corner of the cab where the step meets it.
Here's the Brothers step right...
Here's the Brothers step right out of the box. It comes as one solid piece ready to install, which makes things easy.
For the test fit, Todd placed...
For the test fit, Todd placed the Brothers step in position. For the most part, things were pretty close, but he did have to do a little minor bending and trimming, which is typical due to age.
Once things were fitted properly,...
Once things were fitted properly, the top edge of the Brothers step was hammered to fit the edge of the upper step.
With things lining up correctly,...
With things lining up correctly, the edges of the steps were ground down to the bare metal.
What holds the majority of...
What holds the majority of the step to the flange are plug welds. Todd started off by drilling pilot holes about every 3 inches along the edges of the new step....
...He then returned with a...
...He then returned with a 7/16-inch drill bit and opened up the holes.
The step also gets plug-welded...
The step also gets plug-welded to the center support bracket. Therefore, Todd also drilled holes in the middle of the step.
Next, Todd lined up the rear...
Next, Todd lined up the rear of the step with the cab and clamped it into place. This area has to be welded in and then finished off, but not quite yet. As for the rest of the step, Todd used roughly 6 self-taping screws to hold the step in place while he began plug- elding.
Using an MIG welder, each...
Using an MIG welder, each one of the holes drilled previously was plugged up. For added strength, Todd stitched the seam with a weld about every 5 inches.
With the step held in place,...
With the step held in place, the rear corner was welded up.
Lastly, a grinder ground the...
Lastly, a grinder ground the plug and stitch welds smooth.
Voil! The new step is installed....
Voil! The new step is installed. Now all that's left is finish work.