1953 Ford F-100 Cab Corner Replacement - Cuttin' Corners

Steve made the horizontal cut and then the vertical cut.

This is how the area appeared after the rusted metal had been removed.

Steve held the repair patch into place to make sure it was a good fit.

After grinding off the excess area to ensure the repair patch fit properly, Vise-Grips were used to clamp the patch into place.

Too much heat can warp the sheetmetal, so Steve slowly tack-welded the patch into position.

Keeping the heat down while MIG welding produces a nice tight heat-zone as can be evidenced in this photo. Discoloration of the metal indicates how far the heat traveled away from the weld.

Steve used a body hammer backed with a dolly to ensure the patch panel wasn't bent, and laid perfectly flat like original area did.

After that was welded, Steve welded on the cover he fabricated to cover the filler-neck hole.

This is how the welded area appeared when it was ready for the new cab corner to be installed. The happy face, date, and Steve's initials, are optional.

Steve held the cab corner into place and checked it for alignment. Satisfied, Steve then clamped it into place with Vice-Grips.

To determine where the panel needed to be trimmed at the top, Steve moved to the inside of the cab and marked it with a pencil.

He then used masking tape to indicate the cut line and used the die-grinder to cut the excess area off.

The hole punch was used to poke out holes for the tack-welds, and the paint (primer) was ground off where the welds were to be done.

The cab corner was clamped into place and checked for alignment.

Satisfied with the fit, Steve began to slowly tack-weld, and then run a bead to complete the installation. Stay tuned for next month's issue where we finish off the body work here, and show how to do a minimally invasive cab corner repair of the passenger side.