"B" Pillar Patch Panel Help Wanted

[Rusty Bolts]

The bottoms of both my B pillars are roached out and I thought I'd fab up some pieces to weld onto the bottom. The problem is that I can't get the wood out. The original wood seems to be okay, but it is a bit fragile and I don't want to destroy it.
I removed the two thru bolts that hold the dovetail, and the three thru bolts with nuts just under the latch pocket. I pulled all the nails from the body panel that nail thru the front of the metal pillar and into the wood. There seems to be a liberal coating of tar in the socket but I have ran a putty knife up and down the entire length of the front and rear sides.
Is there something else that I'm not seeing here??? I'm tempted to just cut away the metal on the bottom and try to mig it with the wood in place???

[Rowdy]

There are screws from the outside of the post into the wood. Rod

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

As Rod just showed above, the wood has #10 wood screws that anchor it in from the backside of the pillar and the heads of those screws are hidden behind the outer body panel. In other words, my experiences are that you won't be getting the wood out without major damage.


What I would do is move up about an inch (+/-) above where your new piece will be welded in, and cut the wood off there to remove that lower wood piece that is in your way of welding. Then move up from that cut about 2 inches and score a horizontal line and remove about 1 inch into the thickness of the wood using a wood chisel. Make it as smooth (and verticle) as possible. Once you are satisfied with that, use masking tape and put one layer of tape on the insides of the metal pillar and onto the wood that remains in the area that you just chiseled out. Next mix up some body filler (Bondo) and smear it into the area over the top of the masking tape. As the filler begins to harden you will continually be able to force it into the corners/etc. Once the filler has dried, the tape will allow the piece to pop out and this will give you an exact template of the wood filler piece you need. Lay the piece of filler onto a piece of Ash and trace the profile and cut on a bandsaw. After you have welded the pillar patch and cleaned up the weld, you can fit the new wood to the remaining pillar wood. Once it is like you want, glue it in and clamp until dry. Doing this method will not compromise the wood during the welding process nor the strength of the pillar. Good luck.

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[Rusty Bolts]

Thanks a lot for the help guys, sounds like a plan!!!

[Rowdy]

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I chose to replace mine, but they had been cut off at the top. I may still have the lower 6" of one side that seemed solid, but had to cut it off to use it as a template for the screw holes that attach the quarter panel supprts. Link below. Rod

https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/showthread.php?t=79011