The Ford Barn

gearheadbill · 06-07-2012, 09:17 AM

I am in the process of attaching rain gutters on a 36 pickup that has had the gutters removed in the distant past. I have removed a set off another cab and have mocked up one side. In removing the rain gutters that I will be using I discovered that the factory used about 20 spot welds to attach the gutter to the cab (pretty near impossible to recreate unless the door skin is removed from the door frame). After the mock-up I know why. I have 14 clamps and a push/pull body jack holding the gutter into place; but all is well. Fit is good.

Question. Since I can't spot weld them on as originally done, my thought is to A. drill a series of 1/8-3/16 dia. holes along the gutter and plug or rosette weld them on. This will result in a lot of grinding and finish work. or B. use some type of slower setting 2 part mastic to glue them on. Very little finish work. The glue will need to be sandable/paintable.

I'm certain many here on the Fordbarn have done this type of work successfully. What worked? What didn't? What would you do different next time?

alchemy · 06-07-2012, 09:22 AM

I'm no modern-day body man, so I can't say I have any experience with them, but body adhesives always seemed a little sketchy to me. I'd do method "A". Those plug welds shouldn't be that hard to clean up if you take your time with a cutting wheel in a die grinder and a small grinding disk.

36tbird · 06-07-2012, 09:37 AM

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I replaced the rockers on my '36 pickup using the 3m body glue. That stuff is amazing. Make sure you get the higher temperature range and then do the work on a cool day or in an air conditioned space. (I think that is correct?) That will give you time to work and place the pieces because once that stuff grabs and starts to set up, it can be a bear to work with.

When I did the rockers, I got some 1/8" countersunk head pop rivets. Counter sink the holes so that the rivet heads will be flush. Use some clecos to hold the pieces in place to drill the holes into the body. After everything is in place and set up, dab some bondo into the pop rivet holes. There should not be much work smoothing everything up for paint.

Last tip, the adhesive is not too expensive, but they want an arm and a leg for the double calking gun. See if you have a body shop friend who will lend you his.

06-07-2012, 09:17 AM	#1
gearheadbill Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Snohomish, WA Posts: 401	replacing rain gutters I am in the process of attaching rain gutters on a 36 pickup that has had the gutters removed in the distant past. I have removed a set off another cab and have mocked up one side. In removing the rain gutters that I will be using I discovered that the factory used about 20 spot welds to attach the gutter to the cab (pretty near impossible to recreate unless the door skin is removed from the door frame). After the mock-up I know why. I have 14 clamps and a push/pull body jack holding the gutter into place; but all is well. Fit is good. Question. Since I can't spot weld them on as originally done, my thought is to A. drill a series of 1/8-3/16 dia. holes along the gutter and plug or rosette weld them on. This will result in a lot of grinding and finish work. or B. use some type of slower setting 2 part mastic to glue them on. Very little finish work. The glue will need to be sandable/paintable. I'm certain many here on the Fordbarn have done this type of work successfully. What worked? What didn't? What would you do different next time?

06-07-2012, 09:22 AM	#2
alchemy Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: middle of Iowa Posts: 647	Re: replacing rain gutters I'm no modern-day body man, so I can't say I have any experience with them, but body adhesives always seemed a little sketchy to me. I'd do method "A". Those plug welds shouldn't be that hard to clean up if you take your time with a cutting wheel in a die grinder and a small grinding disk.

06-07-2012, 09:37 AM	#3
36tbird Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: nw SanAntonio, TX Posts: 939	Re: replacing rain gutters Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) I replaced the rockers on my '36 pickup using the 3m body glue. That stuff is amazing. Make sure you get the higher temperature range and then do the work on a cool day or in an air conditioned space. (I think that is correct?) That will give you time to work and place the pieces because once that stuff grabs and starts to set up, it can be a bear to work with. When I did the rockers, I got some 1/8" countersunk head pop rivets. Counter sink the holes so that the rivet heads will be flush. Use some clecos to hold the pieces in place to drill the holes into the body. After everything is in place and set up, dab some bondo into the pop rivet holes. There should not be much work smoothing everything up for paint. Last tip, the adhesive is not too expensive, but they want an arm and a leg for the double calking gun. See if you have a body shop friend who will lend you his.