Exline Shop Projects
1968 Dodge Truck floor pan, rocker and cab mount replacement
by kenny exline on 12/12/13
The project truck is a 68 D100 Dodge that I purchased from the original owner several years ago. It was a farm truck and in fair drivable condition but at some point had some patch work done, mostly with fiberglass over the rust. All that did was make it rust more under the fiberglass. So I will be cutting all of this out. At this point I am replacing the passenger side floor pan, rocker and cab mount assembly.
The rocker step was covered with a layer of fiberglass and painted over. Once I cut it open I found that the inner rocker was full of rust and mud. I ended up cutting out all of the original rocker, inner rocker , cab mount assembly and front floor pan section. Before I cut anything apart, I took measurements of the door opening and adjusted the door to fit and set the cab level on the frame. The door needs to be adjusted so that when you replace the rocker it will line up with the door like it is supposed to. Once the new rocker, cab mounts and floor is welded in place, it is too late to change anything if doesn't fit. The cab and mounts tend to sag after several years of rusting so this is an important step.
After taking measurements and bracing the cab to set level, I first cut out the rocker panel. Then I lay the new floor section in place and trace it around the edges and trim the old floor about 3/16 inside of the line. Next I checked the new floor again and started trimming the edges to but together. I still have the old cab mount brackets to cut off and some rust to deal with before installing the new sheet metal, but its a start!
sweptline Dodge 61-71 rocker step and how its made.
by kenny exline on 11/30/13
The rocker step/panel was the first part that i made for the Dodge trucks and also one of the more difficult parts. I originally had to make them in two pieces, the step area and the outer rocker. After some trial and error and eventually making a custom forming station to build these parts on i was finally able to make them in one piece just like the factory did using the same thickness metal. Here is a series of photos showing how its done, Using a series of press and hand forming operations.
