Truck undercab repairs

[madwelder]

Morning all,

Thought I'd post up some images of my current project, refurbishing the undercab and floor of a 1993 Dennis fire truck. Initial assessments of damage were signs that the fibreglass steps were bulging in places from a buildup of rust behind them.

The first fight was getting the self-tappers out that were holding down the ally trim over the rear cab carpet and onto the fibreglass step that I wanted to take off. Most were welded in so the eventual solution was pulling the carpet out from underneath them and then levering the trims off.

The second photograph shows the damage at the ends of the cab floor once the trims have been removed. The third photo shows a crack in the floor revealed after lifting the carpet.

And the last photo shows the remains of the part that was bulging the fibreglass out after tapping the buildup out.

 

[grumpygramps-2007]

keep the pics coming.

 

[madwelder]

Rust stopper?

Not much progress today due to a few errands and waiting on some bits to get the ol' Clarke 140E Mk2 up and running, not to mention some gas

Anyhow, pulled the cab back down for better access to the repairs at either end of the crew cab floor. Also ended up taking the doors off for better access to the bubbling on the red painted section that the wheel arches bolt onto. Have also had a dig around for suitable material for the repairs. Added a couple more photos for a better perspective of where the damage is.

So, question in the meantime - the front seam of the crew cab floor is starting to oxidize but not enough to warrant repairing or replacing, so I was thinking about going down the route of trying some of that rust stopper stuff and then slapping some fresh paint on it. Any advice on recommended rust stopper products?

 

[the snooper]

you'll be ok welding on that, you wont have a problem putting out any fires

 

[madwelder]

You laugh, but I know of someone with a barn full of fire trucks that lost a car to welding as all the trucks were empty of water and there were no working extinguishers around

Hopefully I won't make that mistake

 

[the snooper]

You laugh, but I know of someone with a barn full of fire trucks that lost a car to welding as all the trucks were empty of water and there were no working extinguishers around

Hopefully I won't make that mistake

that must have been embarrassing

 

[jackjosh]

that must have been embarrassing

I was once in a Green goddess that had an engine fire in a petrol station, that was embarrssing

 

[the snooper]

the green goddess had a petrol engine didn't it, a little more prone to fires then diesels, they were very basic, I remember the army using them when the fire brigade went on strike

 

[Robotstar5]

the green goddess had a petrol engine didn't it, a little more prone to fires then diesels, they were very basic, I remember the army using them when the fire brigade went on strike

I remember them turning up for a fire at the foundry, they were too late, the works "fireman" had already dealt with it, loved his transport, a grubby brown Marina van with a few fire extinguishers thrown in the back!

 

[jackjosh]

the green goddess had a petrol engine didn't it, a little more prone to fires then diesels, they were very basic, I remember the army using them when the fire brigade went on strike

This was during the last fire strike in 2003, we were a Royal Navy team stationed at RAF Leuchars They were a petrol engine and they were generally lethal!

 

[the snooper]

those were the days, the old marinas which were replaced by the ital

 

[brightspark]

those were the days, the old marinas which were replaced by the ital

one step up from a cv 6 or a simca

 

[madwelder]

So, a fair bit of progress today.

First port of call was to get the welder properly setup. Gas is the ALBee rent free Argon/Co2 15%. New reel of 0.8mm mild steel wire and new tips and shrouds. Found that the wire guide to the rollers was full of gunk, and the rollers themselves were all greasy so took it all out and degreased it. Then hot-glued a takeaway tray into the bottom of the welder to hold the spares and anti-spatter spray (I only really use it to protect the tips and shrouds).



Then onto the truck. Worked on the nearside step today. First attacked all of the tinworm with my disc cutter.



Then cut some new patches of 2mm mild steel (same thickness as original metalwork) and tacked them in place.



Welded it all up. Have snubbed the Clarke brand in the past, but can't complain with the quality of welding at the moment. Up to now I have been using a gasless SIP to tack up parts, then stick welded parts in.



Then linished all the welds back with P36 pads.



Then threw some hi-build primer and red oxide at the bare metal for the time being. Will be finishing the top layer of floor off once I have reached the same stage on the offside step.

 

[lshigham]

Very nice, wouldn't know it'd been repaired once you've ground it off