Closing Crap up! - Updated

I had to go a little medieval to get the side rocker panel in place, bending the B-pillar closeout plate with my Ford's scissor jack . It worked perfectly. The top lip of the outer rockers had about 1/8 of space that needed to be balanced out.   See the next photo and you'll understand that it was indeed successful.

As you can see, the panel lined up beautifully.  I've added the tack welds to hold the panel in place and I also added a few spot welds to the bottom to keep it in.  I ran out of gas today for my MIG welder.  Picking some up tomorrow and finishing the closing.

Here is the side bead welded across and down. The warpage was minor for such a long piece of metal. I had to jump around the line so that one part of the metal did not become too hot at anytime.  Just need to grind down the slug and prep area for priming.

Major Progress

 It's been a long time. A lot of my slow speed comes from mistakes and the lack of confidence.  I believe, once I finish this area, things will speed up, as I am already feeling my confidence building up nicely. The way in which I tackle each problem is only creating a stronger Marquis at the end of each session.

I finally got the B-Pillar closed up and sealed perfectly.  I ended up switching from the AutoCraft parts to a Funky Green panel pillar.  This pillar reaches farther up and it also closes the gap perfectly.

Once the  B-Pillar closed up,  I spot welded  the inner rockers to the cross connects (top and bottom hats). In some cases, I had to use a MIG welder to spot weld behind the middle pillars. For the ones that were reachable, this spot welder was the fastest and cleanest method possible.

This is a photo that shows how I tried to access in the middle of the beam with the spot welder.  In most cases, I didn't work well.  I was tired of holding the welder since it is very heavy.

The inner rocker and the pillar and the pillar closeout plate looks solid. I've added some weldable primer to resist against rust that could form when closing the gap and from the welding process overall.

The outer rocker is finally sized up for the final time to make sure it lines up for welding. I need to purchase a few more magnets to make sure all areas along the panel mates the original across the van in a leveled way.

I will post pictures when I am finished with the welding of the side.

The Funny Green Panel vs AutoCraft

I am setting up the Funky Green Panel - B pillar, as the one from AutoCraft had a lot to be desired. It did not close properly and it also did not come with a block-off plate. Here I am sizing up my cuts before I begin to weld this piece in.  I will also check the block-off and make sure the outer rocker panel will close properly. The block-off plate that I tried to fabricate did not allow the outer rocker to close as it did not have the right curve in the right area. My piece was pretty good, but for $40 for both parts, why do this? With the AutoCraft piece, you have no options, as the part showed in this photo comes alone.

I have a weird cut, as I want the piece to lock vertically and horizontally.  More importantly, it has the standout tab to mount the  block-off plate to it at the top, which I am heavily modifying to fit with my Dremel.  The next photo will show the 1/4 of an inch that I'll have to raise it to. The bottom piece must completely clear the bottom lip of the inner rocker so that the outer rocker could sufficiently close.  Please see my next photo.

As you can see, the clearance is not quite there.  I will be back in the shop this weekend to complete this fitting session.  Before then, I'll complete the inner rocker welds.  This is all taking a long time as I am learning and I am learning that not all replacement parts are created equal. The outer rocker was purchased from AutoCraft and I must say, that it is awesome. So, this discussion is not to say AutoCraft is inferior, but we have to use the best part for each application.














Funky Green Panel vs My Fabricated versions.  I was pretty good.. :-)  The only real problem was the B-Pillar didn't allow the outer rocker to close. This could be because of the accident.  The Green one just fits much better.

The inner rockers are permanently welded in. I had to remove them and straighten back out the metal, as I welded it too forward the first time. I was going to order a new one, but I thought it would be a better exercise if I fixed what I destroyed to help keep my cost down and save time waiting for the new part to come in.  Also, I've welded in the b-pillar post cover that I also had to re-work.  Hey!  I'm learning the hard way, but it is learning indeed.   I still have a question posted on a forum on how to handle the tab down on the bottom left.I believe it has to be bent over and weld closed. If I don't get a response, I'll take a look at the other side

Here is the outer rocker mating up to the B-pillar post that I fabricated. I'll have to grind down some of the arch, as it doesn't allow for my tack-weld holes to line up.  These wholes were made with a flange tool. The reverse side allows you to punch holes into sheet metal like paper. It works with a compressor. Please see the photo at the very end.

Along the top side panel, I'll have to grind down some of the ridges that doesn't allow the outer rocker to mate evenly to the bottom. This doesn't allow the weld holes punched in the bottom to mate to the inner rocker.  This will be fixed on my next visit to the garage.

Here is how the side rocker panel looks when mated up. As you can see, this will look pretty good once welded in. This will start next weekend.  I got an immunization shot on Saturday that made me feel pretty sick, so I had to stop.