[robertw]

I recently bought a 1994.5 Crewcab dually Centurion Conversion. It has stainless grab rails with marker lights installed behind each door. I want to remove both the grab rails and the marker lights. I was quoted $900.00 by a body shop to remove them, weld up the holes and repaint the area. That is a lot of money. I am considering just using bondo and touch up paint in an attemp to do this cheaper but I am worried about the outcome as the truck is in immaculate condion with only 72K miles on it. Has anyone removed grab rails and or marker lights from their truck? How did you do it and what was the outcome like from a cosmetic standpoint?

 

[Soaggydogg]

I had a racerback on my truck and recently had it removed. I had the holes welded and then painted the whole cab. Ya get what ya pay for if the truck is that nice I wouldn't use bondo.

 

[robertw]

Thanks Ben, you're probably right. I probably could not make it look right using bondo and touch up. looking to put a leather interior in the truck and just trying to make the budget work with all of the planned mods and additions.

 

[unowhoseattle]

I have used JB Weld to fill holes many times & painted over it with no problems. Never had it crack or fail & it doesn't damage surrounding paint or warp the panels. Just dimple the hole slightly & tape over the back if accessable.

 

[ThreeStarJR]

72,000 miles!! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/eek.gif congradulations, you just about gotcha a virgin /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif Oh, and welcome to the TDS. I'm gonna send you a private message, if you got what I think you do, I'm about to put a real big grin on your face..... /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif look for the flashing pm logo and click on it.....

 

[PetePete]

I have a 97 Centurion that I got 2 years ago, I removed the exterior windshield visor and had to deal with the holes on the roof and side posts. I fould a body shop to do the weld, paint, and clear coat for $350, can't even tell where it was fixed. Others quoted twice as much, So I suggest you check around for better prices.

I would like to get rid of the Centurion wheels fender flares, though I do not mind the grab bars. I am getting ready to cut off the Centurion flaps around the bottom of the seats that are dirty and look bad.

 

[Racer_X]

[ QUOTE ]
I have used JB Weld to fill holes many times & painted over it with no problems. Never had it crack or fail & it doesn't damage surrounding paint or warp the panels. Just dimple the hole slightly & tape over the back if accessable.

[/ QUOTE ]

I need to do the same repair as pete pete. Both front and back fiberglass was on on mine. Is your JB weld on the hood or roof? Concerned about heat and expansion/contraction up there. The other option is lead. I have fiddled with it before. It works great, but you must neutralize the acid after tinning or rust will form under paint. Without access to the back of the repair to repaint etc. there will be some rust with weld or lead.

 

[unowhoseattle]

I first saw JB Weld used on a 67 Chevelle that my boss was having restored. They were taking all the trim & emblems off it. They put an expensive paint job over it & it was undetectable when done. The shop that did it does high end work. It appears JB Weld must have similar expansion characteristics to the metal. I tried it myself on a 71 GTO & you can't see the repair. Part of the repair was filling holes in a trunk lid when I removed the spoiler. They were like 5/16" holes.
It even hid the inside holes since they go through the deck lid stiffeners also & I could hide the thickness of the repair. It worked awesome inside & out. I would never weld another hole it a body panel unless it was structural or I wanted to show the back side.

 

[Racer_X]

5/16 some big holes for a filler type stuff to hold under vibration. Maybe it's the bonding strength to both sides of the metal. Heard it used here to fix fuel filter housings. Plenty of vibration sitting on top of a diesel /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif. Thumbs down on it being tough enough to tap threads into like metal.

 

[unowhoseattle]

I would agree that it wouldn't be my first choice if I was drilling & tapping or fixing a pitman arm. It's some amazing stuff though. I was once 4-wheeling out on the Naches trail by Mount Rainier & one of the guys had a 79-80 toyota with a 350/turbo350 in it. His front driveline was slightly too long & when he dropped off a log the driveline bottomed out & broke the transfer case in half. We were way off the pavement. We parked it & went back into town got a couple packages of JB weld & some brake cleaner & gear oil. We cleaned it up & glued it back together & camped for the night. We didn't even take it out of the truck. The next day we drove it out of the woods & back to Seattle with no problems. I've never seen it fail in any application. It's rated to 500F & has a tensile strength of 3960 Lbs. It's also microwave safe & non-toxic too /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/phoney.gif. No, I don't work for them, I just was looking at their web site. They actually list it for "body shop repairs". My concern with a big flat panel like a trunk lid is that welding it might cause warping that you couldn't hide with bondo.

 

[Racer_X]

Right, warp is a concern on the roof. There so thin a cat will dent them jumping down a couple feet from a loft. My repair will be #12 self tapping screw holes. They pull the sheet metal up tapping in. So you have to work it back down without causeing another dent to hide the repair/fill. Any heat like weld or lead burns the paint off the backside so rust can begin. In my case fire with a headliner in complicates it. It's either pull it all down or use the JB.

Cool, wish there was open space like that here.