The worst rust on this truck, besides the stuff I cleaned up on the roof, was in the passenger footwell. As a result of the same leaks that doomed the cowl and heater box, water got in and sat on the metal under the passenger’s floormat, collecting mainly at the diagonal seam from the tunnel. At some point the PO had fixed the same issue on the driver’s side by hacking a hole out of the floor and welding a crude patch over top, then covering it with some kind of bizarre rubberized material.
Knowing my gas tank was mostly empty, and because it’s only hooked up to the gas feed, I figured this was the best time to attack the rust. I jacked up the passenger side of the truck at three points on the frame and secured it with jackstands. The tank is held in place by a pair of clever straps that secure to two captive bolts on the underside of the body, and one came free easily, while the other captive bolt broke off from its weld. After I cut that loose and disconnected the hoses up front, the tank dropped out easily. I was surprised to find an access hole directly above the sender unit, which should be very helpful down the road. I was shocked to find I’d dropped the tank in under an hour.
I pulled the tank aside and looked over the floor situation. Starting with the area at the front, I cut out the rust that looked the worst, making a rough rectangle with a triangle-shaped section following the seam at the upper left. The body mount and frame mount underneath both looked like they were in great shape, and the metal underneath everything was in factory-fresh condition. I hated to cut a lot of it out, but I wanted to get as much good stuff in there as possible.
When I’d squared off and cleaned up the edges, I cut some cardboard out and carefully made a template to work from. This took some time, because the open area was deceivingly complex in shape.
When I had that sorted, I pulled a sheet of 18 ga. metal from my stash and cut the pattern out. With a bunch of trimming and fitting, I had it ready to go in by about 4PM. Being careful to take my time, I tacked the edges in slowly using butt welds. The section along the rocker got welded from the underside where the good metal was; I didn’t want to cut the raised section out because I can’t replicate that, so I’m taking a chance and keeping it. All of this is going to be treated as heavily as possible with rust encapsulator/undercoating, so I’m hoping I can halt any new rust from forming in the future.
By 5PM it was getting dark so I shut things down after a preliminary sweep with the flap disc. I’m kind of shocked at how much I was able to get done in one day’s time; the process went really smoothly and I’m a lot more confident in my basic fabrication skills, as well as welding.
The other quick thing I tackled was to weld a second set of tabs in on the seat lockbox so that I can drill holes and mount that in permanently. I’m going to clean up the chipped rattle-can paint and hit it with the clear coat just to protect it a little better, but I’d like to finish that up in preparation for the seats later this winter.
One thing I need to upgrade is my safety glass situation. Running the cutting wheel early in the day with my safety glasses on, I got a couple small pieces of debris in my right eye for the second week in a row. After fishing that stuff out I found a pair of old goggles and wore those for the rest of the day, but there’s got to be a better solution. If I’m going to be grinding this much I need a full-coverage set of prescription goggles.
The other thing that was nice was that my $1 yard sale iPod Nano has a built-in radio receiver, which meant I was able to listen to the Ravens game wearing goggles, ear protection, a dust mask, and my glasses on.
William J. Miller says:
Greetings Bill,
I have been following the work you have been doing on your 64 Travelall with great interest. You are correcting the same issues I hope to address with my 68 Travelette.
Thank you for sharing your efforts as it most appreciated and helps me to better understand what I am getting into as well as the tips you include with your posts.
Your videos as well as posts are no less than exceptional, I hope to be able to reach out for guidance when I start working on my Travelette this spring. It is currently at the Binder Boneyard, after many years of neglect Dan Hayes is making her roadworthy. I’m a disabled veteran able to perform some tasks but limited in my ability when it comes to the drive train. He has had the engine rebuilt and since I have mobility issues I asked him to convert her from a manual transmission to an automatic while keeping it as close to period as possible. He will also be replacing both fuel tanks with new aluminum versions, installing power steering installing a booster for the brakes and replacing all brake lines. The diffs will be flushed out and inspected as well as all brakes inspected. Dan has a very good reputation so I feel fortunate he took an interest in my rig. Once I get her home I’ll start on the metal work on the body as well as the other incidentals. I’ve already arranged to have the seats reupholstered with new foam provided so the closer we get to spring the more I’ll be chewing at the bitt to taker her for a spin and see what I can do to restore her to as close to period as I’m capable of. Your posts and video’s will be an essential part of this endeavor.
bill says:
Hello William!
Welcome to the comments section. I’m glad you find the posts and videos helpful; most days I’m not really sure who I’m doing them for—me to remember what I did (and how I did it) or for the rest of the world to learn from my mistakes.
Your truck is definitely in great hands with Dan; I’ve met him several times and he’s the real deal. You’re lucky he’s close enough to work with—my options here on the East Coast are pretty few and far between. I hear you on the drivetrain stuff; I’m good enough to get engines running but transmissions and the really heavy stuff is outside my current skillset, especially in the driveway.
Keep me up to date on the progress and send me a picture!
Are you on the Binder Planet?
William J. Miller says:
Greetings Bill,
Great to see your reply to my comments. Regarding mistakes, I haven’t seen any but I’ve learned a bunch! I”m particularly interested in how you renovated your cab heater. I found one of the arctic heaters (three core) in very good condition with all controls and cables. I’ll be digging it out after my back surgery in November and looking forward to following in your footsteps. You did a fantastic job on yours…most impressive. I gave myself an ego boost the other day after disassembling and reassembling one of my Dewalt impact drills…the trigger stopped working and it would not depress, even with a good deal of pull. I was on the brink of tossing it but decided to see what the problem was and as fate would have it the fix was a simple one. Now I’m patting myself on the back convinced myself I’m a fair (novice) DIY’er…just enough knowledge to be dangerous…lol.
I have a few pictures of the ole gal and would like to share but unsure of how to send a picture in this forum. I am on the Binder site but not as active as I should be.
W. J. “Butch” Miller
William J. Miller says:
RE: 1968 International Harvester Travelette, 1200, 4×4
Okay, just posted a few pictures on the Binder Planet site. These were taken after being loaded on a trailer for transport to the Binder Boneyard and after arrival. I obviously need to visit the BP site more often and hope to contribute in the future.
bill says:
Butch,
Let me know if you’ve got questions on the heater box. This is actually the second one I’ve rebuilt—the first was a spare for my Scout that I redid last winter.
The arctic heaters are very cool! I’ve got one from the green truck I parted out, but it’s in very rough shape from sitting under a leaking cowl vent for 10+ years. At some point in the winter I’m going to tear it down to see what’s inside, if I can get past the rusty bolts.
And I’ll keep an eye out on BP for your pictures—what subform did you post them in?
William J. Miller says:
https://www.binderplanet.com/forums/index.php?media/users/wmillerwjm.97857/
Don’t know if that will work…
William J. Miller says:
Maybe this one?
https://www.binderplanet.com/forums/index.php?media/categories/member-rigs.4/
bill says:
BEAUTIFUL, Butch. I’m super jealous of that rig. That looks perfect just the way it sits. Beyond the automatic and other stuff Dan is working on, what parts of the body need to be fixed? (please don’t paint it if you can help it!)
William J. Miller says:
Greetings Bill,
Thank you for the kind words. She has the typical IH issues, cowl and front floor pans.
Sorry to disappoint but yeah, I’m looking at pulling dents and fresh coat of Metro White to give her a face lift. The rust will eventually take over and I’m not a fan of chasing it.
This will be a working rig and weekend driver so I’m looking forward to getting her out on the road.