Rocker Panel Replacement

[jwag]

I need to replace the passenger side rocker in my Ranch Wagon. It would be appreciated if I could get any insight as to what kind of cutting tool works best to cut out the old one. I have a couple of parts cars to practice on. Any good advice or tips would also be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jwag

[Lou]

Usually if the outer rocker is bad the inner is not far behind. I would suggest you talk to 2 or 3 body shops and get a price for them to do the work. The price might not be that much  if you have useable parts cars. To be clear, yes it's a job you can do yourself, but first find out if it's worth your time to do it.

[RICH MUISE]

best inexpensive tool is the old faithful air cutoff tool with a 3" disc.
Rockers can be a no problem or a pain in the butt depending on how much of the old rocker needs to be replaced, and the quality of the replacement rocker. If I remember correctly the leading edge of the rocker is sandwiched between 2 other panels forming the forward "door post" (I don't know what it is called). On my car one side had the old leading edge in really good shape so I carefully cut the old rocker off leaving about 1/2" of the old material in place at the outwardly visable leading edge and trimmed the new one to butt up against it. The other side had the old rocker too badly rusted to do the same so I had to spend all kinds of time carefully removing the spotwelds to seperate the three panels alowing me to pull out the sandwiched rocker.
One thing in particular to check on your new panel is that it is formed correctly with enough depth to meet the inner rocker where it is suppose to. If they are not, and you don't correct it you will not get the rocker positioned correctly.
You can either use a spot weld removal tool to drill out the old spotwelds (body supply shops...10 bucks or so) or you can carefully grind away the top layer of sheetmetal with the cutoff tool until the metal is thin enough to pop with a chisel. spot welds will be along the top edge of the rocker where it sits over the inner rocker, and along the bottom of the rocker  where it is also spot welded to the inner rocker.
Lou, you beat my reply by 25 seconds...I'm getting slow in my old age....Rich

[RICH MUISE]

had this all typed out and lost my internet connection trying to post...one more time...
You may want to consider Lou's advise rather than mine, because, as Lou said outer rockers usually lead to inner rockers and that usually leads to floor supports, or at least floor support ends. unless your car has had prior work done on it, or it is unusually preserved, you are probably looking at the tip of the iceberg. I would suggest getting under the car with a screwdriver or like tool and prod around the areas where the floor supports are welded to the inner rockers. The design of thefloor support caused moisture to be trapped at the ends leading to rotting of both components.
What kind of shape are your floorboards?

[jwag]

I guess I should have clarified that this is not a rust issue. Somewhere in its history it brushed up against something and pushed the rocker in on the passenger side. The first 2 feet of it are fine as are the last 4 or 5 inches. The remaining 2 feet (approx) has been bent in about 1 inch. I have a NOS rocker ready to cut to size and weld in.  I had an estimate to do it for $250 and that seems steep to me.

[JPotter57]

I'd pay somebody $250 to do it if they did it right, and coated the inside with coldgal or some kind of weld-through coating to keep it from rusting.  $250 is a bargain compared to here, these gomers would want 6-800 for it...scalpers....

[RICH MUISE]

well that's a much simpler problem. Given no rust, I wouldn't replace the entire rocker if it were mine. I'd go a little beyond the damaged area and cut out a patch panel from your new rocker, trace it onto the old rocker and cut out the old rocker. When you cut the old rocker, don't try to go to finish size right off, stay small and grind your way to finish size, leaving a small gap between the patch and old rocker all around (.020 or so).

[jwag]

Thanks for the advice. I still have not decided if I will do it myself or not. I guess the answer will come as I cut out a part if the panel on one of my parts cars and see how difficult it really will be. I have a tendency to overestimate the difficulty and underestimate the time involved.  I am itching to paint the car all of the sudden and need to get that panel fixed before I do.