Body / Glass: 1952 K2 converted to a Convertible (Tacoma)

[GlBoyd]

Hi I posted this in another thread but I am wondering if there is anyone in the Tacoma area that has done this before and could take a look and give me some guidance. I also have to replace my rocker panels and floor boards

Earlier post;
Well I spent sometime this last week end planning to coat the bottom area that I was not going to replace with POR 15 but as I cleaned the hog troughs, low and behold I found them full of rust and some holes.
1. I do not want to take the body off
2. I am building a hot rod not restoring (first guy made it a convertible)
3. With the above said do I need to make the hog troughs original
4. Can I modify them and make them functional from the top and bottom( cutting the top and bottom panels off and welding a stronger u shaped pieces in place and then covering with the new floor panels.
Has anyone done this???

[dean pearson]

Sorry Dude but to do pretty much anything to those hog troughs correctly you will have to remove the body. Even patching small holes would be near impossible.
My 52 is off the frame on a stand and still as thin as that sheet metal is it is a challenge to weld with mig.

Dean.

[Michidan]

Sorry to hear the torque boxes are not as good as originally thought. Like Dean I had the body off to do the job.
I am quite sure that if i was starting over today, i would still take the body off. But I do not think I would repair the troughs. I would remove them, and try something new. Some sort of cleaner approach to bracing the outer rocker structure to the floor. The problem is that whatever struts or braces you engineer is only as good as your best guess. I don't know how you will know for sure that they will reinforce the body as good or better as studebaker intended.

Leaving the body on the frame might be possible, and would at least help stabilze the body while you work on it. I might try this...might.
a. weld a brace across the door opening
b. remove troughs, rocker, and damaged floor.
c. Add in a rectangular channel that will be the back side of the rockers, something fairly stout
d. Fix floor panels with classic ent. floor pans
e. install new rockers, also from classic
d. build some braces from back of rockers to floor

Just an opinion, take it for what it's worth which is not much.

[StudeRich]

I am sure there are several people as you already found here that have rebuilt or replaced Hog Troughs on Hardtops and Convertibles, but I am sorry to say that you're asking for someone in the Tacoma Area that has converted a '52 Hardtop to a Convertible to help is highly unlikely, I would be surprised if there is ANYONE anywhere in the World who has done this, if so very, very few.
Sorry, but this a quite rare, one-off model and a very unusual modification.

[GlBoyd]

I am sure there are several people as you already found here that have rebuilt or replaced Hog Troughs on Hardtops and Convertibles, but I am sorry to say that you're asking for someone in the Tacoma Area that has converted a '52 Hardtop to a Convertible to help is highly unlikely, I would be surprised if there is ANYONE anywhere in the World who has done this, if so very, very few.
Sorry, but this a quite rare, one-off model and a very unusual modification.

[StudeRich]

OK cool, I got ya. I do have to wonder if someone in the Tacoma Chapter that deals a lot with pre '53 Cars like Walt Thompson (not on the Forum) or others could help. It would be easier if you were a Member and go to their meetings and talk to them.

I am in the Whatcom County Chapter, TWO Chapters away from them, but I do see most of them once or twice a year. You could PM me for Walt's phone number.

[GlBoyd]

It appears to me that the hog trough mounts the body direct to the frame or am I missing something.
if that is the case a heavier gaged channel could replace the lighter gaged sheet metal and not
need the detail that I think is their for strengh and lower cost production. any thoughts

[Michidan]

A few body mounts outside of the frame have a longer screw that passes through the troughs. The car has many other body mounts not in this area. Some screw into the top of the frame rail.
(The frame picture in the 51/52 shop manual notes all the mounts, but as I recall the hardtop has 2 more not even in the picture.)
Whatever plan you come up with for reinforcing this area, you should incorporate these couple bolts into the plan. At the very least a spacer around the bolt between frame and floor panel.

[jimmijim8]

I never tried re-engineering the body. I figured the original unrusted or restored back to factory specs is fine by me. Why try to reinvent a wheel. Besides, if you ever decide to sell, your handi work may not be appreciated. I once saw a bed frame that substituted for a hog trough. cheers jimmijim

[sweetolbob]

I totally agree but I don't need help on the conversion I wanted to know if anyone had modified the hog troughs on a two door without removing from the frame. I am thinking that if the body is properly jigged up and supported one could remove the hog troughs and insert a heavier build u shape tube, weld it in place then add the rocker panels and I think it would be much stronger than the light gauged hog troughs. Then I would, as was suggested install the new floor panels. One thing I am wondering is if i should encompass the new body mounts that classic enterprises sells and build the new troughs around them. This would not have anything to do with the conversion and that’s why I was wondering if anyone in the Tacoma area has done this.

I fabricated the hog troughs for my 54K from sheet metal but did not reproduce the originals exactly. When I looked at the remnants of mine, I could see that they were more than just a box. They were attached the complete length of the rocker panels and also attached to the floor panels in three separate lengths.

My point is that the troughs are a designed box structure with several attachment points to give greater strength and resist flex. So I reproduced the approximate dimensions to not lose the designed strength.

My recommendation would be to adhere somewhat to the original dimensions and attachments as opposed to just trying to build a stopgap of heavier material with a much smaller cross section.

JMHO

Bob

[kurtruk]

Wasn't some one on here doing some CAD work to come up with a plan to rebuild his? A search here should find it.

[GlBoyd]

Well guys I haved put a lot of thought and research on a reasonable way to replace my hog troughs
and I think I have struck gold. I am in construction and a project I am on is using 16 guage metal studs
of various widths.
My plan in to use the closest width metal stud and face them together and then plate
the top and bottom as need I will able to change the width as need and off set. I plan on leaving the body on the frame and brace it so it will stay in place. then I can sawsall the old trough out and insert my new one. I have questions yet and I have sent for frame plans for attachment points and I will take picture as I remove the old. This will me much stronger than the orginal as the studs are a c design with the inner lip turned in. when I am done from the bottom it will look close to orgianal but at a fraction of the work and I am intalling new floor pans from Classic enterprises. I wish I had demensions it would help alot.
SO what do you think and Thank you