Willys pickup cab braces

[colojeepguy]

Working on the interior of the Willys pickup, it has 3 braces on the back of the cab which give some structure and support to the rear sheetmetal. You can see heavy surface rust where these braces were, and at the bottom they've rusted through.
The braces have this stuff inside them...it's some kind of particle board (did they have that in 1949?) or cork or something. What can we use inside these channels in lieu of the wood, that won't hold moisture?

 

[Howard Eisenhauer]

The braces have this stuff inside them...it's some kind of particle board (did they have that in 1949?) or cork or something

Wallboard/fiberboard. When my parent built the house in the late 40's that's about all that was available on the market. It's still there, V grooves & all.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/t-d/pubs/htmlpubs/htm07732308/index.htm

I used epoxy coated hardwood to reinforce the hat channels on Tonk.

 

[PeteL]

Wallboard/fiberboard.

"BeaverBoard." Squirrels love it.

Maybe Zip-System board would be a moisture resistant near-equivalent. But I've never personally touched the stuff.

 

[colojeepguy]

I was thinking about a thick chunk of rubber, but I'm not sure what I could use.

 

[FinoCJ]

I was thinking about a thick chunk of rubber, but I'm not sure what I could use.

poly bushing type material - not sure where you can get bulk that you can cut to fit. Body mount bushings trimmed to fit? Why not just reinforce with metal piece welded in?

 

[colojeepguy]

Why not just reinforce with metal piece welded in?

It's different from hat channel under the floor. The braces bolt in, and those wood pieces are slightly thicker than the metal braces.The wood presses up against the sheetmetal on the back of the cab to prevent oil canning. Pretty hokey willys engineering! I think metal spacers would introduce the possibility of horrendous rattling unless they were welded in, which would be tough to do without distorting the sheetmetal.

 

[PeteL]

It's different from hat channel under the floor. The braces bolt in, and those wood pieces are slightly thicker than the metal braces.The wood presses up against the sheetmetal on the back of the cab to prevent oil canning. Pretty hokey willys engineering! I think metal spacers would introduce the possibility of horrendous rattling unless they were welded in, which would be tough to do without distorting the sheetmetal.

Agreed. For sound deadening. How about squashing a length of heavy rubber tube into each cavity?

 

[timgr]

I would build up layers of foamcore to the thickness I needed.
3M Super 77.