Fixing aluminum F-150?

C

CK-2

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I want to start by saying I am not a professional body man by any means. I have fixed a few wrecks that had minor issues, but have been looking at buying a newer wrecked F150 to build for myself.
The problem is I have zero experience working with aluminum whether it be the body work or painting it.
My question is what’s the process of replacing panels like cab corners etc that are normally welded in on steel trucks, tig? Also working out dents?
 
The paint work is no problem compared to the procedures that have to be done to correctly fix an AL F150. If you have no experience or the specialized tools required then it's not a great idea to get one. Much of the vehicle is riveted together. Sounds easy enough but these are special self piercing rivets that require a special tool to install them. The recommended tool costs $8K or more. The budget tool doesn't work great and is extremely slow. You need specialized welding eqiupment to do other parts of the job. Complete panel replacement is the only method approved for replacing any structural damage on the cab. We did one were there was damage on the door hinge pillar area and I had to take half the cab apart to properly fix it. Many shops like Crash's refuse to work on these trucks due to the time it takes to correctly fix one, the amount of tooling and investment required, and the lack of training to do the job correctly. The wrecked trucks are "cheap" to buy due to all of these factors. I would love to do one of them for myself as well but they are a hard pass for me due to the reasons listed above.
 
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Even trying to fix dents is frustrating due to the grade of AL used. Heat treated 6000 series IIRC. Very tough stuff and not intended to be workable with the exception of very shallow, light dents. Anything creased it's replacement time.
 
Well I’ve cooled on the f150 search due to all the advice given on here. But now I’ve seen this. I know it’s hard to tell from the pics, but what do yall think? Bags not blown.
 

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Air bags not going off doesn't really tell that much. I've seen some very hard hits that the bags don't go off, and light hits where they do.

Just looking at it from the pics and making a quick judgment call I will say it's got frame damage. Probably quite a bit of diamond and the frame is in tension of some sort now. Notice how in the last pic the rear wheel is close to the front of the wheel well and the ass end is kicked up? Notice too in the front how the damage on the fender starts low and the compression goes more up than back? I would bet it it hit something like going off road and hitting a berm and stopping. Whole truck is in a twist of sorts. Ford uses a lot of HSLA in the frame so that means you can't really pull them. There is also a significant mix of different steels on the frame so some of it may be repairable and some may not. Barring having the ford supplied repair manuals you are just guessing. Prime indication though of HSLA is when trying to pull it on the frame machine and it won't move at the damaged area. Once they move due to crash damage, HSLA frames work harden and take a set. You may get some of it out but usually you can't get all of it out. I suspect that truck has significant frame damage. If you use heat to help move it you weaken it.

And same things said above apply to the front inner structure behind that fender. I can guarantee it's more than just the fender.Only way to tell is to thoroughly inspect it. Any frame damage on an HSLA frame would make it a no go IMO.
 
Chris_Hamilton said:
Air bags not going off doesn't really tell that much. I've seen some very hard hits that the bags don't go off, and light hits where they do.

Just looking at it from the pics and making a quick judgment call I will say it's got frame damage. Probably quite a bit of diamond and the frame is in tension of some sort now. Notice how in the last pic the rear wheel is close to the front of the wheel well and the ass end is kicked up? Notice too in the front how the damage on the fender starts low and the compression goes more up than back? I would bet it it hit something like going off road and hitting a berm and stopping. Whole truck is in a twist of sorts. Ford uses a lot of HSLA in the frame so that means you can't really pull them. There is also a significant mix of different steels on the frame so some of it may be repairable and some may not. Barring having the ford supplied repair manuals you are just guessing. Prime indication though of HSLA is when trying to pull it on the frame machine and it won't move at the damaged area. Once they move due to crash damage, HSLA frames work harden and take a set. You may get some of it out but usually you can't get all of it out. I suspect that truck has significant frame damage. If you use heat to help move it you weaken it.

And same things said above apply to the front inner structure behind that fender. I can guarantee it's more than just the fender.Only way to tell is to thoroughly inspect it. Any frame damage on an HSLA frame would make it a no go IMO.
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I called and talked to them today. You’re pretty much spot on I’d say. The guy told me the passengers side doors don’t close right. So the whole truck is “tweaked”. I’m out on it.
 
The windshield appears to be cracked on the right side, not left, too and that is a solid sign the whole cab is twisted. Chris is correct in thinking it hit something hard and immovable. There is a reason so many of the aluminum fords end up getting totaled, even with light hits. It's too expensive to repair to industry standards.
 
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