Rust Repair Part 26: Welding in the Driver 2x6 Rocker

It’s taken much longer than anticipated but with the outer quarter panel welded in I was finally ready to install the 2x6 rocker. Back in May of 2024 I did most of the prep work so all I really had to do now was the final steps of welding in the 2x6.

I even had the 2x6 ready to go since I built it in advance. I honestly don’t remember when I prepped the 2x6 but I think it’s been laying around the shop for over a year now.

I tried to match the angles of the ends to the flares.

And to avoid water from pooling up on the top side I planned on aiming for a 3.5 - 4* downwards slope.

With the test fit looking good I started prepping the 2x6 for welding my custom upper bracket to it. The upper bracket is nothing fancy because it’s just 1/8" thick angle that I drilled a ton of holes in for plug welds.

Then the OE outer rocker was prepped for welding.

Final test fit of the 2x6 and upper bracket. The goal was to position the upper bracket to the 2x6 and tack it in place and then remove it for proper welding.

But when I tried to slide it out the back I ran into an issue. I couldn’t remove the 2x6 because it was hitting the back of the quarter panel lol.

This wasn’t a problem on the passenger side because I did things in a different order and the quarter panel wasn’t welded on yet when I slid the 2x6 in/out. As a plan B I decided to make a cut in the bottom of the A pillar so I could slide it out the front. (The hole was properly patched later on)

Upper bracket welded.

Welds grinded.

Then I slid the rocker back in and once it was positioned just right I went ahead and welded it to the chassis.

Can’t forget the underside.

Each and every weld was then grinded.

Just like that the XJ has an almost complete driver side again!