[Dan in Pasadena]

I'm sitting poolside on the last day of my vacation for the year and with the clarity I only seem to get when I DON'T have the office and others distractions to think about I was thinking about the sequence of rebuilding my truck.

I've been thinking right along I need to get on the frame and start installing the IFS, C notch the rear, etc. But on reconsideration I realize the bodyshop will shortly be done to the primer level on my cab, so he'll be asking for either my doors or my bed. I need to strip the windows and mechanisms from the doors and also finish patching the speaker holes I started literally years ago and never finished! Otherwise he'll have to do it and that'll cost $$$.

Then the bed. I plan to pull the fenders off but I'm questioning if I should totally disassemble the bed? If I don't and have it blasted the edges where sides and front/rear panels come together never get cleaned - BAD.
If I leave it assembled I won't have to worry about reassembly scratches and out-of-square conditions either - GOOD, but I also want polished stainless fasteners holding it together, not painted bolts/nuts. So I guess that all adds up to blowing it apart and "while I'm at it" welding shut the holes the original owner put in to bolt on a shell and repairing one rust-through spot in the front panel bed roll. I still haven't decided whether I'm welding shut the side panel bed rolls. It seems like a "standard" thing for most of you but eh...I don't know. Opinions welcomed.