[dagnabbitt]

It is easy to feel, sometimes, like you are not making any progress on your project. But occasionally I feel like I am going backwards. This happened when I was surveying the cab corners and coming to the realization that the box was going to have to come off: when it seemed like I just put it on yesterday.

Instead, I removed the bumper - I don't like it, it has been tweaked at some point and I want a nicer one - along with the rear wheels. I put the truck on jackstands and removed the bed bolts, then slid the box back 6-8 inches. At that point I taped off what I wanted to remove from the cab corners and cut them out. The corners might have suffered some erosion over the years, but they surprised me by how flimsy the metal was. I think my patch panels are actually a thicker gauge.

Underneath the cab, the supports are in bad shape. I have the right front one in place - just in place, not affixed in any way - and I am working on getting the right rear one in. Surprisingly (to me) it is not very long and unlike the front one it does not incorporate the cab mount in its design. But the makers must be aware that the rear cab mounts seldom rust, so this one I just have to french into the area where I cut the old one off. What it does have is the housing where the seatbelts bolts in, and an unwelcome surprise was that it will not accept the original bolt. So I have to take the new support in to my nut and bolt place and get a couple that fit.

Although 95% of the supports are rusted away, the other 5% does not want to go. They are a real pain to remove, and I can understand why some people opt for the slip over design support. I scoffed at the idea of using a slip on but it might have been best in my application. There would be basically no harm in it if you removed as much of the rotten material as possible.

I only get a day a week to work on this so it is going slow, but it keeps me interested.