Good eye on that gap, there was an old repair in that spot and the weld snapped really easily, and yes, absolutely plan to weld it.
I'm trying to convince myself to learn tig welding and this panel may become my playground. In addition to that gap there are about 6 holes that need filling and I'll likely seal up the stake pockets and rolled edges to give the whole bed a cleaner, subtle look.
This is all taking longer than it should, but with my son working along side me, wrenching, sanding, hammering, and painting, I'm ok with this taking as long as it needs to.
Couple examples, there are a couple runs in the primer we need to sand out, but he learned his lesson about pausing the spray gun.
We had to do two rounds of filler skim coat because there were a couple low spots and the edges were not feathered good enough. Reworks take time... and he has rolled his eyes at me more than once..lol
