A quick update as we head out of the summer.... During the heat of the summer I did manage to get a few things done. I managed to get the driver side lower hinge rebuilt. A little less of an ordeal than the passenger side (I'm assuming that I learned something the first time through....) but still an ordeal. I'm just thankful that it is done. Also, I've done most of the fitting of the outer cowl and inner to outer cowl. As everyone already knows, the inner-to-outer cowl is a poorly made piece, regardless of source. Long story short, I have three of them. None fits straight out of the box, although the single stamped piece was closer than the welded up pieces. So that is the one that I'm going with, even though it will require modification to fit properly. That's where I'm at in the process, modifying the inner-to-outer cowl piece. The basic fitment is set, but the piece needs length added to it to reach the end of the outer cowl and actually seal the cab from the outside elements. That process isn't too hard, just tedious. One of the biggest concerns that I've had is getting to this point and stacking tolerances so that the emergency brake bracket wouldn't align with the holes stamped into the rocker panel and inner-to-outer cowl panel. Attached is a picture showing that all of the pieces do, in fact, still fit together! This is a huge relief for me! So, it seems like I am heading into the homestretch of repairing the front of the cab sheet metal. There is still a ton of welding left to do on those pieces, but I'm confident of the process left to complete. Game plan after completing the front sheet metal is to buy tires and install them on my new wheels, spin the truck around in the garage so the nose is pointed outward, install the engine, replace the cab corners, install the interior and (dare I say) drive it...? Anyway, I'm a ways off from driving it, but that's the 30,000 ft plan. As we head into the cooler weather, I hope to spend a lot more time in the garage, so hopefully I'll have more frequent updates.
