I never really cared for how the stock running boards interfaced with the lower cab and bed. I always felt that the top edge of the boards were way too low, leaving too a large gap that was filled in with a rubber filler. Since I have cut this truck up so much then maybe I could address this area by doing a little more metallic surgery. The interface with the rear fender also needed a little tweaking so I decided to fix it.
After taking several measurements along the running board it looked like raising or extending the boards by about 1” would leave a gap of 3/8 to a half an inch between the cab and boards. So I cut a 1 inch strip of new metal the length of the board and then split the board along a straight line. I also had to split the rear of the board vertically so I could kick the mounting surface back a little to match the rear fender. Earlier I had to fab the lower fwd portion of the fender so it may not be 100% to the stock contour but the easier route was to mod the running boards to match. I will also need to go back and massage the left rear fender a bit to clean up some gas on it but that will done later.
Once the strip was tacked into place then the slow process of filling in between the tacks was the next step, being careful not to overheat the running board and warping it. It was about 10 linear feet of welding per board and patience is not one of my strong suits but I was able to weld a bit and work on a few other things between welds to keep the heat down. Then I had to grind down the welds while keeping the heat down. I finished one board on Saturday and primed it and tack welded the other one. I'll have to finish the welding on it another day.
Last edited by Phak1; 10/25/202412:06 PM. Reason: Typo
1949 Chevy Panel Truck A Project Journal I'm old but I make up for it by being immature.
