I noticed cracks in the dashboard right above the steering column-cutout.
We will need to weld this and clean it all up again, but my question is, how did it come about?
Is it fatigue from time-stress or something indicating an accident?
My cab was also in bad shape there, due to the fact that the floor and front cab supports had collapsed from rust. That put a bunch of stress on that area from the steering column which is rigidly attached to the frame. I didn't have as many cracks in the dashboard itself though.
The sheet metal support running from the firewall was badly cracked as well. That component changed from a stamping to separate rods in later trucks. Here's a pic of the end of that support where the steering column clamp bolts in during repair. Also a picture of the cab support that was installed to shore things up.
