The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Bracing

I am putting in replacement panels for the floor/toe kick and kick panel on the passenger side of my 53 3100. Will I need to weld in braces or is there enough structural strength in the remaining cab without them?

If you do not breach any of the door opening surround, which would include the rocker panel you can get away without any bracing.
If you need to replace the underfloor cab mounting bracket you might want to do your work with the cab mounted on the frame to get that mounting hole lined up with the frame fixing point. This could be a good start point.
As you rebuild the drivers side you can CHECK DIMENSIONS from the drivers side prior to welding.
The Factory Assembly Manual has cab quality checking dimensions but some are referenced off of a virtual centerline or points external of the cab making it hard to translate for your needs. Still a great reference manual though regarding assembly.
Search this site for a lot of advice on cowl rebuilding.
I am certain others will chime in to provide some good ideas based on their experience.
Good luck and work slowly, rechecking your work as you go.

Thank you.

An easy way to brace the cab front side to side is to bolt in a brace using the lower door hinge bolts. That would insure your cab stays in place. It would depend on how much of the floor and toe panel you need to replace whether you need to do that, but it's cheap insurance. As archburycontrol mentioned, the Factory Assembly Manual has dimensions of those bolt holes referenced to the center line, so you can check before you get started.

I used a piece of perforated angle that I had laying around, and it worked will for bracing that dimension. It was one of the first things I did before any welding took place.
Here's a couple of pics.