The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Panels 'N Burbs Where to start?

I'm a new member here. I've owned a lot of AD pickups in the past. Several years ago I picked up a one owner 53 Chevy suburban from a junk hauler who cleaned out a farm. It only has 74K miles and original paint, heater and radio. Of course it's missing the 3rd seat. The burb drives ok but needs a clutch overhaul and installation of a refurbished gas tank. I bought all the replacement sheet metal for the front as well as new metal for the rear wheel areas.
My question is this: What would be the best sequence for replacing front floorboards and lower cowl sections? My passenger door really needs to be lifted in order to be shut. So do I do the floor first then the cowl or visa versa? I'm not going to take the body off the frame as I just want a nice-looking, mostly original driver.

Tony,
Lots of folks have looked at your post but I will gladly take a few moments to offer some pointers.
Where to start? You will need a place to disassemble the doors,heater and such.
Get some ziplock bags,a sharpe ,and a camera.
Take notes, ask questions. Get a good angle grinder and wire wheel. Clean up and remove all the bad areas. If you have some welding skills and can make a pattern from cardboard to replace the rotten stuff. You can't hurt anything,just go slow and brace up anything that will settle.Get a gallon of rust cutter from tractor supply and coat everything.

I'm sure everyone has a different opinion on this.

My thought is first make sure you like the alignment of the door and window openings, then weld in some crossbars to hold everything in place while you remove other structure.

That way it may not matter the order and you can feel confident the doors and windows will fit when you are done.

Steve describes how we did the extensive floor board, toe board, and lower cowls on my Suburban. Also, the fellow who did my metal work would not touch it unless I left the cab on the frame (so he'd be sure it would fit right).

Floorboard, toeboard, inner cowl, outer cowl (rockers).

Tim

I think it is best to get the floor and main floor braces done first, and then the outer/inner cowl work done second. Worked well for me so far.

Sully,
Thanks for your reply. I will try to make a trip to Tractor Supply this weekend. I hope to be able to actually start in a few weeks.
Tony

OldSub,
Hey Thanks for getting back to me. I will have to work on the alignment big-time but I like the idea of welding in some braces to secure it.
Tony

Tim,
Thanks for your reply. I will definitely leave the body on to do this work. Mine is good enough to leave it that original with those repairs.
Tony

Phillip,
Thanks for the suggestion. It makes sense to have a good foundation to build on.
Tony