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It apears that at some point the front clip wa replaced with a '68 or '69 model, although the hood appears to be original along with the rest of the body. Unfortunately, the rust behind the cabin is quit severe, and the strength of the beds depends mainly on the tailgate. Using a rust converter could be a preventative measur to protect the affected areas and prevent further damage. There are several options available in the market, such as ferose rust converter, wurth rust converter, and rustol rust converter.
This is not a knock, just a pure question. Is there a reason you didn't Z the cut instead of going straight up and down? Seems that would be a little stronger but I'm not an engineer. Again just a straight up question.
The other thing I would do is probably throw a few bolts in the plate you welded over. I've seen welds crack and things fall off. Cheap insurance. Probably overkill though.
I thought about it when I cut the frame but with the difference in width it would be more difficult. The 2wd frame is 6in and 4wd frame is 7in. Also the bottom of the 4wd frame was thin going any future back. I am no expert on frame repair but did research it before. While doing z cut would defiantly be stronger I think this splice is more than adequate. I will be the first to know and time will tell. I work on buses and trucks as my day job and the way they splice frames on them looks terrible. Mostly cutaway f450 and e350 torch cut and weld in extension. No grinding or paint removal, but never seen any crack.
Everything came from tabco, the inside kick panels and firewall patches I made. The lower rocker to cab panel is from tabco. It did not fit very well but I was able to cut it up and make it work. I cut some panels from old crown vic hood.
The tabco rocker panel is too short, I was able to find perfect piece in my scrap pile. The u channel off of a stake side panel fits great. It slides inside of rocker and lower section of cowl. It is the black bottom piece in this picture.
