[tutone]

Ok, I told you this would be slow. Got rid of the nasty bed liner in the truck and found the wood all but gone, but the bottom lips and tubs are in great shape. should shorten nicely without a ton of repair work. Spent some time getting the bed off and checking out my frame. I am going to use the frame stiffeners from Early Classic Industries for this job. As you see in the pic, my soapstone mark is in the center of the rear cab mount and 12 1/8 " behind that. This way the cab can be jacked up out of the way and supported while I loosen and remove the rear cross member. After it is moved forward and secured, I will make my rear cut first. I will then plug weld for the time being, both frame stiffeners in the rear frame rails. When that is done, I will remove the rear cab mounts and slide the rear frame into the front rails where I cut in the middle of the mount, leaving my front holes for reference. Drill through the stiffener after clamping and squaring. and bolt the cab mount on the front and mark and drill for the rear holes. Re move and weld my 1/8" gap , grind and clean the weld then mount the rear cab mount. Weld the stiffeners inside the inner frame. I am hoping that a good weld and the fact that the cab mount straddles the weld, will add strength to the process. I will take pictures as I go.