[Roust]

Dsraven

Thank you for your thought-out response and suggestions.

I learned the hard way about protective clothing! I have even been sliced up by a head gasket. GLOVES GLOVES GLOVES. And pants that can cover the top/opening of your boots. Nothing like getting red hot slag in your boots!

I will trim and clean up the firewall lip as your suggested. I have started trying to shape it a bit with plies and hammer and dolly. So far so good. I don't think I am going to chase the holes around and weld them up. I will probably just trim above them.
The truck was sand blasted before the last the metal guy went to work. I am hoping that any issues that came up will still be visible when I strip off the body work. I know it's a ton of work to strip by hand, but it seems like the bed I have made for myself at this point.

The only thing I could see messing me up with the plan of welding the new firewall sheet BHENIND the existing lip of the cab, is that it would create a border with a step down. I would worry that I wouldn't be able to get that "feature" to come out evenly spaced and symmetrical, introducing the same problem I had with a pattern or feature that just caught the eye for being off.

I will not throw the idea out though. I think while I am fixing up the lip that is there. I will also try to trim it to have a consistent width and radius at the corners. Maybe if I can get the lip looking symmetrical and all that (like it was from the factory, but much much much smaller) I could give the tucked behind firewall a shot! And once the sheet is in place, it will be a next to impossible to get to both sides to hammer and dolly, so spot welding would help with some of that.

I have committed to doing the firewall last or second from last followed by the toe board. It's just too damned open and easy to get to all the cowl panels. I hope it doesn't bite me in the ass, but I did do my best at bracing the cab.