The next several weeks - and hundred-odd man-hours - will be dedicated to getting the metal close to the shape it should be in, attempting to reverse the many years of abuse, damage and rust.
The bed is the worst part by far. We purchased a new floor section, but just cutting out the old and fitting/welding in the new will be a major undertaking.
Besides the rust, the bed was pierced by the shocks when the truck was overloaded with frozen Pike and Pickerel fish, caught by so many ice-fishermen in an exceptionally good year.
But the truck was used for much more than hauling fish....
Here I'm using the impact chisel to remove some hardened cement that was lodged inside the rear tailgate channel....
The rear fenders will need a considerable amount of work as well - and these are the GOOD pair that came with a "better" box the owners brought in to replace the unusable original pieces!
Just as a teaser.....this is the same fender-corner that was shown "folded over" in a previous post. Little by little, we'll get there.
