Make sure you post up when you do the tailgate. I have two used ones, one is pretty good but nothing to write home about. It's got a weird bow in the slot where the window comes up. I'm assuming from being closed too hard, perhaps with no window in it. But it's rust free. I'm sure if the new gates line up at all, they'll blow both of my used ones out of the water.
I can send you a patch for that, you'll have to work it a little to fit. Had rust on the opposite side on my Blazer.
The folks at Outback Trucks here in Houston told me to bring it by when I have it installed. I told her it will be 2 or 3 years. Lol.
It was a reproduction panel but this is how I did it. I just found a spot that looked like it had the right ridge and then used a hammer and my bench vise and made the piece. If the ridge is too wide you could always cut a slice down the middle of it to narrow it and then reweld it and that'll get it thinner. Just don't get too much heat in it and warp it. I'd probably get it tacked into the whole bed before I did that. This part doesn't have to be super duper perfect, once you put sound deadener down and insulation and all that stuff, no one is going to see it. You're probably going to have to make compromises on perfection anyways with as much as you're going to have to replace. Get in there and get to cutting is my advice. It's going to be really hard to screw that part up anyways, but unless you've got a line on a truck bed, I think you'll be hard-pressed to get someone to cut a panel for you from right there that'll be any better shape.
That sucks. Crazy they just threw out stuff that didn’t belong to them.
It's a high-school shop program.
fair enough. after some research and chatting with a few guys, I may have found my problem. 50yr old body bushings. I am in the process of replacing them now, turns out you can shim those as well.I took a few measurements but honestly, I've come to the conclusion that trucks made during the 70s were close enough builds. The guys putting them together welded things in place to fit. The measurments have been all over the place.
My plan is to get the cab portion back on the frame and then fit the doors. I'll then get the bed put back on and then put the bedside panels on. I think it will be a lot of trial and error regardless of bracing and the old measurments. Which, by the way, is going to be the process anyway because the aftermarket panels will always be a little different that original.
It might be a different story if I was ONLY replacing one bedside panel or one floor pan. But I'm replacing so much that I don't think bracing is really going to do much good. And honestly I think it might make things more frustrating.
I'm probably wrong but good news is we are going to find out!
Rereading your post again...
When I did my 74, it had a lot of rust everywhere so we just took the body off the frame and put it down on a few jack stands and then we started propping up the low spots that were sagging, and when we felt it was close enough, we started taking measurements from the doors and the top to make sure it's all good, made some adjustments with shims.
