[smbrouss70]

Yes, you will need to cut that area out to get your wheels as far out as possible. Us old guys call it the "Lucy mod" since the first time we saw pics of what was done to alleviate this problem was done by N2Billet on his red 68 named Lucy. Those pictures are missing from that old thread, but I was anal enough to save the pictures way back when.

On my Blazer and on Gringo's truck, that area is cut out with nothing replacing the factory piece tying the inner and outer bedwalls together. If you are working on the bedside off of the truck, I would go ahead and build the inner structure though. It will make it more structural and stop road grime from being flung up in there where it is impossible to clean. I do plan to add that on my Blazer this winter.