Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jlsanborn

It's another grand attribute you have and live by Vic. If you're gonna do it, do it the way you think it oughtta be done. Little ding in the schedule but it'll be ( . )( . ) when it's done!

Thanks, John. I know I keep saying this is just going to be a driver (upgraded from beater originally) but some things are too hard to ignore.

Originally Posted by Elliot949

Hey Vic... Can you get me a couple of shots straight down the L&R sides of the truck?... It needs to be perfectly straight down the sides...

Here you go, Dan, however pictures don't really tell the story that well. The shots from the front are probably the most revealing. Essentially, what is going on is that when the cab/clip and bed are mounted square to the frame, the angle between the back of the cab and the front panel of the bed is most evident. The gap measures 3/4" on the passenger side and 1-5/8" on the driver side ...a difference of 7/8" which is quite a lot.

When I had the frame straightened, I thought the only problem was with the "X" measurement. The frame shop took the "diamond" out of it and I thought all was good. Now that I look back, the tiny wrinkle in the top edge of the driver side frame rail near the trans cross member could have been a tell that the middle of the frame was pushed toward the left side. If that's the case, it could account for the misalignment. Head scratcher is how the frame shop missed it.

Mike (texasld) also rightly pointed out that the repro cab floor mounts could be off. I've removed the mounting bolts and adjusted the position of the cab to make the gap correct and when I do, the front clip is offset so much the core support bolts won't go thru the mounting holes. Or if I make the cab and clip line up and shift the bed to adjust the gap, the rear of the bed is way off.

All of this makes me think the frame is the prime suspect, but I haven't ruled out anything at this point.