Because the box sides are a structural part of the box itself,
the entire box is braced using some scrap metal before I start
working on it.
A triangular brace is built because triangles
are geometrically strong (its hard to collaspe a triangle compared
to a square).
The reason for bracing the box is to prevent
the box rails or floor from deforming or sagging when the original
box side skin is removed. I really doubt that it'll be a problem
but it doesn't hurt to take the precaution.
A piece of flat bar is bolted to the box side
so I can get a nice straight cut.
The seam where the upper and lower box side
is attached to the bed is rotten.
So the entire seam had to be cut out.
This is why it's rotten, there's three pieces of metal sandwiched
together in this area: the bed, upper box panel and lower box
panels.
By the way, the problem with excessive rot at the spot weld
flanges or seams is a Toyota problem - poor metal prep. All
cars that are made of sheet metal are built in this way: one
body panel has a flange that is spot welded to another body
panel. There are lots of early 80's vehicles (GM, Ford) that
DON'T have this problem.
