When we purchased this pickup, it was in excellent running condition with a straight six-cylinder engine and a later-model four-speed transmission. The body was in good condition overall, but we did spot a little rust peeking through in the lower section of the cowl just behind the front fender. It wasn't until we disassembled the truck for a rebuild that we actually saw the extent of the damage. The floorboard and steel side panels were Swiss cheese, and many of the inner fender braces were also badly rusted.
We were disassembling the truck because the old six-cylinder was going to be replaced by a much healthier small-block Chevy engine and a 700-R4 transmission. We wanted to have plenty of firewall clearance, so we ordered a Bitchin' Products recessed firewall and floorboard kit. After getting into the project, we also realized that we would need some cowl and inner fender brace patch panels from RB's Obsolete Automotive to basically rebuild the lower cowl section of the truck.
We've used Bitchin' Products kits on a number of cars and trucks and have always been pleased with the company's top-quality firewalls and floorboards. The patch panels were something we've never used before, but we were impressed with how they fit and matched the shape and strength of the originals. If your vehicle looks like a Swiss cheese factory, maybe the following story will shed some light on how you can fix it the correct way. Although we are performing this task on a '48 Chevy truck, the same methods we used to fix it will work on any early car or truck.
