Brothers Trucks 1955-1959 Toe Board and Smooth Dash Install

03/01/2016

Brothers Trucks 1955-1959 Toe Board and Smooth Dash Install

03/01/2016

Toeboard replacement began by cutting out the old parts but leaving a little material around the perimeter to allow for final trimming.

The replacement panels are set in place and the process of trimming and fitting begins. Patch panels are always trimmed in some fashion. Spend time deciding the best way to cut patches to take advantage of cutting techniques or good portions of the original panel. This panel is trimmed to create a tight seam along the angled right side, but the lower horizontal edges actually sit on “flanges” created with metal from the original toeboard. (Weld-through primer was used wherever two panels overlap.) A crescent-shaped cutout at the far lower left leaves the original body bolt hole exposed.

Here’s the driver-side toeboard in almost-finished form, offering a look at how everything fits together.

Moving on to the dash we see the old face cut out from the right side of the glovebox door all the way up to the instrument panel opening. As noted in the text, one of the original “style rings” was cut out of the old dash and relocated to the right of the instrument panel. This way the ignition switch will mimic the look of the switch on the left.

Here’s the dash after the Brothers panel was trimmed, fit, and tack-welded in place. This was a pretty straightforward process, with each end being butt-welded, and the top edge butt-welded to a small lip left from the old dash face.

Here’s a look at the left side of the dash following the final welding, grinding, and coat of primer. With the rest of the dash smoothed, the symmetrical switch pods have an even greater impact.

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