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Worked hard on my COE storage boxes today. I added the first of four inner supports by drilling 54 holes through the top and plug welding. It was really warped bad. Now it is quite solid and almost perfectly straight. I had to cut up and extend a pair of vice grips to clamp each plug location. I also finalized the end panel and I am getting close to installing it...

This is all slow and tedious work, but needs to get done. The good news is I have my compressor hooked up so I have air tools again.



1. Old door jamb - I left this corner piece in as it was, but never checked it to see if it was actually plumb...it isn't. It is off by 1/8" top to bottom. To late to fix it now. These kinds of hard to reach corners had to be finished before I could do any other work. This channel along the top of the box drains water and is what the door will seal against.

2. New back panel with curved portion of sail attached. Nice notch for leaf spring bracket. There will be a triangulated bracket added to the box mounts from the bottom of the mount up to the center bolts on the box. I have not welded the tabs to these brackets yet, but they are finished on the drivers side brackets. Just one more of a hundred to-do items.

3. Mitered corner of inner door structure - what a pain. I cut the wrong pieces in half and used them for the sides of the inner structure...I made them 2" longer for the top cross piece, but forgot I did that since it has been so many years. It will work out with a little patching on one end. Because of the angle cut, I only need to fill in a small chunk on the outer area (easy) of the inner structure.


4. First look at the door installed. Just in mock up, but actually hanging on the inner structure and making progress.


5. Inner structure with "end caps" all just temp installed. So many small parts to fit together...


6. Good view of the hinge mounted to inner structure. The holes in the inner structure are slotted so the door can be adjusted up and down.



7. Inner hinge and mounting bracket and if you look close you can see the support welded in under the top

8. Door gaps are about as small as I can make them due to limits like clearances of bolt heads, how parts are bent, etc. About 1/4"-5/16" wide. Good enough.



Just a few views with box on truck with door and sail panel...hard to get a good photo in there. Weird how different things appear in a photo vs. just looking at it in person.