[RHClarke]

The amount of rust damage on a truck only become apparent when you tear it down. The running boards are a case in point - while on the truck they appeared to be strong and in good shape. Once I pulled them off it was clear that time and the elements had their way with them.

The top of the "diamond and dot" pattern running board plate had some pitting and wear in areas that would be expected for a truck that had a long and distinguished career as a school bus. The bottoms of the board were quite rusty, but they were solid. The "L" brackets that hold the runing boards to the frame had extensive rust damage along the horizontal lengths. The retaining straps were in poor shape with all of the treaded ends rusted solid. One band had separated near the treaded end.

But the most damage was to the "rim" that ran under the entire running board. The rim is a 1 inch by 1 inch length of angle iron that was spot welded to the underside. I removed the most rusted parts and kept the rounded edges in place until I replicate the radius of the bends. The intent is to replace the metal rims using the same amount of cuts at the inside radius as the orginals.

Photos:
1 - Running board rim removal
2 - Bolt hole configuration on the end of the board
3 - Post surgery
4 - Some of the damage - the rim was thin, sharp and very weak