[xyobgyn]

Spent several hours on the project this weekend.

Regrets:

1) Wish I had more carefully examined the truck box to see what the material was made of for the actual walls. It turns out that it is made of 1/2 inch plywood covered with "plasticized" interior and exterior layers. I was expecting a thin aluminum or steel sheet alone on ribs.... Had that been there, the seal I bought from Unigrip (standard 2-7 cm item) would have been quite easy to attach to the thin sheet metal of the truck, and stretch to the thin sheet metal of the cab... or suitable substitute for the window section.

2) Wish I had more carefully considered ensuring that the actual circumference of the two openings were closer in size... especially on the flat bottom edge. For example, given the shapes pressed into the cab's back wall to enhance strength, and prevent flapping.... I would have made the base of the box's side a bit longer..... to "soak up" some of the extra travel on the cab side.

3) Wish I had found a slightly thicker material for the replacement sections I fabricated for the windows. I'll re-do that at some point since I didn't finish the project in one weekend after-all.

4) I needed a Torx 55 to remove the rear seats in this Ford F650. My Torx set ended at 50. Had to run out and buy this.

Good Choices:

1) Use of Cleco 1/8 fasteners to help with fabrication
2) Use of Lexan vs Acrylic material. Home Depot has Lexan. Acrylic cracks and splits easily.
3) I'm a one-man-show.... Removing the rear window, and trying not to shatter or break it required a bit of ingenuity, and a couple quick You-Tube videos. I added my own twist, I cleaned off the top of the cab, and used 4 pieces of Duct tape... I left a slight loop loose between window and cab, so that when I pushed the window out, it was left hanging, not crashing down and breaking.
4) I was glad to have a variety of tools at hand. My pneumatic jigsaw was wonderful for cutting the cab's metal. Sawz-all with fresh wood blade was great for the box walls, using the same pneumatic jigsaw for the curved sections.
5) Take-out Coffee cup lid served as the form for curves at the corners.

In the images, one can see the botched white acrylic bits I cut out.

I used a large bit of Lexan and cut out the opening from it with several inches remaining all around the perimeter. This will fasten to the outside of the box with silicone and fasteners. the edges will protrude 1/2 inch into the opening that will be 1/2 larger than the edges of the cab.... This will allow use of the seal, and keep the actual opening even. By fastening this Lexan to the outside of the box, I should keep water away from the cut edge of the wood box walls.