This thing STINKS!. The whole barn smells like a woodchuck latrine. I am worried about the powerwash and see lingering wetness. Better get busy. Begin peeling the false cladding off. I made an "executive decision" to do this. This is clearly a cosmetic, practical, after the fact modification that had nothing to do with the "CRC question". That's a conclusion, but if two skins was thought by Checker to ward off Nazi machine gun bullets or something, we have a photographic record. My considered judgment is that this was all added way after the war.The big problem is that if I didn't take it off, the whole vehicle would be in jeopardy from rust in that the power wash soaked all the mouse nests, droppings etc, making a wet mash between the skins.
Jumping ahead after the day's work, here's what it looks like with out the cladding. Looks as if it was painted this blue gray color while it was still a BRC and before the cladding was added (a decent farmer type job...sheet metal screws on the bottom and tack welded above. Inside the wheel well instead of a flange run through a shrinker, it is just tiny tabs cut all the way around and folded in. The rounded beading that covered the real was a very nice job though .)
Here the rear is uncovered and we see noting the taillight and reflector positions that this was without doubt a BRC. Big surprise when I dragged all the mouse nests and so on out of the trap doors. See next page!
