August 27 2011: The Bed Day 2

    The bed still needs a lot of attention, like the bed frame where it was cut to allow for the gas tank filler tube to go through. I don't mind that the filler tube comes out where it does rather than the original location at the rear drivers side of the bed. But I do not like how it was done. The bed frame was completely apart and the hole in the bed was cut with a torch.

    I used a second piece of steel under the top rail patch to give it strength until I'm ready to complete the repair. I should be able to remove this once the repair is completed.

     For metal, I have been using the strips that where on the old wood bed to simulate hold down strips. I also have the old metal bed and a cab overhang from my sisters 2 ton truck she uses for her company. It is heavy steel (I have not measured it yet) and it's a little thicker than the bed sides. It was originally a 10' by 4' piece that  I cut in half so I could handle it

    To fix the large hole in the bed I needed to remove the frame for access. I drilled out the 4 rivets in the front (2 on each side). Since that was all that was holding the frame in, it slid right out. The back of the frame was just torched off.

 The frame had rusted screws sticking up from the old bed floor and had to be heated to removed. The PB  Buster they had been soaking in did not help. Each one broke off rather than come out.

    I had the frame out already so I decided to tackle the back end of the bed. If you have been following my blog you know the bed was shortened at some point to about 5 feet. I assume it was done back when the fellow was racing it to loose a bit of weight.
    The problem is they just cut it off with a torch and welded the tailgate on. In the process the bed frame was also torched and the cross member on that end left off.. The only thing holding the bed down, in the rear, was its weight.

    My plan is to even up the end cuts and attempt to add 6 inches to the end. Extend the bed frame accordingly and build a new cross member.

     I started by removing the brackets for the tail lights and license plate.

BEFORE: Passenger side tail light bracket

AFTER

BEFORE: Driver's side light/tag holder

AFTER: Not finished yet

    Then I marked off where my cut was going to be with masking tape. I went with 58 1/2 inches to avoid hitting the tail gate with the cutting blade. I did not think about the saw hitting the lip of the tail gate as I made my pass, so I either had to shorten it some more for clearance or remove the tail gate. I opted to remove the tail gate.

Notice the tail gate is off .........

    I did not want everything flopping around once I got one end loose, so I braced up the end. I did not weld them yet. It is not critical to keep the measurements just yet.

There were 3 tack welds about an inch long on each side. I used my angle grinder with a cut off disc to separate the sides from the gate. Pretty uneventful.

With the welds in place

After I cut them

Other side with welds in place

Same thing .. I forgot to take a picture of the after :o)~

Tailgate off

Now it will be easier to work on this as well.

    Whats left

        Mark the ends of the sides again and cut.

        Extend the sides by 6 inches.


        Build stake pockets using the fronts as a reference, and attach.

        Repair the bed sub frame cross member.

        Repair the holes and the rust at the bottom of the bed front

        Build and install a rear roll pan

        Repair front cross member where it was cut out for the gas tank.

        Install wood floor.

        Decide on gas filler location



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