Need advice on removal of bed wood from 71

[Carl Spangler]

I'm about to replace the wood on my original 71 short step side bed. The bed strips are held down by a bunch of square nuts that are recessed in the cross rails. Do I need to get a square nut socket to remove these or is there some other trick method? In a perfect world I'd reuse this old HW to keep the truck as original as possible.

Thanks!

[72c20customcamper]

Originally Posted by Carl Spangler

I'm about to replace the wood on my original 71 short step side bed. The bed strips are held down by a bunch of square nuts that are recessed in the cross rails. Do I need to get a square nut socket to remove these or is there some other trick method? In a perfect world I'd reuse this old HW to keep the truck as original as possible.

Thanks!

Pictures would be helpful. My bed has carrige bolts on the strips and nuts on the on the underside rails

[Old_Gold]

It really depends on the condition of the nuts and carriage bolts. Mine were rusted and were going to spin the carriage bolts, so the sawsall was my tool! New hardware was required...

Thanks,
Jim

[Carl Spangler]

Here's a pic of one of the original square nuts threaded to one of the carriage bolts. some of these nuts are tucked up inside the cross braces and would be near impossible to remove with an open end wrench. They measure about 0.43" across the flats.



As Old_Gold wrote it might be cutoff wheel time. :-(

I'm wondering if an 8 point 7/16" socket would work on these square nuts. ???

Edit: Just found what looks like might work (depending on the depth of the socket). 7/16" pipe plug socket.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Sunex-7-...14FP/301439593

.

[gmc684x4]

Quick wire brush the bolt spray with deep creep use 12 point socket to undo

[Carl Spangler]

Originally Posted by gmc684x4

Quick wire brush the bolt spray with deep creep use 12 point socket to undo

Thanks, I'll give that a try.

[franken]

It's not that complicated.
I say tighten them until they sheer off.
If you want to loosen them, clean, lube, loosen a bit, tighten a bit, repeat til they spin freely. Of course, you need someone above to keep them in the square holes. See sentence 2 above.
Get back to us when you do none of the above and grumbe about the trouble

[Boog]

Sawzall, grinder or whatever you have to use, don't try to save that old hardware. It's not that expensive to replace. Using new hardware helps insure you'll have no trouble with it for many years to come.

[72c20customcamper]

Mine I used an angle grinder with a steel cut off wheel to remove the ones i couldn't get to come out. My 68 all original had hex nuts

[dagnabbitt]

Depends on if you want to reuse the bedstrips. Overtightening/unlocking those nuts can round out the square holes in the strips. I would cut them off.

[jeffahart]

I did a write up as 'Bed Wood Replacement- a One Man Job' here's a link.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?p=7657989

good luck!

j

[Carl Spangler]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. MUCH appreciated. The bolts/nuts are trashed so definitely all new there. TBD on the rails.

I'm working my way through the nut removal. Most have come loose or sheered off. However, the second row back from the front of the bed are "hidden" by a large frame cross member. So, getting these off is going to be an adventure. ??? Even if I saw them out from above it's still going to be a PITA putting the new HW in for this row. I don't want to remove the bed (which is apparently how this is normally done). Any suggestions on this?

[Killer Bee]

I used metal cutoff tool for the ones out in the field and either sawzall or overtighten to break the ones around the edges and rear sill.. the carriage bolt heads will be stubborn in the strips but helps hold them still for cutting underneath..

pro tips; quality tools with adequate power cut smoother with less stalling and keep handy plenty of cut-off wheels and sharp metal blades..

bite the bolts you're cutting with vise grips if needed so they don't walk and make sure all wiring, brake hoses, etc. are clear of work areas..

save the old hardware especially the heavy washers that are salvageable.. I reused some of the heavier hardware than what my Mar-K kit came with..

I stripped this one out in a couple of hours without scarring anything (even though it's difficult to tell the difference ) completed the whole job on the truck..

good luck!











gratuitous shot of finished product

[Carl Spangler]

Here's a pic of where the frame cross-brace (riveted) conceals the cross-sill bed bracket. The carriage nuts are virtually not accessible with the bed on the frame. I can cut the carriage bolts out but how to connect/tighten the new bolts?

[Killer Bee]

can't answer that one, mine is a longhorn and didn't have anything occluding fasteners like that..

might have to elevate the bed.. remove the frame attachment bolts, 8 in my case, and lift the bed up far enough to reach in there.. I used 4 jack stands in the corners of the bed to hold it up while I worked.. even my longhorn bed is light enough to lift with one hand while positioning the stand with the other, one corner at a time.. this allows access to dry fit any new boards for tracing holes that need to be drilled and fitting for final assembly.. during the course of the entire job I made several height adjustments from flush to 1"-2" but could have easily elevated it higher.. just be sure check taillight wiring for slack before raising.. and while it's unfastened from the frame you can scoot it around a little to clear obstructions underneath..

hope that helps, good luck!

[Carl Spangler]

Originally Posted by Killer Bee

can't answer that one, mine is a longhorn and didn't have anything occluding fasteners like that..

might have to elevate the bed.. remove the frame attachment bolts, 8 in my case, and lift the bed up far enough to reach in there.. I used 4 jack stands in the corners of the bed to hold it up while I worked.. even my longhorn bed is light enough to lift with one hand while positioning the stand with the other, one corner at a time.. this allows access to dry fit any new boards for tracing holes that need to be drilled and fitting for final assembly.. during the course of the entire job I made several height adjustments from flush to 1"-2" but could have easily elevated it higher.. just be sure check taillight wiring for slack before raising.. and while it's unfastened from the frame you can scoot it around a little to clear obstructions underneath..

hope that helps, good luck!

Thanks for the feedback. Will investigate more tomorrow. Jacking up the bed a small amount might be simplest solution for access to those nuts.

Edit update: After investigating some more it's a definite on needing to jack up the bed to get the bed angle strips attached to the 'hidden sill'.

[72c20customcamper]

Can't help with hidden bolts I had my bed off .

[mikeshome]

Much easier with the bed off.Mine is long box so 8 bolts and light plug at the back frame rail.I set my box on 4 high stands so i could roll around on the creeper and nothing in the way.One day job as i stained the wood before hand.

[old51sedan]

Originally Posted by Carl Spangler

Here's a pic of where the frame cross-brace (riveted) conceals the cross-sill bed bracket. The carriage nuts are virtually not accessible with the bed on the frame. I can cut the carriage bolts out but how to connect/tighten the new bolts?

It is so much easier with the bed off, remember after you remove all of them you have to replace them again. I took mine off myself, used a ratchet strap on each corner ( hooked the end in the bottom of each corner) run each one up to a rafter in the pole barn, remove the 8 bolts and lift it a little at a time. Put it back on the same way, only had a helper to help line it back up. Just slow and easy. Made a stand for it 36" tall sat I on that and it worked out great. I also eliminated those bolts sticking up through the floor, will post a picture.

[72c20customcamper]

Took mine off with the front end loader and made a gantry to install