Crusty Rusty Leaky Squeaky 67 Step

[swamp rat]

Great job on the floor! looking forward to the sides of the bed too.

[sduckworth13]

Vic, if you need bedsides for reference let me know I can bring em by.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by sduckworth13

Vic, if you need bedsides for reference let me know I can bring em by.

Much appreciated, Scott. Will keep you in mind when everything is lined up, bolted down and ready to weld. If it looks funky, I'll holler at you.

[sduckworth13]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Much appreciated, Scott. Will keep you in mind when everything is lined up, bolted down and ready to weld. If it looks funky, I'll holler at you.

No problem Vic. They are easy to move around and will fit in the back of the Volvo if you need them.

[Low Elco]

Floor looks great so far!

[Vic1947]

Front seam is welded and ground as are all the extraneous holes. Floor is ready to be flipped over and the backside welded and any accessible dings straightened out. But not today ...totally worn out.

[sduckworth13]

Very nice work Vic, thats alot of welding and grinding for two days.

[jeh]

Good work Vic, I read where you posted that minor imperfections show thru a spray in liner, that is true. When I built the bed for my welding truck I thought the spray liner would hide more than it did. I was wrong again... I had a LineX dealer spray mine, it looks great and has been on for 4 years, but it does show minor imperfections. ( I had them spray mine 1/8" thick instead of 1/4" )

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by jeh

Good work Vic, I read where you posted that minor imperfections show thru a spray in liner, that is true. When I built the bed for my welding truck I thought the spray liner would hide more than it did. I was wrong again... I had a LineX dealer spray mine, it looks great and has been on for 4 years, but it does show minor imperfections. ( I had them spray mine 1/8" thick instead of 1/4" )

Thanks for confirming that, Jason. I've been looking at LineX and I like the texture of their stuff ...based on what I can tell from the glamour photos. They have several products including at least one that won't fade from exposure to sunlight. Won't have to cross that bridge for a few more months, but knowing that blemishes can be seen will motivate me to rub on the parts a bit more.

[jeh]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Thanks for confirming that, Jason. I've been looking at LineX and I like the texture of their stuff ...based on what I can tell from the glamour photos. They have several products including at least one that won't fade from exposure to sunlight. Won't have to cross that bridge for a few more months, but knowing that blemishes can be seen will motivate me to rub on the parts a bit more.

Your welcome, I like the LineX because it has a nice uniform look instead of a splotchy look. I had an ultraviolet additive put in mine so it wouldn't fade from sunlight, my welding truck is always outside and after 4 years it still looks good. They can also spray it in different colors to.

[jlsanborn]

Man nice work on that bed floor! Your finish work always looks soo shiny and clean! Your bedsides don't look all that much better than mine did at the start. No question I did more damage than good with my fit-up and welding. On mine, the lower parts of those panels really did kinda conform to each other and line up pretty good when I chased down the joint with those little clamps. I started at the body line and worked my way down. The smaller radiuses above where the body line kinda slopes down at the rear is where that 0.100" just won't "blend" I think. You are going to kill it and set the new Forum "hotlink" on the right way to do it.

[Low Elco]

I like the tubing in the grooves and the gang clamp, that's good money there. I thought 7 patches and all new crossmembers in mine was a pain! Keep it up, looks great!

[mcbassin]

Vic,
You are making the bed mod look too easy. It's obvious you have some serious fab skills. Clever constraining job to keep the bed from twisting and buckling. Keep the pics coming....

I'm not sure how long your truck will be subjected to the sun but I chose Raptor liner for mine based on knowing it will be garage kept. I had real good luck using it on the top and bottom surfaces of my bed floor. I am also using as an undercoating on the inside of the bed sides. It's fairly cheap for the kits, but more than importantly, it lets me do the panels at my own pace. See MORE

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

Vic,
You are making the bed mod look too easy. It's obvious you have some serious fab skills. Clever constraining job to keep the bed from twisting and buckling. Keep the pics coming....

I'm not sure how long your truck will be subjected to the sun but I chose Raptor liner for mine based on knowing it will be garage kept. I had real good luck using it on the top and bottom surfaces of my bed floor. I am also using as an undercoating on the inside of the bed sides. It's fairly cheap for the kits, but more than importantly, it lets me do the panels at my own pace. See MORE

Wow, your bed turned out great. The Raptor product looks terrific, both the black and the tinted material. Did you rent an applicator? I have a spray gun for 3M's undercoating, but it (undercoat) doesn't go on as thick as the bed liner material.

[mcbassin]

Originally Posted by Vic1947

Wow, your bed turned out great. The Raptor product looks terrific, both the black and the tinted material. Did you rent an applicator? I have a spray gun for 3M's undercoating, but it (undercoat) doesn't go on as thick as the bed liner material.

Thanks Vic.
The kit comes with the application gun. I just bought mine on Ebay. I ended up buying two kits, one black and one tintable. The only down side with the tintable, it's a little white not clear as I expected. So it tweaks the color just one shade lighter. I'm pretty happy with the results though. I'm not planning on using it for a work truck. It should be durable enough for hauling an ice chest around.
It's all urethane based so I just go to Oreillys and have them mix the base coat to tint it. (it's recommended to be mixed without the binder). I have heard that all the tinted liners will fade, even the national chain liners.
If that happens I will top coat it with regular urethane single stage. I'll cross that bridge when/if it happens.

[mikeleeshields]

Great work Vic. That much work looks like it is worth the $900 for new bedsides everytime I see someone shorten a longbed. You are doing a great job.

[Xeen]

Originally Posted by mikeleeshields

Great work Vic. That much work looks like it is worth the $900 for new bedsides everytime I see someone shorten a longbed. You are doing a great job.

I agree reproduction bedsides definately wouldn't be the worst way to spend money considering you would be able to bolt and go, sectioning the floor is where the real savings is because the reproduction floors are super expensive.
This unfortuantely doesn't apply to Vic because he went from a stepside to a fleetside and had to buy the bed to start with, but for those who start with a truck that was a longbed it is certainly true.

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by mikeleeshields

Great work Vic. That much work looks like it is worth the $900 for new bedsides everytime I see someone shorten a longbed. You are doing a great job.

Originally Posted by Xeen

I agree reproduction bedsides definately wouldn't be the worst way to spend money considering you would be able to bolt and go, sectioning the floor is where the real savings is because the reproduction floors are super expensive.
This unfortuantely doesn't apply to Vic because he went from a stepside to a fleetside and had to buy the bed to start with, but for those who start with a truck that was a longbed it is certainly true.

You know, that thought's been hanging around in the background since the start of this project. But as Mom used to say, "In for penny, in for a pound." I'm committed to seeing if this can be done in an acceptable way. I once worked for a guy that said anyone can smother a fire with money. I might go along with that, unless it's me that's on fire! In that case, I'll spend the $$$.

[mikeleeshields]

Very good point Vic.

[Vic1947]

Brian G. came over yesterday and while he was here I enlisted his help to flip over the floor so I could weld the underside seam. Weld penetration was good for about 60% of the seam, but the remaining 40% needed the reinforcement. With all the welding done, I can lay the bed floor flat on the concrete and knock down the little dents.

Removed and filled in the stake pockets on the driver bedside, then sectioned it. Bunch of pieces on the floor now! Doubt it will go back together as quickly as it came apart. There's a fair amount of hammer and dolly work and holes to weld before I can fixture anything up. Now is the time to do it, though, because access to the backs of the panels won't get any easier once reassembly starts. I've also been cleaning the edges where the various pieces will bolt to the floor. The old seam sealer and caked on filth and rust might interfere with the fit when I start mocking it all up. Or then again, maybe I'm being too anal. Only takes a small amount of effort, so better safe than sorry, I guess.

[69CST-V]

Nice work as always Vic. Coming together!!

[swamp rat]

Looking great! I know to save my bed i'm gonna have to take it apart too, for a first timer (that being me) would you rate it pretty easy? Just the one weld in the back per side and start unbolting everything (including any ground straps and unhook the lights of course) Thanks!

[Vic1947]

Originally Posted by swamp rat

Looking great! I know to save my bed i'm gonna have to take it apart too, for a first timer (that being me) would you rate it pretty easy? Just the one weld in the back per side and start unbolting everything (including any ground straps and unhook the lights of course) Thanks!

Yes, it's not all that difficult. As you mentioned, grind the welds at the back of the bedsides, then unbolt the rest. Not all of the stovebolts came out willingly. There were at least three that spun and I was unable to grab with vise-grips. So for those, I tack welded the head in a couple of spots that would be easy to grind once the nut was off. The bedsides are heavy, so you might want to have a helper when ready to take them off.

[Low Elco]

The Zip wheel is your friend, at least in my case.

[Vic1947]

Not much exciting stuff going on. Been welding up holes and doing hammer and dolly work on the pieces of the bed. For some reason, I decided now would be a good time to patch the side marker light opening. Cut out the material I needed and welded it in. When I released the clamps, it went crazy. I had the same problem on my previous truck and blamed the TiG. Used a MiG this time and same result. Tried working out the low spot with the slapper, but it was having none of it. So I cut out the patch along with the frame. The panel immediately returned to the correct shape. I made a second patch and rolled an offset around all four edges then spot welded it in place. No distortion, so I'm leaving it like it is until I get the sections welded back together. It should be rigid enough at that point to finish it out.