How do I lossen my 70' Shor bed to adjust it?

[murguia]

So I just picked up an original 1970 cst 10 shortbed but the bed is slightly to the right, how do I go about loosening the bed up and aligning it correctly? Is it just a couple of big bolts or is it more than that?

[no moa]

There is a bunch, just climb under and see how many you have. If the has moved, some of the bolts might be missing. Should be 6 i believe.

[murguia]

Sounds good, thanks man

[cdowns]

lots of times if the bolts are original they cant b loosened and it is easier just to hack them off and buy new carrige bolts that are real cheap at the hardware store

[hugger6933]

Before you go to the trouble of cutting or loosening bolts to move the bed, make sure that is your problem. It could be that your truck has been in a wreck sometime down the road[ you would be suprised how many used cars and trucks are rebuilt wrecks]. What I'm saying is that the truck could have had a impact in the side causing the truck to "diamond" or could have been hit in the rear or front making a shift. Or it could be as simple as the truck has had the bed sitting off to one side since it was new and you are the first to be bothered by it enough to do something about it. Measurments here will take a few minuites and may save a lot of trouble. Wheelbase Is where I always start the the distance between the front tire to the inner fender[ That one is important to me as late models have a crush point there for saftey] maesure the bed holes in an x pattern to see if they are the same [from underneath]same for cab mounts. If all of these check out fine thenyou are all square and then it is sheetmetal adjusting time. Good luck

[jchav62]

Originally Posted by hugger6933

Before you go to the trouble of cutting or loosening bolts to move the bed, make sure that is your problem. It could be that your truck has been in a wreck sometime down the road[ you would be suprised how many used cars and trucks are rebuilt wrecks]. What I'm saying is that the truck could have had a impact in the side causing the truck to "diamond" or could have been hit in the rear or front making a shift. Or it could be as simple as the truck has had the bed sitting off to one side since it was new and you are the first to be bothered by it enough to do something about it. Measurments here will take a few minuites and may save a lot of trouble. Wheelbase Is where I always start the the distance between the front tire to the inner fender[ That one is important to me as late models have a crush point there for saftey] maesure the bed holes in an x pattern to see if they are the same [from underneath]same for cab mounts. If all of these check out fine thenyou are all square and then it is sheetmetal adjusting time. Good luck

I agree. The cab has more adjustment than the bed and more often than not, the cab is what gives. In fact, the two front bolt holes on the bed don't seem to have any room for adjustment. From what I believe, during assembly (and on some of our re-assemblies) the bed gets put on first and then everything forward gets aligned to that.

[murguia]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm going to put it up on a rack and check it out. If it does end up being the bolts, should I loosen the cab bolts or the bed bolts? Or does it differ between trucks?

Nick

[hugger6933]

What about the hood gap? Is it wide on one side or does it taper from one end to the other stasrting off narrow and widening on one side and the opposite on the other. That would indicate cab misalingnment.Now the gaps on the bed to cab panelhow do they lookis it tight on one side and wide on the other or is the gap consistent? aconsistent gap could just mean the bed needs to scoot. Also measure [again with the tape!!!] From the framerail to the rocker front and back on both side then compare that measurement, if it is much off, the cab needs the attention not the bed. Now in the same vein you can measure from the frame to the corner of the bedside and front bed panel and see how close it is on each side that may help on what part to start with, And if you get into this you may need new cab mount and core support mounts to get all squared up . This will really help[ you in getting all the gaps right. Now I have told you all of this now I will tell you I have gone crazy with the same problem on S-10 trucks. I found out that the bed is wider than the back of the cab. That makes for some problems sometimes.