OEM Bedrails - Missing Fasteners!

[KevinCowTown]

Does anybody have a clue where to find the fasteners for the OEM bedrails on my '85?

They're a 1/4"-20 x 7/8" stainless steel machine screw but the trick is: it's a countersunk oval torx head that's only .375" O.D. (most 1/4"-20 screws will have a .410 - .430 O.D. head that will not fit in the pockets of the bedrail stand-offs).


I've been looking and you wouldn't believe how hard it is to get a screw with a little head!


I think an Allen cap-screw will fit but... no countersink so it's not going to bottom properly in the pocket and, as it's stainless on aluminum, it will eventually grind it's way all the way through the stand-off. Maybe a better compromise might be an oval Phillips head turned down a bit in a lathe or on a grinder

Any thoughts?

[cory d]

good luck! just find something close and make it closer on a lathe

[GM-power]

See if you could find some at scrap yard?

[SilverMiner]

Is the attached picture what you're looking for? If so, you can probably find them in a junkyard but the trick is to look for a Suburban roof rack rather than a bed rail (which I've never seen at a pick-and-pull). The length is just a tad longer than 7/8 and the head is 0.365 rather than 0.375, but maybe they'll work anyway, eh?

You might have to check more than one Suburban - not all that I looked at were dealer installed. Many were poorly installed or repaired with crappy self-tapping sheet metal screws but the factory/dealer ones used the T-20 torx bolts into well nuts.

[KevinCowTown]

Score!

Thanks SilverMiner!

[1774btcrew]

Originally Posted by KevinCowTown

Score!

Thanks SilverMiner!

I have seen some of the earlier factory bed rails with phillips heads. I don't think GM started using torx until 1978 or 1979 on anything.