Removal of a Blazer bedside - same as pickup?

[haroldwca]

Just a couple of days before heading "home for the holidays" I ran across an 85-ish Blazer in a junkyard.  The truck was pretty rusty, except for the left bedside.  It shows the typical rust just aft of the wheel, but that's easily fixable.  I've decided to go back for it after I return. 

I've been all over Squarebody pickups for decades, but I've never had a Blazer to wrench on, so forgive me for sounding novice on this question.  Does the bedside attach to the Blazer in largely the same manner as a pickup bedside?  In other words, am I able to remove about two dozen bolts from the wheel tub and along the bed floor, and then just have to cut it loose from the rocker at the front and break the tack welds at the rear?  Or is there more to it than that? 

If anyone has photos of attachment points that I have not mentioned, that would be greatly appreciated.  Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!

[VileZambonie]

Not all blazer/jimmy rear quarters are the same. 73-75 are different due to not having the roof. They are the same as the truck in that they are welded by the gate, bolted to the floor and wheel well but the front section is not something you can unbolt. After you unbolt everything, you need to cut through all of the seam sealer and use a mapp torch to heat the seams so it will come apart without using a hammer. For the front section you will need to use a plasma cutter or sawzall to separate it from the tub. For all of that and it has rust it might not be worth it. You can buy a shortbed pickup bedside and cut it to fit.

[haroldwca]

Vile, thanks for the reminder about the difference between the bedside for a full convertible vs. a half top truck.  I forgot about that.  If the price is right, I believe I will go ahead with the extraction.  The rust I mentioned is just a palm-sized spot on the lower edge at the wheel opening.  I've patched many of those on truck beds. I will consider this to be an opportunity to learn a little about how the half-top trucks are constructed.

[JohnnyPopper]

"Score!!!"

As these models are getting harder to come by...

Look forward to your progress, pls post Pics...

[haroldwca]

Well, the Blazer bed side extraction did not go as planned.  Sometime over the Christmas holidays they set another truck next to the Blazer, denting it in the process.  The damage is between the door pillar and the rear wheel opening.  I decided that the damage was more than I wanted to deal with.  Sorry that the story does not have a useful ending, but I will keep my eyes open every time I go out to the picking yard.