Author Topic: How to attack a bedside repair  (Read 4436 times)

Offline moregrip

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 69
  • Newbie
How to attack a bedside repair
« on: December 18, 2018, 11:10:21 PM »
See pics below, this is the only major dent on the whole rust free truck....and its a doozy

overall view:



angle off view:



close up view:



upward view:

Offline moregrip

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 69
  • Newbie
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #1 on: December 18, 2018, 11:16:13 PM »
I'm thinking if I cut about an inch below the body line just ahead of the crease on the body line(towards the cab) straight down to the wheel arch and then back (towards the tailgate) cut up from where the lower bed rocker (behind the wheel) is creased up to an inch below the body line I can use a wheel arch patch panel and lower rear repair panel to fix the damage.....thoughts?

Offline VileZambonie

  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 18979
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #2 on: December 19, 2018, 05:14:33 AM »
I would put a bedside on it
,                           ___ 
                         /  _ _ _\_
              ⌠¯¯¯¯¯'   [☼===☼]
              `()_);-;()_)--o--)_)

74 GMC, 75 K5, 84 GMC, 85 K20, 86 k20, 79 K10

Offline DanMcG

  • Registered Users
  • *
  • Posts: 141
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #3 on: December 19, 2018, 05:31:16 PM »
I'd get a stud welder and pull it out, then hammer and dolly it.  That looks like a solid bed and it would be a shame to cut it up or replace it.

Offline moregrip

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 69
  • Newbie
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #4 on: December 19, 2018, 11:09:30 PM »
forgot to mention my plan is to cut this longbed down to a shortbed.....not sure if that would change your thought?

Offline Irish_Alley

  • Tim
  • Global Moderator
  • Senior Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 13319
  • Family is not an important thing. It's everything.
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #5 on: December 20, 2018, 03:10:54 PM »
then do as vile suggested but get a short bed side instead of a longbed. unless you just want to practice but to tell you the truth i wouldnt practice on that without some serious help
If you can’t tell yourself the truth, who can you tell it to?~Irish_Alley

When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth ~Sherlock Holmes

Offline AZ4X4SQBDY

  • Registered Users
  • *
  • Posts: 149
  • Newbie
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #6 on: December 22, 2018, 11:32:05 AM »
I think that one will require more than a stud gun to pull those dents out. I would tack washers on it and use nylon ratcheting straps secured to something solid as I worked the dents out if I was just trying to fix it. With you wanting to make it a short bed, I would just get a short bed side. When it is all said and done you will have 20-30 hours of beating the dent out then cutting it down before it's ready for paint.
1987 GMC Sierra Classic 4x4 short, fleet, 1985 Chevrolet Silverado 4x4 short, step side, '87 Chevy Silverado short fleet, '91 Dodge Ramcharger LE 4x4,
2005 Porsche Boxster S,1982 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce

Offline JohnnyPopper

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2526
  • Old Goof
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #7 on: December 25, 2018, 05:35:04 PM »
Dude, that bedside was compressed and I think the only way you get it right is to pull it out on a frame machine. You might have to weld some straps on the inside of the bed near the tailgate to tug that crease out, but cutting and banging on it for days will never get it right. Jus sayin!

If you're going to a short bed why are you fixing this one?
1957 Apache 3100 235 Inline 6, 3 on the tree
1973 C-20, 3+3 454 4BBL TH400  Water Injection
1978 K-10, 350 4BBL TH350 NP203 M.M. Part time Kit/Hubs
1980 C-10 under construction

Offline TCATTC

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 4
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #8 on: January 08, 2019, 08:24:58 AM »
Sounds like way too much labor involved. There are still affordable short beds out there

Offline roundhouse

  • Senior Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 1474
  • Newbie
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #9 on: January 08, 2019, 01:28:40 PM »
Why not just buy a nice short bed ?

But that brings up the other obvious question

Why go to all that work to make a long bed Into a short bed ?
Easier and cheaper to just buy a truck that was a short bed from the factory

Offline moregrip

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 69
  • Newbie
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #10 on: January 09, 2019, 09:29:14 AM »
I bought this one because it was a Nevada truck with no rust, came with an inline 6 (which is the motor I wanted to build for this one), and the price was right. Besides this nasty dent its a very nice truck. I have the brackets to cut the frame down just need to figure the bed situation out. I went to look at some short-bed bedsides, pretty rough from the rocker down but save-able.

I know this dent looks bad and it is, making it lots of work, but I figure if a spend a little time on in each day, it might be a nice challenge to try the repair. Worst case, I suppose, I cut out the metal and weld in patch panels.

Offline TCATTC

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 4
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #11 on: January 09, 2019, 10:32:09 AM »
If you're cutting a long bed down to make a short bed that dent will be the least of the work you're in for.

Offline moregrip

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 69
  • Newbie
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #12 on: January 11, 2019, 07:05:36 AM »
going to pick up some SWB bed sides today, not perfect by any stretch but at least I'll have another option. Also grabbing the bed floor (totally trashed but useful) so I can grab some measurements for the LWB bed floor cut down

Offline moregrip

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 69
  • Newbie
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #13 on: January 12, 2019, 02:37:31 PM »
Well as another option I picked up some short bedsides yesterday. I was able to source these locally, they are rough. See pics below, this is the worse one of the two. Price seemed fair enough considering the repairs needed.

The not so bad:







« Last Edit: January 12, 2019, 07:22:28 PM by moregrip »

Offline moregrip

  • Newbie
  • Posts: 69
  • Newbie
Re: How to attack a bedside repair
« Reply #14 on: January 12, 2019, 02:48:34 PM »
the not so good:

going to need a bed rocker pretty-much on both sides



both bed rails have extra holes in them and both rear stake pockets are deformed a bit w/metal edge cracked in a few spots



inner structure and bed side separated on both bedsides with some metal cracking
« Last Edit: January 12, 2019, 07:20:50 PM by moregrip »