starting on the bed.

[screamin86]

well ive been wanting to start on some body work on the truck for the past few months and now that i have all the mechanical part done im ready to begin! my first concern is the bed. its in great shape i just have some holes i want to weld up in the bed rails where one of the previous owner(s)  had a camper top and a drop in liner. i have found some rust in the rear post holes and trying to find the best way to take care of that debating on just making plates and covering the holes completely but i would need to install some sort of hooks in the bed then so i can attach some tie down straps when hauling some things. what is the stuff used on the seams of the bed? its starting to seperate in some places i guess from grease and oil from me hauling motors and having some spils. what would i need to do after i take a grinder with a wire attachment to the inside of the bed will i need to put some sort of sealer around the wheel tubs and the sides and ack like it is now? i plan to do a roll in liner after i paint the outside of the bed. ill be pulling the bed when its painted so i can replace the cab corners and paint the back of the cab at the same time. any help suggestions will be great this will be my first vehicle i paint and i want it to be right and will more than likely go with a single stage to keep price down and since its no show truck its actualy used as a truck :p

[liftedchevys87]

Sounds like it will be a fun experience. Is this your first truck?

The seams you are talking about I just used any old caulking on. Im sure you probably are supposed to get higher quality body caulking from a body shop or paint supplier. You will need about 1 maybe 2 for the bed and I actually put some on the backside of my welds on floors, cab corners, and rocker, and then put on rubber undercoating (use por15 if you can though, its much better)

Im not sure about the holes, can you upload some pictures? It would help alot if you have pictures of all your rot, maybe i can give you advice. I just finished body filler on my 87 Chevy that I did rockers, floors, cab corners, and bed floor. It was my first project and if you want PM me and Ill send you alot of pictures and tips along with what I did.

[1980c10]

you'll probably want to do the cab mounts at the same time you do the cab corners of you haven't already planned on it.

[screamin86]

Its my first truck that I've done any work to realy but it it is my first 73-87 truck! ill try to get some pictures hopefully tomarrow and try to post them up before I go to work

[liftedchevys87]

Ok cool.

[screamin86]

Went and looked at some houses with our real estate agent today before work so didn't get those pictures but I'm not gona stay at work till 3:30am so ill get some when I get home and try to remember to post them.

[screamin86]

i got a few pictures like i promised bare with me it was dark and i couldnt see much of what i was taking pictures of lol. all the pics are of the driver side of the truck since the pass side pretty much mirrors it in the condition except for the rearward post hole on the pass side isnt eat through like the driver side but both have some rust on the insides that i couldnt get a good picture of which ill try to do tomarrow.
 oh btw i had a can of black spray paint blow up in the bed the other day from onf of my old heads sliding into it and crushing it thats why some of the bed is black

[bake74]

  WOW, that brings back some memories.  Looks like you got some panels to replace, remember patience is a virtue.  Good luck and keep us posted on the progress.

[screamin86]

its really not too bad the pictures make it look pretty dramatic lol the floor pans are good the rockers are good in fenders outer fenders are good bed sides just the cab corners and some spots on the bed rails. the bed floor has zero rust.

[bake74]

 well than it shouldn't take you too long.  lol.  it is in better shape than my 74, that is for sure.

[Irish_Alley]

its really not too bad the pictures make it look pretty dramatic lol the floor pans are good the rockers are good in fenders outer fenders are good bed sides just the cab corners and some spots on the bed rails. the bed floor has zero rust.

To me it looks like the rockers are going may not be as bad but it does look like the paint is starting to peel I would try to stab them near the corner with a screw driver and see what happens

[screamin86]

im hoping i can take a grinder with a wire wheel to all the questionable areas soon to i can start burning in patch panels before winter sets in but with us looking at houses i can have the bed off the truck if we need to move so if i can get atleast the bed rails and inside of the bed squared away and once we get into a house the bed is coming off and cab corners ect will go in and hopefully paint in the spring!