bed sides

[Leadfoot]

Trying something new,looking for advise.. one side of my bed is crunched pretty good on my project beater,yesterday bought another bed with a good side,gonna try switching whole bedside..any of you guys done this?? How bad is it?? this is an early 80's swb..

Thanks all,
Tim

[radiotek]

You didn't say whether it's a stepside or fleetside? Not that big a deal, just take out the bolts. a torch might come in handy to heat the rusty ones or some might break or the captured nut might turn. A stepside probably would be easier to take apart. RE-assembly is a little harder as you might have trouble lining up the holes especially the ones around the wheelwell (if a fleetside). A 1/4 in punch or phillips screwdriver works well to help line up the holes as you insert the bolts. If you're gonna restore this truck, you might wanna sand or sandblast the "joints" where the body parts bolt together and paint them to prevent rust in there plus use seamsealer after you get it together.  also a helper will come in handy to hold one end of the bed side while you bolt and un-bolt things

[roundedline]

Just to let you know, the Fleetsides don't just unbolt.  The sides and floor are tack welded together.  It can be done, my buddy Matt (previous owner of this site) did this to his truck.

Chris Lucas
www.73-87chevytrucks.com
www.captkaoscustoms.com
Project Su
Jimmy 2WD Project

[bigblock73]

I believe there are only two spot welds, the rest is just bolted together.  Maybe this article will help you.  

www.73-87.com/7387garage/...ebuild.htm

...Jeff

'73 swb 2wd
'77 Blazer 2wd

73-87.com

[Leadfoot]

Thanks for the link.. that makes me feel better about this..looks pretty easy  step by step article,only way it could be any better if volunteers showed up to do it for me..

Thanks,
Tim