newbie question on bed wood replacement

[pestwagon]

I bought Mar-K's pine wood replacement kit, alsong with the intructions and new bed wood rails and bolts and bed mounting pads. Is it absolutely necessary to remove the bed from the frame to do all this? 66 SWB fleetside...What way is recommended?

[jonzcustomshop]

might be a pita to get at some of the bolts that are over/around the frame rails..

[lakeroadster]

Plan on removing the bed and getting it set up on saw horses or some other sturdy work surface where you have access all around it. You will be glade you did.

You will be removing all the fasteners that hold the bed to the truck. At that point all you need to do is unhook the wiring harness and the bed will come right off with a little help from 3 of your best friends or, if you are a loner, an engine hoist.

Access to all the fasteners will be "nightmarish" trying to install the wood with the bed still on the truck. Also if your truck is like mine was you will have to cut or twist-off many of the old original carriage bolts and fasteners becasue they are rusted beyond the point of disassembly.

Hope this helps.

[hossmann]

you could bo what i did and have your wife or girlfriend get under it nd tighten them down

im with these guys

[pestwagon]

Thanks all- will post pics later!

[MikeN]

I did mine without removing the bed. I had a helper in the bed holding the old bolt heads with vise-grips will I was under the bed zipping the nuts off with an air ratchet. Installing the new wood & strips was a breeze. Photo...

[pestwagon]

is that black paint or black stain? beautiful job!!

[MikeN]

Thanks! One coat of Sherwin Williams oil based primer, and two coats of Sherwin Williams black semi-gloss oil-based exterior house paint.

[Vernski]

Lakeroadster is right about them either coming off or breaking off. I used a die grinder and cut a slot in the head of the carriage bolts and held it with a large screwdriver while my friend was under the bed with a rattle-gun. About 1/2 broke off and I used some Kroil on them several times. It's a ***** and at best a little hard work....Vernski

[frmula505]

When I removed mine, most were rusted bad. Since I was replacing the rusty rails, I grinded the heads off. Fell right off through the bottom.

[forestb]

The first board is the hardest the rest of them you can reach around to the bottom through the hole created by removing board. You also will want to soak them in liquid wrench.

[pestwagon]

Well I got r done! Here's pics!

[losthope]

good job!! i need to do mine!!!!

[CJ Loeffelholz]

It's pretty easy to remove the bed. I'd recommend it, although it can absolutely be done on the truck with some effort.

If you're not reusing the bed strips, I find it easier to set up a small impact with a square drive, go on the bottom, and set it to tighten rather than loosen. It immediately breaks every one of them. It's a lot easier than trying to back off the nuts. Sometimes the bed strips don't get wrecked using that method - it depends on how easily the bolts break.

[MikeN]

Lookin' good!

[Garthc20]

Originally Posted by CJ Loeffelholz

It's pretty easy to remove the bed. I'd recommend it, although it can absolutely be done on the truck with some effort.

If you're not reusing the bed strips, I find it easier to set up a small impact with a square drive, go on the bottom, and set it to tighten rather than loosen. It immediately breaks every one of them. It's a lot easier than trying to back off the nuts. Sometimes the bed strips don't get wrecked using that method - it depends on how easily the bolts break.

what size socket did you use , the nuts are square?

[pestwagon]

Oh, by the way I painted it with POR-15 paint...

[nomrlz]

looks good. gotta find time to do ours one day

[Garthc20]

how much por 15 did you use , I plan on doing the same thin but I need to know how much I need to buy?

[TopFuel1966]

Originally Posted by Garthc20

how much por 15 did you use , I plan on doing the same thin but I need to know how much I need to buy?

2 quarts........

[Scot_Douglas]

Originally Posted by pestwagon

Oh, by the way I painted it with POR-15 paint...

To my knowledge, POR-15 doesn't stand up to UV rays without turning milky.

[jocko]

Originally Posted by Scot_Douglas

To my knowledge, POR-15 doesn't stand up to UV rays without turning milky.

DOH! That woulda been good to know beforehand! (Glad you posted, I did not know that - guess it usually doesn't matter on the underside of the car, so never even thought of that...)

[Garthc20]

Originally Posted by Scot_Douglas

To my knowledge, POR-15 doesn't stand up to UV rays without turning milky.

I plan to give it a coat of house paint on top
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[thebeast61]

The bed looks good. If anyone is interested i found this site that gives you the measurements to cut the wood yourself. I plan on trying this one day. The kits are just to expensive for me.
http://www.classicheartbeat.com/bed_wood.htm