Round hole to Squaer hole.....

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

I have been contemplating switching my 77 passenger round hole quarter panel for the newer (79-80?) panel with a square fuel hole with the door to it....does anyone have anymore information about that? was the square fuel hole w/ door an extra option? and what would you have to do to switch? is the fuel neck different? I know this is kinda a lot but I want to head to a junkyard soon to do the swap before I prime the truck and need to know how to get the new panel off (it's just bolted on right?) and get it on me truck if you know anything about this or could tell me what to do that'd be really great!!!

Thanks!!

[1BadSS]

Fuel neck is different. Best way to go about it would be finding a donor truck and cutting the section from the bedside and welding it into the current bedside.

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Originally Posted by 1BadSS

Fuel neck is different. Best way to go about it would be finding a donor truck and cutting the section from the bedside and welding it into the current bedside.

Ouch.....I don't have a welder nor have I ever welded before........could it be done without welding or anything? (unless I could borrow a buddy of mine to do the welding)

[hopelessredneck]

find a newer box or buy new bolt on bed sides but those are freaking expenceive

[80stepsideguy]

Best bet is to buy 1 from a donar truck and have your friend cut the metal and weld in the new gas door.Be alot cheaper then like hopless mentioned..

thanks
Pat

[codydubb]

i dont know if the body lines or the same or not but i would suspect they are, i needed a new bed side on my truck, i found a truck that had the front end wrecked and it had a straight bedside that i needed, they are bolted on in the front and underneath everywhere, and with a silicone sealer than holds the seam together in the bed. cut the silicone with a razor knife and unbolt the twenty bolts holding it on, mine had a few light tack welds around the bottom of the rear stake hole pocket used an battery powered grinder to cut through them and off she came!

[Jonboy]

the bedsides are bolted on but there are a couple of spot welds at the very rear also. Not a big deal, just take a hammer and chisel with you to break them loose.

The filler neck hose is also slightly larger diameter on the later filler necks. Not a big deal, but the later filler hose will be a little too big on your fuel tank. You could snatch up a later model fuel tank, or cut the hose and use an adapter (PITA, but it works). I just ran into this on my '74. I ended up using an exhaust pipe reducer in the hose.

[hopelessredneck]

Ya but if your gunna get the doors from a donor box if the box is in good shape just take the whole box because ur not a welder and sheet metal welding is a little trickier than regular for some people to save ur self the hassle of welding just get a whole box for cheep
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[chrismoore701]

I did this between a fleet side and a step side, I have dual tanks and only one filler door on my step side. so I cut one off a fleet side and welded it on my step side. In the process I collected a few extra door holes, if you want one I can sell it to you, send me a PM. Good luck

[BigRed76]

The square fuel door wasn't an option, it was started in 78 and was standard on all fleetsides. the last year of the round filler was 77. If you dont have access to a welder then i would recommend swapping out the whole bedside.

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

the bedsides are bolted on but there are a couple of spot welds at the very rear also. Not a big deal, just take a hammer and chisel with you to break them loose.

The filler neck hose is also slightly larger diameter on the later filler necks. Not a big deal, but the later filler hose will be a little too big on your fuel tank. You could snatch up a later model fuel tank, or cut the hose and use an adapter (PITA, but it works). I just ran into this on my '74. I ended up using an exhaust pipe reducer in the hose.

So when I snag the fuel neck on one it'll be to big for the opening on my gas tank? (before I make it work )

Originally Posted by BigRed76

The square fuel door wasn't an option, it was started in 78 and was standard on all fleetsides. the last year of the round filler was 77. If you dont have access to a welder then i would recommend swapping out the whole bedside. The difference in filler neck size isn't that big of a deal because they aren't extremely different in size.

That's what I'm thinking to...I can go there and get it off with the tools I have and then get it back on mine no problem....excluding the spot welds...but if I swap that bedside that would save me from having to repair the rust on that beside on mine right now

[pig rig]

the easiest and most cost effective is to
A. swap bed sides if your bed floor is in great shape
or
B. swap the whole bed out

cutting and welding cost you time and then you'll have money tied up in materials to fix it and then when your done you have a scabbed together hunk of crap your not happy with

me personly I'd look for a whole bed or truck that you can part out

[Dalaigh]

Originally Posted by pig rig

the easiest and most cost effective is to
A. swap bed sides if your bed floor is in great shape
or
B. swap the whole bed out

cutting and welding cost you time and then you'll have money tied up in materials to fix it and then when your done you have a scabbed together hunk of crap your not happy with

me personly I'd look for a whole bed or truck that you can part out

X2, I don't know why everyone seems to think hacking up a perfectly good bed side and welding in a patch is the best way to go. Thats a last resort. You run the risk of warping the metal, if you don't get it perfect your going to see it in the paint, it's a potential rust point, It'll never look good. Well, some shops can get it to look good but thats a lot of man hours welding and mudding and blocking to get it right.
I would look for a new bed, only because there are people out there looking for your style bed. If you put a new bed on and paint it, you can sell your bed and recoup some of the cost. As for the filler neck, I'm sure someone sells replacement ones, just buy one for a '78, the gas tanks are the same just the neck changed.

[Pop's C-10]

If you go tha graffting route...why not get a round door from something like 88-98 1500 or some other car. Tha car route may be tha easiest, cause i dought folks would let you hack up a good bed side. a lil scrap car would be tha easiest soure.

[BigRed76]

Originally Posted by Jonboy

the bedsides are bolted on but there are a couple of spot welds at the very rear also. Not a big deal, just take a hammer and chisel with you to break them loose.

The filler neck hose is also slightly larger diameter on the later filler necks. Not a big deal, but the later filler hose will be a little too big on your fuel tank. You could snatch up a later model fuel tank, or cut the hose and use an adapter (PITA, but it works). I just ran into this on my '74. I ended up using an exhaust pipe reducer in the hose.

all fleetside tanks were the same from 73-87 so idk how there could be different inlet sizes on the newer tanks.

[Dalaigh]

Originally Posted by BigRed76

all fleetside tanks were the same from 73-87 so idk how there could be different inlet sizes on the newer tanks.

The trucks that had the little round gas cap exposed on the outside of the bed, have longer filler necks, then the trucks with gas doors, because the fill point is move closer inboard on the 78+ trucks.

[hopelessredneck]

Originally Posted by Dalaigh

The trucks that had the little round gas cap exposed on the outside of the bed, have longer filler necks, then the trucks with gas doors, because the fill point is move closer inboard on the 78+ trucks.

the tanks were all the same 73-87 fleetside only smaller volume for shortbox intlet hole same size ,but the length of the filler neck was diff do just get a new or used necks when u put the new bed on

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Don't really want to revive this much...just one last question before I head out....the fleetside longbed beds were all the same from 78+ right?
Thanks

[87 chevy silverado]

yup

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Originally Posted by 87 chevy silverado

yup

thanks!

[87 chevy silverado]

73-87 the only thing that changed on the beds sides were round holse vs the door and the fuel neck every thing is interchangeable long as you get the filler neck for the bed side

[87 chevy silverado]

hope that makes scence

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Originally Posted by 87 chevy silverado

hope that makes scence

Yep! cause I want to go to a u pull it soon to get the quarter panel with the fuel door and just wanted to make sure I could also look for the newer beds since I doubt there would be many older ones.....

[f.monroe]

There are differences but not many know what they are . The last year for the round exposed cap was 78. The 79 and up bed sides had the square fuel door. The filler neck is different from a round hole truck to a fuel door truck so get the filler hose if you can . There is also a difference in the bed floor. The hump where the fuel hose comes up the side is larger from 79 and up . If you bolt a GM 79 and up quarter panel on a 77 and down bed floor, there will be a small gap above that hump in the bed floor. I did not notice the different size humps until I installed a driver side bed quarter panel form a 79 Silvarado onto my 77 longbed Bonanza. The gap is small but you will seei it. Those are the only differences I know of. I think you can do the swap and no one will ever know unless they look at the inside of the bed and right at the hump in the floor above the gas tank.
Frank

[THE "10" SILVERADO]

Originally Posted by f.monroe

There are differences but not many know what they are . The last year for the round exposed cap was 78. The 79 and up bed sides had the square fuel door. The filler neck is different from a round hole truck to a fuel door truck so get the filler hose if you can . There is also a difference in the bed floor. The hump where the fuel hose comes up the side is larger from 79 and up . If you bolt a GM 79 and up quarter panel on a 77 and down bed floor, there will be a small gap above that hump in the bed floor. I did not notice the different size humps until I installed a driver side bed quarter panel form a 79 Silvarado onto my 77 longbed Bonanza. The gap is small but you will seei it. Those are the only differences I know of. I think you can do the swap and no one will ever know unless they look at the inside of the bed and right at the hump in the floor above the gas tank.
Frank

Thanks Frank.....like how noticeable? It won't really bother me much but I'd like to cover it as much as I could (pet peeve I guess) could you be able to cover up the gap with sealer if you were to reseal (closest word I can think of if caulk) the bed as I plan on doing? and 79+ applies to 81-87 right?