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Bed Replacement Stories: I'd like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

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Krazy_Eskimo

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Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

I'm curious to find out who has replaced the bed area behind the seats of say like an 1984/86ish K5 Blazer. I'd like to see what pitfalls to look out for, I need the whole story as I am about to partake in my own jouney of cutting out the old bed and replacing it with a new shiny bed with no rust holes in it. Anyone got THE WHOLE SCOOP? Send me private messege or repost intructions. My Blazer will thank yee for it.
Thanks for your support!
Krazy_Eskimo
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Send a PM to "riz". I believe he went through the whole job a while back. There's also a write up in the "Technical" section that goes through the removal stage of the bed replacement job......



<font color=red>DIGGING AND DIGGING AND DIGGING</font color=red>
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Did you read this article yet?

WebShot Pics
It's a wheelbase thing, you wouldn't understand.
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

I skipped putting back another thin flimsy stock floor. I gutted mine, tail pan &amp; all &amp; made a subframe system for the rear out of 1-1/4" angle iron. Also framed out an access hole for the gas tank pump &amp; the new floors will be 16ga sheet. POR15'ed the whole thing &amp; won't be worried about rust for a long time, I hope!
smile.gif




Brian
89KBlazer

Build it RIGHT or DON'T Build it at all!!
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Did mine a few months ago wasn't too hard. Extra pair of hands will be neccesary for removing the tailgate and installing the pan. Ended up cutting the bulk out with a torch (benifits of owning a diesel) 'cause the plasma cutter was broke. A zip gun (air hammer) is invaluable to break the spot welds. The biggest problem was installing the new pan. Two floor jacks and 2x4s lifted the body up several inches and we still had to unbolt the roof and prop up one side to get the pan in. Alittle persuation with a mallet and it was in place. In all we spent 12 hours total with a third going to patching the rusty corners near the tailgate and infront of the tailpan floor boards.

Real trucks don't have spark plugs!
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

The rest of the phases have been completed, but I lost some of the pix so I need to explain certain things with a little more detail. I have been so busy with work that I have not had the time to finish the complete article. I will not give a definite date when the rest of the article will be finished, but you can check out some of the current pix that I have up for now.

I just uploaded some more pix that should be viewable within the hour.

http://community.webshots.com/album/30842449rLOzvjLpzr

1987 Jimmy Sierra Classic, Palisades Park, NJ 07650
<a target="_blank" href=http://coloradok5.com/gallery/yunit>http://coloradok5.com/gallery/yunit</a>
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Replacing just the bed is not the bad, the thing is after removing the bed you will see that you will want to replace just about everything under the truck. Anything from the tailgate post, all the way up to the firewall. The midtruck post that is where the bed stops and the cab begins will more than likely need some patch work. My project started out just to fix the front seats. I didn't really follow the post about how to do, just jumped in head first. Far as the bed itself, the really only hard part was the seatbelt brackets at the rear wheels. I could not get them loose, ended up just cutting them out. Other than that really no big issues other than finding more RUST! I will gladly send you pics and answer any questions you my have. You can mail me [email protected]

Crazy Carl
Gonads and Strife
89 Full Size Blazer Silverado 350 NP241 TH700R 4" Lift 33" BFG M/Ts
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

<font color=blue> Go to my readers rides section under riz and see some pics of my job ....... it's not that bad, just intimidating if it hasn't been done before. It would be a snap if I had to do it all over again. Good luck and drop a line with any questions you may have.

L8r,
. Riz . <a target="_blank" href=http://www.geocities.com/rizmonkey>www.geocities.com/rizmonkey</a>

<font color=purple> monkeys steal my underwear at night
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

It looks like I will be tackling the rear floor and the foot wells in the next few months. Is it a good idea to leave the hardtop on when you go to replace the floor and rockers? I would assume it would kept the bed sides in place while you cut out the old floor.

74 Blazer
Zepplin
Check out my Blazer
<a target="_blank" href=http://community.webshots.com/user/zepplin1976>http://community.webshots.com/user/zepplin1976</a>
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

I`ve done a couple of them, air hammer, sawsall, cutoff grider and about 8 hours of time is all it takes!! I pulled off the top and t-gate just to make easier to move around. I cut the floor in half and then un-bolted the floor. Yes, the 1/4`s flapped around a little!!
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

<font color=purple>Just make sure you have the right gap in the tailgate or it won't shut correctly.

L8r,
. Riz . <a target="_blank" href=http://www.geocities.com/rizmonkey>www.geocities.com/rizmonkey</a>

<font color=purple> monkeys steal my underwear at night
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

I am about to tackle mine as well, my front floor pans are completly rusted out! The body mounts are now inside the cab!! My feet rest on them as I drive...passenger side is worse

"Whatever happened to my Rock N Roll?"
IM nOt wEiRd, i jUsT lOvE tHe sHiFt kEy!!
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Well, I'm sad no one remembered that I just did this project too, and I'm only 18!!! I have all the pictures that I took during the project on my website... <a target="_blank" href=http://www.bens87toy.alloffroad.com>www.bens87toy.alloffroad.com</a> You can check out what I had to work with, what I did to fix it and the finished product. Then if you have more questions, PM me and I'll gladly help ya out, it's not that bad of a project, just time consuming. Also, if you are weak stomached and rust makes you sick, bring plenty of barf bags, becuase what you see now is only a fraction of what you'll see with it all apart. Best of luck to ya and hope to hear from you.
Ben 87 Jimmy
<font color=blue>Rust=Bad</font color=blue>
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

<font color=blue> You're pretty good for a youngster ! LOL !

L8r,
. Riz . <a target="_blank" href=http://www.geocities.com/rizmonkey>www.geocities.com/rizmonkey</a>

<font color=purple> monkeys steal my underwear at night
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

So I take it that all the parts where geniune GM parts? Do they have complete front floor board metal and a one piece rear floor? Mine is a 74 but, some of the parts are similar.
How much did everything cost?

I never have done any body work before and I am very intimidated by all the rust on my rockers, front floor and the rear floor. I have no clue how to weld either. But, I think I can handle the removal process but, putting all the good metal back in makes me kinda leary. Are you a first time body person as well?

Thanks for the help and for the pictures; they really put everything in perspective.


74 Blazer
Zepplin
Check out my Blazer
<a target="_blank" href=http://coloradok5.com/gallery/albup14>http://coloradok5.com/gallery/albup14</a>
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

For your parts www.lmc.com and get the catalog (the bible) parts book.later mike
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

For parts I, RIZ,, Yunit, and others got GM factory floors. Riz ans I went through <a target="_blank" href=http://www.gmpartsdirect.com>www.gmpartsdirect.com</a> This site is GM direct but cuts out the dealer so you buy at cost, not at dealer cost. all you need to do is go to your local GM dealer, ask them to print out the sheet on all of the body panels that are on your truck, ask them for part numbers for the parts you need, take the numbers and plug them into the website, and walla! you'll get genuine GM parts for the same price as aftermarket.

I do know that they had a one piece front section available, I don't know if they still have it, but there was one made at one time, YOu can piece a whole tub together it's just a matter of availibility. I hope I helped and will gladly help anyone who tackles this project.
Ben 87 Jimmy
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

check out www.autobodyspeciat.com I bought the complete gm rear pan with the rear sill for $500 it came in one piece and bolted in all in one shot it was well worth the money and it looks great and it is very solid .........

1988 k-5 blazer 5.7
 
Re: Bed Replacement Stories: I\'d like to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly!

Anybody know where to buy corrugated steel similar to (doesn't have to be exact match) whats in the bed area? I need to fix mine soon, and am looking for something I can just trim to fit--my whole truck isn't worth what GM or LMC gets for the ready-made parts. Plus it would match the rest of my welded together mess.
smile.gif


Pete

'83 K5, 350 TBI (ex 6.2), 700R4, NP208, Dana 60/14 bolt, 4.56s, Detroits, 3" lift, 15-39.5x15 TSLs
'97 Dodge 2500 4x4 CC LB Sport, Cummins 5 spd
 
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