The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop No stake pockets?

Hello everyone -

I was looking through the Brothers catalog and saw that they offer bed sides without the stake pocket. They stated that not having the stake pockets makes it “look unique”.

Does anyone out there have pictures of a 55 - 57 that does not have the stake pockets at all?

If a person was to remove them, do you suppose there is enough structure at the rear of the bed side to support the tailgate? Or would you have to reinforce it somehow?

Any thoughts?

Ross

The bed is the same but without the "stake" holes punched in the top. Gives the top of the bed a smooth look.

I've been contemplating the same thing for my '50 3600. I'll probally have the pockets welded up on mine to give it a more "smooth" look.

mobileortho -

This is a tough question! I just don't know how I can get all of the rust out of the inside of the stake pocket / tube. I wonder if it is necessary to get it all out anyway? I suppose I could pour some rust converter into the space, roll it around, and then seal up both ends of the pocket. Maybe by sealing it up after the rust has been converted, it may not grow so quickly. What do you think?

I have just ordered a set of spot weld cutter bits to cut out the spot welds. Luckily they are on backorder so I have a bit more time to think about it.

Ross

I'm by no means a metal expert, but I have learned from experience that if you don't deal with rust it will come back to haunt you. You might talk to a bodyman to see what he suggests. Sealing the pockets without addressing the rust would in all likelyhood cause some problems later.

Dont they have caps?? I mean ..what the hell do i mean, Isnt there a long metal cap that you can install that will run the intire legnth of the bed..Were the stake holes are?

Mike - I would like to see the caps. Do you remember where you saw them?

Right now I am trying electrolysis on the rolled tube that goes the entire length of the bed. If it works well here, I am thinking about doing the same to stake pockets, then putting some rust encapsulator in there, roll it around(for complete coverage)and then permanently seal up the holes on both ends.

I realize this will not permanently solve the problem, but I am keeping my fingers crossed that it will buy a few years until I just break down and buy new sides that do not have the stakes holes in them.

That electrolysis is really cool! I am curious to see tomorrow how it ends up.

Ross

Could they have been mine?
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2297282230092261295fdWmaC

Hey Bill -

I put the Daytona race on pause so I could check this thread.

Did you fabricate those covers yourself? They look really good. If you didn't can you tell me where you got them?

In your album I saw a pic of the bed in your truck. Is that oak with a dark stain?

By the way....How was Bristol (I saw the pictures in your photo album)? I would love to see a race there!

Yes, those were custom fabbed. They're made from brushed stainless. Any sheetmetal shop could make them, as long as they have the correct radius die to make the roll.
The wood is oak, with 2 coats of Minwax Red Oak stain and 7 coats of Helmsman spar varnish. It's actually tha second time it had to be done, the firs finish I had used failed.
Bristolwas awesome! had good seats, Waltrip Gandstand, section R, seat 59, about 1/2 way up under the upper seating area on the east side of the track. You can see the whole track from just about anywhere. Where we were at, we had shade, too. The only bad parts was the food/drinks were a little high (not unexpected), the traffic getting out (took 3 hrs to get to the highway, plus Tennesee is a pain to get around in) and as far as the actual race goes, when the cars are running, you can't hear squat!
Some of those pix are actually from Talledega, I went there to the Aarons 499. Most of the pix are from the museum that's at the track. Food/drinks/parking better at Talledega, traffic still a pain. Unless you actually read the race program, it tells the fast way to get out of the track. Didn't read that until I got home :hammering:

Say Ross, how exactly are you stripping the box with electrolysis? I'm interested in how you guys are doing the larger panels and what the results are, that is how long is it taking and what you using for a power supply, whats the Voltage and Current draw, how much liquid are you using to dip the larger pieces in. I'm picturing a swimming pool as joked about earlier for the bed or bed parts. Next thing someone is going to try a fender or door.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Hi Denny -

If you click on the link at the bottom of this post it will take you to pictures of my truck. Click on the electrolysis album and you can see what I did.

I followed the instructions in the Tech Sections of this web site. I used my car battery charger as the electricity source. My "tank" took about 30 gallons of water. My electrode is a piece of wire mesh fencing. I used it because I could make a piece that was as long as my bed side and deeper than the water.

The crud that came out of this process was amazing. I was surprised how it took off the Zero rust paint that I was using to cover what I had already cleaned up.

The finished area was just as described in the Tech section- after 13 hours the rust had turned black. I then washed it off, brushed it off, dried it out, and then coated it with more Zero rust.

Feel free to give me a shout if I can help out.

Ross

Great job, Ross. Good photos of the process. Will have to try this in the future.

Tks Ross, I'm supprised that the battery charger supplied enough current to get the job done on that big of a piece.
Just looked at your pics, I see that you omly submerged the roll, I had this picture or the whole bed side laying flat in the tank. I gotta try it one of these days. Like ya said, enough D-Rust-It to do a large section like that is way to pricey, might as well take it to a Redi-Strip if your gonna use that.
Denny G
Sandwich, IL

Hey Denny -

I agree on the level of current in the system. After the bed side was finished, I tried another piece of the truck, this time using the "start" mode of the battery charger. I think the higher current did a better job.

The main reason why I did this at home is cost. You are right, those options you mentioned are so expensive. I did not want to spend my limited money on rust removal supplies and I realized that I had all of this material in my garage.

I only used a 4' x 5' piece of scrap fencing(from my dog pen) as the electrode, some scrap plastic sheet, an old piece of wood retaining wall and left over sand from sandblasting. It was great....just in my price range...Free!

Anyway, thanks for the reply.

Take care!

Ross