The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed Angle Bracket at Sides of Bed Floor...Welded?

I am trying to get the bed of my truck ready to accept new wood, and I thought just unbolting the rear fenders would free up the angle piece that runs front to back inside the box of the bed.

This evening after removing the bolts, I was disappointed to find that the piece seems as though it might be spot welded to the side wall of the bed.

If it is spot welded, what is the best way to locate and remove the spot welds? Can this be done without drilling through the side of the bed? (I have never dealt with removing spot welds before.)

I have included a couple photos of the piece I am trying to remove. What is the correct name of the piece? (I couldn't figure it out from the Master Parts Catalog.) I see that Jim Carter has "Corner Bed Strips". I guess that would be the part that would replace whatever the GM part was.

I believe I have a 1939 bed on my truck in that it is 77.125" long and 45.5" wide. (Although I was told the truck was a 1940, it turns out that the cab is 1940 and the chassis is a '41-'46!) When I purchased the project, the bed was ratchet strapped to the frame.

I assumed that these pieces were just bolted to the side panels of the bed. My intention was to put a temporary plywood floor in the bed that would allow me to continue to attempt to assemble this conglomeration of parts into a truck. If I am successful in proving that one can do that, I plan to put a proper, good looking, plank bed into it. That plan gets more complicated if one has to remove welded "corner strips" to change the wood.

Suggestions?

Thanks,
Nick

Yes the angle brackets are welded to the bed sides (at least they were on my '50).

In my case the angle strips were in bad shape and needed to be replaced so locating the spot welds was not reqiured per say, but they were removed from the angle bracket side (not drilling through the bed sides).

I have heard them called bed angle brackets but they could easily be called corner bed strips.

I have used Mar-K for all bed related information (and bed parts), they have a lot of information on their website (https://www.mar-k.com/)

I used a standard piece of plywood that just fit in between the bed side angles, then cut a 2x4 cut in half lengthways to form a moulding covering the gap and the bedside angle.

If you want to go plywood temporarily, cut in in half and tuck the pieces under the angle strip then use one center bed strip to cover the gap. It might have to be offset to one side, depending on where the holes in the cross-sill are to bolt the strip down. Or you could do like Phil did.
Definitely look at Mar-K like WICruiser suggested.
For removing spot welds, a spot weld cutter is your best bet. It cuts around the weld, releasing the top part, then after that part's completely removed, grind the remaining metal smooth.

I mocked up the bed before installing the wood to make sure everything fit OK. I had some scrap hardwood flooring available. (I had replaced the carpet in the family room with hardwood) I used the hardwood as spacers between the angle strips and the cross sills. This allowed me to get inside the bed to check shock mount clearances and other things.

Thanks for all the input!

I located a spot weld cutter at the local O'Reilly's Auto Parts store and will see how that goes.

I hope to reuse the beat-up angle strips on my temporary installation and then replace them when I go for the final setup.

One side of mine was pretty rusty, and modified that side for the fuel filler.
I tapped a wide blade screwdriver from the bottom just enough to stretch it and it would show the spot welds on the outside. Then drill out and body hammer the skin back flush. Put the new one on and weld from the outside to fill the holes, being the L bracket is much thicker than the bed skin.
Good luck. I burned thru several of those spot weld bits ( hardware store, Harbor Freight, auto stores), and took alot of time drilling. I should have gone to a professional tool store and paid more for a good quality one.

Chip, I have only drilled out two spot welds so far with way too many to go! The Century brand tool I picked up at O'Reilly's seemed to work okay, but I will let folks know how it holds up.

I am wondering if all those spot welds are needed. If there is weight in the bed, the bed floor distributes it over the mounting blocks. If there is no weight in the bed, the only upward force would be from going over bumps as you drive. So why all the strength created by spot welding the corner angle strips? (I would assume that a number of engineers, each smarter than I am, figured those welds needed to be there, but it is not obvious to me at this point.) Anyone have an explanation?

Does anyone just depend on the bolts through the angle that hold the fenders on and not add the spot welds when they rebuild their beds?

Nick

The angle strips were secured in that fashion to keep the bedsides from being ripped away from the bed when struck by something big being hurled into the bed from the side.
You don't need a spot-weld cutter if you are not going to reuse your corner strips. A sharp 5/16" drill bit will work just fine. Just stop before you go all the way through the bedside.

Thanks for the explanation as to why the spot welds were needed, Carl.

The Century brand spot weld bit (from O'Reilly Auto Parts) is dead after 6 holes - so I am not impressed with it's quality. I did us oil on every cut, but perhaps started at too high a speed on the first couple holes.

I live in a town with very few choices of sources for tools (or anything else), and I am impatient. So, I went to the Harbor Freight store which recently opened and purchased 5 of the only model of spot weld bits they offered. They cost $4.99 each and if any are unopened by the time I finish removing the strips, I can return them.

I looked at the oldcheytrucks.com website as Kevin suggested above, but was too impatient to wait for delivery, plus with the price of $19.45 (with no reviews) and $15.77 for shipping, you are looking at over $35 and a week!

My biggest frustration (so far) is trying to locate exactly where the spot welds are. The strips are pretty heavily rested and the bed was primed by a previous owner, so the welds are not easily seen. I have flexed the strips and found a few, but I have drilled out one hole where there was no weld and drilled another and removed only half of the spot weld!

Someone suggested I use an angle grinder to try to reveal the welds...I will try that next.

I use a a small Harbor Freight air angle grinder with a small sanding disc on it to remove the paint from the angle strip. Everywhere there is a spot weld there will be a divot where the paint remains. I use a 5/16" drill bit if I am not planning to reuse the corner strips, and stop before I go through the bedside (well, most of the time. ).

I found that a small 1/16 inch pilot hole will keep the spot cutter from wondering and breaking. You will have to bolt the new angles on. I bolted only where the stake pockets are and under the fender and its bolts, so you don't see them from the outside.

Lumbersawyer, Nice looking truck and bed!

I got the right side corner angle off. 16 spot welds and 25 holes! The corner angle strips are severely corroded. I used 52Carl's suggested method for revealing the spot welds, but only in some places were they obvious. The corrosion of the strips played a big part in making the welds hard to find.

I ended up using the Harbor Freight tools. They seem to be lasting better than the Century brand tool from O'Reilly's - but it is very possible that it is my technique that is allowing them to last longer. I am mastering the art of keeping my drill at a very slow speed and I am keeping a small dish of oil close at hand and dipping the tool into it to remove metal chips and cool it several times per cut.

It may be a couple of days before I can take the time to remove the other strip.

Nick

Phak1,

I may use your method of covering the corner angle strip on my truck. Thanks for the suggestion!