The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed Rusted carriage bolts

I call this segment of my truck restoration "Carriage Crossing"

I am going to replace my bed side panels on my 66.
They are a tad bit rusty!

Does anyone have a good fast way to remove the rusted bolts from all the bed rails?
I want to just snap or cut them as quick as possible, since they will need to be replaced anyway. Plus I will have to repeat the process on the donor truck also.

I took off a couple of them by using a vice grip on the top and a ratchet on the bottom, two of them broke right away and the other two didn’t break off until I got all the way to the end of the bolt and then they decided to break after about 20 minutes of grueling power ratcheting.

Thanks,
Bill

Bill:
A couple tricks. If you are not saving the strips or bolts, just weld the bolt heads to the strips so they won't turn and twist off the nuts. Use extreme caution as the old bed wood is usually very dry and burns easily. If you are saving the strips, weld a nut to the bolt head so you can get a grip on it. With a helper holding the nut on the top side, you can twist them off from under the bed. This may be a good time to borrow or buy a 1/2" impact wrench to twist them off quickly.

Mar-Ktech

Thanks Mar
I have a welder but no electrical outlet for it.
I have a die grinder but the Air compressor cant keep up with it.

I was wondering if anyone has used a nut splitter to remove the bolt?

air tools or a torch,,brian

If the wood is very rotten there will be enough slack in the bolt to get bolt cutters underneath. If not get a cut-off tool. Works like a charm.

Thanks guys.
Ill probably get some bolt cutters and try the air ratchet (if my compressor is up to it) out and see which one works best.

One more thing.
Do the bed wood kits come pre drilled and cut ready to install?

Thanks
Billy

all the ones I've seen and used come in the correct length and with grooves for the strips. The boards next to the sides were not predrilled. Those would be the ones on the edge. There is no drilling on the ones in the middle of the bed as they go down between the boards. Caution, when drilling the holes in the side boards be careful or you'll let the drill get against the side of the bed......

On a few of mine I had to get the hammer and chisel and just beat the crap out of them until their heads popped off.

donot loosen tighten and twist off...doc

just use a impact wrench and a boxend tighten them off its quick

Heat them up red hot with a torch. Then work it tight, then loose, then tight, then loose, etc with an air wrench. If that don't work I cut them off with a 1/4 air grinder with a 2 inch thin blade.

You can also try a nut splitter.

Just tighten them they will snap right off. Makes for quick work removing the bed wood.

tightening doesn't always work. If the bolt is to rusty it will just turn with the nut.

Just junk the damned thing and buy a Dodge Diesel PU.

Most dealers furnish their wood cut to finished size and with the grooves for strips, pretty much ready to finish and install. You will have to drill holes along the edge where it attaches to the bedside and you should plan to do sanding and smoothing of the edges. For an upcharge, Mar-K will drill and countersink the large holes for the bed-to-frame bolts. Some other dealers may also provide this upon request. If you choose to do this yourself, be careful to do exact measurements. http://www.mar-k.com/drilling_mounting_holes.html may be of help. Those bolts are very visible and need to be right.

Mar-Ktech