The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop 41 Chevy Pickup - removing running boards

Hi! I am new to Stovebolt so will take some time getting used to navigating. There are some bolts that mount my running boards where the bolt heads are hidden. They appear to be carriage bolts and upon turning the nuts the bolts just eventually rotate. I assume the holes for the square part of the head are stripped round. Any suggestions on how to get these out?

Hi Rick, welcome. On my 37, I had the same issue where the square hole was rounded out & the carriage bolts just spun. If I remember correctly, (I did this about 10 years ago) I used a sawzall to cut the bolt between the running board & the brackets. They were just loose enough that a could get the blade between there & have at it.

I used a dremel tool with a cutoff blade to take the nuts off.
Don't forget the bolts into the front & rear fenders as well.

Welcome Rick. Rounding off square bolts is part of the process that you have to get used to, at least I did. I took the grinder to my bolts, then drilled out what was left.

Leo

How did you get the new bolts back in? In one case the bolts were placed in the holes and then the metal folded over the heads. In another the bolts are in a channel and there is no clearance to get any new bolts in. Rick

There should be a round hole at the end of each track to install new ones. Just push it up and tap it where you need it.

Thanks to all. I will try a few of the methods discussed above and see which works best. I like the saws all idea but my running boards are pretty tight to the bracket. I will let you all know how I make out. This will take a few days and I have 12 acres to take care of as well so bear with me and many thanks, Rick

If you pull the running boards off, you can repair the slots the carriage bolts slide into so they catch the square sides properly. Slide the new bolts in and set the boards back down on the support brackets.