AMD PREMIUM BEDSIDE INSTALL

SQUAREBODY TRUCKS HAVE become extremely popular over the last few years. Luckily for us, this means more and more restoration parts are being produced, including better body panels, to bring these beauties back to life. For years there have been lower quality crash parts, but nothing deserving of a custom build or restoration project.

One of the worst areas on these old trucks are the beds. They get beat up, and if you are in the rust belt they rust out. Our friends at Auto Metal Direct have stepped up and are now offering complete short bedsides for ’73 to ’87 squarebody trucks. Each bedside is stamped from high quality OE 19-gauge steel on new tools, and each premium bedside is assembled on a new robotic assembly line and features the correct shape, size, bends, holes, body lines and braces, like original. They are also

EDP coated to help protect against rust and corrosion.

Our ’77 squarebody project fell into the rustbelt category. Though it looked good on the outside, we quickly found that the bed was in bad shape. In fact, it was so bad, we chose to toss it. The floor was warped and rusty and the bedsides were rusty and had some previous repairs that, well, let’s say were poor at best.

In our case, we were starting fresh with all new parts, however, removing the bedsides is a fairly simple task. It only takes a few hand tools and a small grinder. Remove the bed to gain access to the bolts on the front of the bed where the bedsides bolt to the front panel. Seam sealer is used to seal where the bedsides and bed floor meet. Take a sharp razor knife and cut the seam sealer. This will make it easier to separate the bedside from the floor once all of the bolts are removed. Next, you will grind the welds where the rear of the bedside meets the floor. Once it is loose there, you can remove the bolts where the bedside meets the floor as well as where the wheel tub meets the bedside. At this point, all you have to do is remove the bedside. Replacement of the bedsides can easily be done in a weekend.

In our case, we are doing a full build. We will test fit the bedsides to ensure they fit correctly and everything lines up as intended. We will then remove them and epoxy before doing the final assembly at a later time. Let’s get started!