replacing rear floor section

[Beer and Fish]

I have searched but have had no luck with help cutting out and replacing the entire rear bed/floor with one from the vendors. Anyone have any suggestions? This is a frame on build...

 

[Jamie Chriss]

Start on the drivers side and cut out each spot weld, the do the other side, then do the rear rail and last do the area where the platform meets the bed. The bummer is the new beds sides are narrower than the original so there will be more repair. I used the WH bed there may be others that left more metal to work with. Invest in some nice spot weld drills. See pics

 

[Beer and Fish]

I was told the only way to do it properly was to remove the body from the frame. I was also told that there are some floor supports that will be cut as you run the sawmill down the side. Anyone else that has done this repair with some photos care to chime in?

 

[Rocko1012]

The only support is welded under the bed itself, which can be purchased separate to replace. Suggest using ROTOBROACH spot welder it 3/8. works great as opposed to HB. Just welded mine in yesterday, but I replaced entire back half of bronco with new metal. Will send photos later

 

[Jamie Chriss]

There are allot of spot welds, the problem is the new beds lip is not as deep as the original one so you need to be careful not to put a big hole in the metal. If you look at the picture I was not careful because I didn't know better and made more work for me than it should have.This was the first attempt I made at this kind of work, I messed them up so much I had to replace the wheel wells.

 

[Beer and Fish]

Anyone else care to chime in with specific instructions?

 

[Jamie Chriss]

Beer and Fish I think is simple carefully remove the spot welds, leave as much metal as possible and fit in new floor board. Like I said the new ones are a bit short on the sides.
And yes I did this all with the body still on the frame. This will be a good time to replace other metal that is related to the bed if need be. Just take your time with the spot welds, I fount the areas around the wells to be more challenging with the way the new metal is pressed the lip is smaller there. Patients is the key here!

 

[Beer and Fish]

Anyone besides Jamie want to add to this?

 

[Rustytruck]

Do you have close up pictures of what your fighting with? I wouldn't cut the bed out until I had the new one in my hands. That way you can compare and see if there are spots where you might want to leave some extra old metal.

 

[Jamie Chriss]

I agree with Rusty! The new metal is different, until you have it in hand. Good luck

 

[Beer and Fish]

I do have the new metal from the Graveyard. I'll post pics tomorrow.

 

[rydog1130]

I rebuilt mine from scratch, but you can see the floor support that's welded under mine. I did it before placing the bed in place because its easier to weld from above then underneath and over head. I would get a few spot weld cutters from HF, they work great just get a punch to make a spot for them so it doesn't walk and a little motor oil for cutting lube and start cutting away. Once those are out use an angle grinder and smooth everything out. Use sheet metal screws to hold it in place once you get it to fit then weld away!

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=249119&page=6