fed up with body work, dunno what else to do...

well despite what i was told to do about my bed sides i was told to just use 1/4" round bar instead of patch panels, well i should have just listened...so here is where im at and dont know what to do about it..the panel install was goin fine till i got to rear lower part of the patch, then out of nowhere the welder is just blowin straight thru no matter how low the machine is turned down, i stopped let it cool completely for bout an hour, still the same thing, i got to looking and the sheet metal in that area on the bedside itself was really thin...so what i did was cut another patch from the donor bed for the area im havin issues with and this is what i ended up with, im frustrated as hell and dont really wanna trash the whole bed just cuz of this little spot, btw i yet to have start on the other side....as i look closer i notice how tweaked the bedside are from the titan wheels that where on the truck...i need some help from a good bodyman....heres the pics of the bedside....there more i need help on so scroll down and ill describe my other issue.....






now the other issue is the driver door jamb....if u look at the pics u can see how the door sticks out from the piller (not flush) now i looked at the door jamb and right on the body line it looks to be dented like the piller has been pushed in...my question is how do i fix this.....

pull it out with a stud gun or a slide hammer. you can also cut it out and replace that area.

I'm not sure what kind of tools you have but your best bet would be to access the jamb from the inside, so you can bang it out and still see how it looks on the outside. If you have the right tools you could use wiggle wire on the edge (or weld tabs) and pull it out with a portable tower. You could also rig something up to pull it out with a come along. Just be sure to adjust the striker first to make sure you arent doing this for NO reason. Remember to none of these trucks were built perfect, it usually takes alot of work to line everything up perfectly. Are the complete bedsides not available anymore?

Edited: 11/23/2008 9:23:50 PM by draggin95niss

no i still have the bedsides but they are rotted in some places snd the area that is in the pics that is fucked is a patch from the donor bedsides...i cant cut any lower on it either cuz theres rust just below that area on the donor sides...the thing is ive already shaved the tail lights and welded up the rolpan and id hate to cut my losses and start over on a new bed which will probably be easier but will set me back 500-600 bux by the time i get the new bed, gas door filler, tail light filler, roll pan or full combo....as for the door jamb, if u look at the middle of the bodyline on the corner u can see where the paint is cracked....it just sux is all and im not experienced enough to know where to go from here...

as far as your bed goes think about the amount of labor you have in it..also the material that will be used to get the bed sides strait. it may be easier in the long run to cut your loses. if the lights are already shaved cut them out on the bedside part and grind them downto fit a new bed. as far as your post goes it looks like it needs some pulling. dont know what kind of tools you have, but a clamp, flat stock and a come along would get that out with the quickness!!! if you need any more help or suggestions hit me up.

lowgmc please elaborate a bit on how i would go about doin that to the piller with those items as im at a loss on how ur talking bout using those to get the dent out...

i would grind the paint off and see how much bondo is there...

Originally posted by draggin95niss



then out of nowhere the welder is just blowin straight thru no matter how low the machine is turned down,



what size wire are you using on the welder? A long time ago I tried to weld in my roll pan using .035 flux core wire and it did the same thing. Now I use .023 with gas and haven't had that problem since.

im also using the .35 flux core but i cant afford a gas machine right now....

thats your issue... flux on that thin stuff, plus throw on a touch of rust= burn through. flux burns hotter, just how it is. borrow someones mig

as for the dent, looks like a slide hammer would get it. ive got one we rigged... made it were you can thread a pair of vise grips onto it, weld a cut down nail to where you wanna pull, clamp vise gripe to the nail... start sliding redneck and it works!