Wampus Cat

[TxCajun]

Bed Front Panel - Rust and Dent Repairs

You can buy a Bed Front Panel reproduction for about $250 to $280 delivered, but I thought I would try to repair the rust and dents on mine to salvage the original panel.

At some point in the past, someone installed a steel tread plate floor on the bed and welded the fenders/panels to that. I had to drill or grind welds that were attaching the bedside to the tread plate floor and remove the bolts securing the bedside panel to the fender well, but I was then able to maneuver the front end of the bedside sufficiently to remove the Bed Front Panel.

It appears that a critter may have established a residence in the top "tube" of the Bed Front Panel a long time ago, and there was corrosion in this area on both the cab-side and bed-side of the panel. Plus, there were also 1/4 to 3/8 deep dents on both sides of the top tube that had been filled with body filler.

I started by cutting out a 2”x18” rusted section from the cab-side, and tacked in a patch. I then tried to straighten the dented portion next to it but wasn't having much success because this is 16 gauge material. So, I cut out the 2 1/4” x 15” dented section, did what straightening I could for the adjoining areas, and then tacked in a straight patch to replace most of this dented section.

Once I had these patches tacked in place to strengthen this cab-side area, I flipped the Front Panel over to start addressing the rust on the bed-side of the panel.

The last picture shows the first cut out on the bed-side of the panel. I plan to make two patch panels about 22" wide for this rusted/dented area, based on the size of the scrap pieces of 16 gauge steel that I have, and what will fit in my bench top metal brake for bending. While the patch areas are cut out, I'll have some more access for trying to work the remaining dents in the top "tube" and work the backside of the patch panels already installed on the cab-side of the panel.

Stay tuned......
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