Bed disassembly

I wanted to get the bed off the lawn and out of the way so I disassembled it.

Notching the rear frame

Time to start on the rear notch. I ordered the kit from ThorBros and cut it to fit. 

  
I spaced the notch about 4 1/2" above the frame.

Had to notch the inside of the frame a little bit.

Welded the inside

Bam.

Added two cross bars

Cleaning parts and removing rust from nuts and bolts

This part kind of sucks but is necessary. I soaked some rusty hardware in muriatic acid for a few minutes, then neutralized in water with baking soda. This works pretty well. For the greasy parts I used a pressure washer and oven cleaner. The oven cleaner foams onto the part and holes the degreaser in place. After a few minutes I hit the part with the brush and some water and the majority of the grime comes off easily.

Pancaking the center crossmember

I cut the bottom of the center crossmember and flattened it so that it could sit flat on the ground when the truck is lowered. I also clearanced the top of the driveshaft opening.

 

Complete Disassembly

Spend Labor Day weekend completely disassembling the truck.

Front end off.

Cab off

Lawn art piling up

Engine out

Front crossmember removed

Frame stripped

Started to remove the rivets. There were sooo many of these. I made a drill bit sharpening jig on for my bench grinder to keep the bits sharp. I would drill down into the head of the rivet and then use an air chisel to lop the head off. Then I could hammer out the rivet through the frame.