I have a 49 F1 and last winter I tore the bed down and fixed some rust and riveted it back together. I am now ready to fix the fenders, I know the bolts are welded to the bed sides. What is the best way to remove them?

 

I just finished removing the rear fenders on my 55 to start work on them and the bed. In doing so several of the bolts broke off despite soaking them with penetrating oil.

To remove the spot welded bolts from the bed I found an air chisel works great! It broke the spot welds loose quickly and with minimal damage to the bed.

 

The flat head of the bolt on the inside is spot welded in 3 places around the perimeter of the head. I used a 4.5" grinder with a stone disc and carefully ground through the head till the spot welded area was apparent. Then it is an easy pop with a hammer and the bolt is out. I did not want to damage the sides at all. I am looking for a bolt that visually matches the original bolts. If I can't find those I will take carriage bolts and machine the head in a lathe to get the appearance of the originals. Most of the rust problems are in the side panels of the box on my truck. The majority is below the spot welds to the bed frame. I plan to cut off all of the sheet metal at the bed frame level and fabricate new below that point. That point is below the common sight lines and primarily covered by the fender. I hope I can hide the splice in plain sight.
Marty

 

Mid Fifty sells the bolts, as well as stainless ones.

 

Ditto, worked for me.

 

I did the air chisel method. If you are patient and careful, no damage done.