Okay...I have been through this before with my 48 but figure there has to be an easier way.....

Both the 1948 that I have restored and my newly purchased 56 have the rear fenders spot welded onto the bed sides. How do I get these bolts and nuts out of there? I hate torquing on the bolt and breaking it, then I have to use a punch and punch each head in three spots to release the spot weld. How does anyone else accomplish this task? I am posting this in this an in the 56 forum to try to get some answers....

 

 

Don't torque on the bolts! Do you have a cut-off wheel? There should be enough access to cut parts of the nuts off. Then you could knock off the rest with a small chisle- don't hit too hard though.

 

I don't have a cutoff wheel but have drilled nuts out. Takes time though so I know I need to get a cutoff.... My only problem now are the bolts connected to the running boards as they keep spinning. Might be hard to get a cutoff in between the supports that hold the running boards. Any ideas?

 

I posted a bit above how I used a sawzall with a six inch blade (metal - not bi-metal) to cut between the fender and bed to get rusted bolts off. Much easier to do a good job with the bed off and upside down.

This works great for rusted or tack welded bolts. The blades are very flexible and can cut around small curves etc.

For an older truck I cared about preserving I would do this and then remove the tack weld from the outside, with the fender off, with a dremel type tool or a holesaw on a drill with a low torque setting (so you do not twist your wrist when it grabs unevenly).