What is the proper way to weld truck bed seams?

[fhoyt700]

Looking to find out how far out to fill the seams with weld.

[theskytoucher]

Here some info on welding the bed seams
http://www.fordification.com/my67-p63.htm

[Randle]

The more weld you put on sheetmetal the better your change to warp the metal. I personally had rather leave the weld a little low an finish flushing with filler. You can not only warp the sheetmetal with welding, you can also warp it with a grinder. Another little hint is if you have a wide gap like some bed seams do, place a small piece of welding wire or even a piece of coat hanger in the gap to help fill it so you don't have to hold the heat on it as long.

[FORDification]

Right after I posted that update page where I was welding the seams on my bed, I got an e-mail from a '67 bumpside owner named Dan who also is bodyman who offered the following suggestions:

I just read some of your update on welding the seam on the box of your 67 SWB (I have a 67 SWB Ranger myself) and here's a tip:

As a professional bodyman and also a professional welder, my advice would be to weld in 1" or less segments, and quench with a wet cool rag immediately after welding, then move as far away as possible from that weld to begin the next one.

If you can get a buddy to do the quenching for you, this process can actually go pretty fast. Make sure area is dry when you come back to begin welding again.

A REALLY important tip, is to do the same when grinding......use fresh grinding discs (not used ones) so you remove material fast with minimal heat/time and then quench that area right away as you did in the welding.

Don't be afraid to put new fresh discs on as you go, you can always use the used ones later on less critical jobs.

Remember to move around when grinding also like in the welding, and to make sure any area you return to for grinding is dry AND cool, or it will shorten the life of your disc. Never grind an area you just welded, hot/warm welds dramatically shorten grinding disc life.

"Heat" is your enemy in both operations, taking the time to cool now is much easier than having to correct it in bodywork later----something most people CANNOT do very well.

[fhoyt700]

I have welded one side did it slow and moved alot.Should Ijust make sure the seam is sealed with a bead?Then fill the rest with filler?I did get little warpage.I take it the reason why to weld te seam is to seal it so no moisture can get in like before.That way it does not rust anymore.Thanks for the help and any further comments.

[FORDification]

Yes, a small bead topped with filler is a much better idea than trying to weld it to the top.

Also, keep in mind that welding up the front won't do much for sealing out moisure if you don't also seal the back.

[fhoyt700]

I'm not sure what you mean by sealing the back not just the front?

[averagef250]

The seam will rust out from the back side faster than it does from the front. If you spend all the time welding it up, the backside is still open. I welded one bedside seam up, but I just skip welded it every 6" or so with a 1" bead. I would never have welded it, but after sandblasting all the rust out of the seam the upper and lower bed panels were no longer connected. What is the reason for continuously welding the bed seam for you guys anyway?

I use seam sealer in the seam instead of welding. I found that really high end body shops use a special epoxy seam sealer that doesn't shrink and won't crack the paint you spray over it. I forget the name, but when I paint my '70 this summer I'm going to invest in the good seam sealer and the special gun to mix/apply it.

[FORDification]

I'm not sure what you mean by sealing the back not just the front?

The upper and lower bedside panels are overlapped and spotwelded...so there are two sides that need to be sealed. Here's a diagram I just whipped up to illustrate that point.

This picture was taken as looking at the left bedside, after I removed the endcap (which holds the taillight).



The two panels are spot-welded together (green arrow). If you weld up the outside seam (yellow arrow), the opposite side of that seam (orange arrow) is still exposed. In fact, this is exposed between the two panels and immediately above the rear tire, where the tire can throw mud, salt, etc. up there to get in between the two panels, in between the spotwelds. To properly seal off the bed seam to prevent rust, you need to seal the back side as well as the front.

[Big D's 69]

Your best bet other than welding is to use a material called All Metal. Works like bondo, but is made for this type of work. THen once you get the seam filled and worked down you can come back and work the top with bondo to make it smooth. Even if you weld it you will still have to bondo it to make it smooth and even, but this takes the guess work out of welding grinding and making the seam even. Your going to have to guess and make the seam were you filled straight with welding and grinding, but the way I'm talking about you never loose your seam so you have less work to do. And you don't take the chance of warping your metal. THis is the route I'm going to do. Was going to this weekend, but didn't get around to it.

[mrsnicks]

Just a suggestion. When recommending a product how about providing a link to the product, or give information where it can be purchased.

I googled several different versions of allmetal, all metal, all-metal filler and came upon this:

http://www.amazon.com/ALL-METAL-Premium ... B00063X684

Still looking for a product review.

Patrick

[Randle]

A word of caution on just filling these seams. These trucks have been around for forty years now with just a seam sealer in these seams, so I understand you should be able use only filler and be OK. But make sure the upper flange on the lower panel (where Keith has his orange arrow) is still solid, this is one spot that tends to trap dirt and mud and causes rust even if the outside of the bed is still in good shape. If some of the spot welds have rusted out you might need to at least tack it in a couple spots.

[Big D's 69]

Just a suggestion. When recommending a product how about providing a link to the product, or give information where it can be purchased.

I googled several different versions of allmetal, all metal, all-metal filler and came upon this:

http://www.amazon.com/ALL-METAL-Premium ... B00063X684

Still looking for a product review.

Patrick

I take it for granted that everyone can use a computer so if there interested they can research it themselves. I have never looked for product reviews just know from personal experience that it works great.

[Big D's 69]

A word of caution on just filling these seams. These trucks have been around for forty years now with just a seam sealer in these seams, so I understand you should be able use only filler and be OK. But make sure the upper flange on the lower panel (where Keith has his orange arrow) is still solid, this is one spot that tends to trap dirt and mud and causes rust even if the outside of the bed is still in good shape. If some of the spot welds have rusted out you might need to at least tack it in a couple spots.

Well filling the seam is no different from welding the seam when it comes to that. Even with welding them the backside is still going to be open just like if us a body filler. Most people, but not all of the people wanting to do this are doing it for show reasons and will not be driving these trucks in bad weather so that want be that big of a deal on it. And they were seamed sealed from the factory down in the crease and then painted. So if prepped properly and fixed it should last another 40 years.

[Randle]

How you fill the seams is a matter of prefferance filled seams if prepped properly will hold just fine. I had a 67 back in the early 70's that I repainted and smoothed the seams with regular bondo and all of them held fine for the next 5 years that I had the truck, except for the one above the back window. I found out that seam will move on you.