Body work question

[bigredscowboy]

Have a 94 extended cab styleside. Want to take off the outer panel to fix this

Is this panel welded on or just bolted? (Haynes and Chilton don't say)

 

[Blacksheep Josh]

This should be in the "Body Work and Detailing" section...

 

[wolfnutts]

im not a body repair guy by proffesion but id take it to a shop an have them spend an hour with their stud welder an pull out what they can an you finish the rest bondo paint if your trying to save money , taking the whole side of the bed off is more work then you will want , an once they pull the big dents with the light out you can get in their with a block an hammer to smooth the rest just my 2 cents

 

[Axial32]

Well me being in an Auto Body class right now, I would figure that I would know but it's hard to say....I wouldn't take off the outer shell of the bed...it's a hassle to get back on right...at our tech school shop we would do exactly what wolfnutts said....we would take off the tail light and either slide hammer the edges and use a pick and body hammer to get the larger dents out. The other option is to cut out the damaged area and buy a patch panel and make duplicate cuts so you just place the new piece right where the old was and weld it up. But of coarse that's just the beginning. You would then have to bondo after welding because the metal will warp from the heat. you atleast need to prime it or it will start to rust really quick. That's all the advice I can really give since I'm not doing the work.

 

[BIGB81]

I own a bodyshop in GA. If you are trying to save some money have a body tech that does sidework fix the dent (probably a couple hundred).I assure you that if you dont know what you are doing then DO NOT attempt to remove the bedside!!! It is a weld in unit!