Fixing Bed Rust?

84Toyota4x4 · Sep 25, 2008

The bed on my 84 Toyota is in decent shape, but the holes in the floor where the roll bar mounts have rusted out pretty bad. I know most of you will roll your eyes and say to ditch the thing, but for some reason, I like the look of it. So, my plan is to pull it out, patch/reinforce the floor of the bed, and reinstall it. I know that it does nothing for safety, etc. I only look at it as an aesthetic modification, so I dont need it to be braced to the frame and blah blah. I just want it sturdy to the bed again.

Anyone done anything like this before, or have any tips or ideas? Im gonna try and get some pictures soon. Thanks in advance!

~T.J.

CHOP SHOP · Sep 25, 2008

if you got a 3 inch hole, cut a 4 inch patch out of a junker bed and weld it over the hole. :cheer: :cheer:

84Toyota4x4 · Sep 25, 2008

I certainly thought about patch panels, but I dont have another bed... Guess I should start hunting.

~T.J.

2slow4you · Sep 25, 2008

Or.. since our bed are made out of tin foil, you could patch the bed instead with some 1/8" plate... At least it will be the last thing you have to repair ever again. :fawkdancesmiley:

zukkev · Sep 25, 2008

2slow4you said:
Or.. since our bed are made out of tin foil, you could patch the bed instead with some 1/8" plate... At least it will be the last thing you have to repair ever again. :fawkdancesmiley:

Yup, sandwich the original bed with two pieces of 1/8" or 3/16" (as large of a plate you can fit in there,lengthwise that is.) and a plate underneath--drill holes to match the roll bar, then bolt it all together; it'll be secure enough(more secure than bolting just thru the orig bed)......

84Toyota4x4 · Sep 30, 2008

I got the bar pulled out the other night like I wanted, and it looks like its just the mounting holes over the wheel wells that are nasty. The one is split, the other just has oblonged holes from the bolts working their way loose. Im gonna try and weld the split back together, and just sandwich it I think. Its not as bad as I thought it was. Maybe I will spray the spots with some bed liner or something to give the plates a little more "grip" to keep them from wiggling around and squeaking?

~T.J.