bed interior

[85Ram50]

ordered the 4L kit with spray gun. best price is on eBay $103 cheaper with no gun. They sell it in O'Reilly's and other outlets but if they are anything like O'reilly's it is marked up $60+ over eBay prices. I'm going to get some Raptor 2k anti corrosive epoxy primer UP4842 in a spray can to make sure it sticks.

[85Ram50]

Ran into an issue. Working on something else I found out that the OE design is that you must be able to get behind the interior panels in the bed to get the skirts loose. Is there another known method to get them off if you cannot get behind the panels?

[pennyman1]

not really - that is the only way to unbolt them, unless you cut the welded on nuts on the skirts...

[85Ram50]

I was afraid of that. Got some bad news and was sidetracked all day. I'll try to disconnect just the top of the panels and see if I can get those bolts out. I hope I can figure out way to reconnect them w/o having to use the same method.

Edit-I have an idea. Disconnect the outer bolts I can get to then drill out the welded on nuts. I'll use some trim tape if its necessary when I put them back. I'll post back when I get to it.

[85Ram50]

I have decided to remove the bed panels and get the bolts out properly. I won't put them back in, I will use Trim tape.
EDIT-
I got the driver side off since that is the most important to me right now. When I sum this up I will mention that anyone who decides to fix the rusted angle back there should remove the skirt bolts before replacing the angle.
They all stripped so I ground then drilled them out. The back three are easy enough, especially if you grind them down before drilling. Use a center punch so the bit doesn't slip. The front one was a big pain. I ended up bending the piece of steel that the panel bolts to out and drilling at it from the side anyway.After drilling through with graduating size bits I took a big chisel and 4lb hammer and whacked it (and my hand) a bunch of times. It came out in one piece. The others I drilled until the bolt head and washer came loose.

back of wheel well top.jpg top side front driver.jpg bottom side front bolt.jpg front bolt.jpg

When I tried to loosen the two bolts between the cab and bed I had the feeling I was going to strip them so I stopped and sprayed with WD its all I have for it right now.

EDIT2- I got those two bolts off by using a Vise Grip to start them. I have the skirt off and hosed everything down. Got the other interior panel off and drilled out the bolts. It went easier. In this picture I figure the return line is the one in that mount on the left side that has teh hose over to the two way valve. Let me know if I am correct. as it is..jpg

[85Ram50]

Got all the skirts off. Have the holes plugged with JB weld. It is drying once I am sure it is sealed I will put the panels back in and clean it so I can spray the Upol bedliner.

[85Ram50]

Got the bed done. I was not happy with the primer cans. They started spitting globs from the start and did not fully discharge. I was not able to coat the tailgate with the epoxy primer. The Raptor sprayed like a dream and I have no experience other than about 20 minutes of instruction on how to paint 39 years ago. The 10gal air compressor I bought for the job worked fine. It ran a lot but there were not hiccups. I never had to wait for it. I used a setting around 55psi+. The gauge is not broken down smaller than 10psi increments. So if any of you were ambitious enough to try it go ahead. The prep is the hardest part.
Raptor primer.jpg Upol1.jpg Upol2.jpg

When it is dry I will get the lights back on and test drive it with my new fuel pump.

Edit- Well it is dry to the touch. 7 day cure, 72 hours stay dry and it has started sprinkling. I hope it just gets misty and moves on. Had to drill out the tailgate screws to get in and fix the latch pull that came off. So now I have to find machine screws for it tomorrow. Tailgate is on sans removable panel.
Geez the rattle can is the same brand as the liner. It is one of the special kind with the push pin on the bottom. It had a turnable fan sprayer but the rest of the nozzle looked like a regular style.

[geezer101]

Looks tidy. Nice job Only problem with rattle cans are the nozzles on them. Some brands use great nozzles and others, well...

[Giovanni89]

Looking good! You can heat up your rattle cans in a bucket of hot water before using them. It will increase the pressure in the can giving you a better spray. Keeps the dreaded globs at bay.

[85Ram50]

Thanks Giovanni. That makes sense. It got soaked last night but it was dry to the touch before the rain started. Hopefully that was enough to protect it. It looks OK

[85Ram50]

OK this isn't strictly the bed, but since I had the skirts off I ordered leaf spring bushings (Energy Suspension black I believe they have carbon impregnated in them to cut down squeaks.) and a husky spring. The old ones were bone dry and tore up. I didn't use their grease I used white lithium grease. I cleaned stuff up and painted some Ospho on the rust I saw then painted the springs and frame parts. I also painted the drums which are only a few years old. Tomorrow I will be able to paint the skirts and put them on. Then the only thing left is to pull the motor to refresh it, paint the engine bay and rewire the front end. That may take a year or two to get to.
red drvr.jpg red pass.jpg

[pennyman1]

it is really coming together - great job!

[geezer101]

Were the spring and shock combo already on the truck? Can't say I've seen that on one of these before. You're probably going to curse me for this but - have you considered a Gen 2 rear end with LSD? Gen 1 parts for the brakes and rear are getting hard to source (the Gen 2 LSD upgrade is definitely on my to-do list). You're ahead of me on this one. I still haven't got to the rear on my Gen 1 and I know it's going to be in a bad way. Keep it up, it's looks awesome

[85Ram50]

Thanks Pennyman and Geezer.
I did the shocks a year or two ago hoping to get what I am hoping for from the husky springs, better load support. It bottoms out on the stops when I get heavy loads dumped in. I had to loosen the lower end of the shock on the Drvr side to get the husky spring mounted. when I tightened it back up it is tight against the bar the U bolt goes through. The passenger side is clear.
I added the husky springs and did the bushings today. I took it apart yesterday and cleaned things up and painted what I could knowing the bushings would arrive today.
I forget exactly when but about the same time I did all the front end joints and new calipers. shocks, brakes etc I also did the rear brakes, completely and got new drums not knowing the ones I had were fine. The only thing not new in my brakes are the master cylinder, hard lines and the emergency cable. The soft hoses are new from when I did them too.

[85Ram50]

Project continues on http://www.mightyram50.net/vbulletin...811-bench-seat