Should I weld the rear bed cross seal?

[Rods57]

What is the opinion on welding the rear crass seal to the bed sides? The original was tacked in place probably to keep the bed sides squire. it has three bolts holding it, should i weld it or not?

[_Ogre]

you are correct; original was bolted and tacked to keep square
if your not doing a 100 point restoration, weld it solid if you want

[Rods57]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

you are correct; original was bolted and tacked to keep square
if your not doing a 100 point restoration, weld it solid if you want

Thanks Ogre. just not sure if it needs it and it does make painting a bit tricky.

[oldman3]

I welded mine solid, glad I did...Jim

[my56chevytruck]

Originally Posted by Rods57

What is the opinion on welding the rear crass seal to the bed sides? The original was tacked in place probably to keep the bed sides squire. it has three bolts holding it, should i weld it or not?

As stated, if not a restoration where you are planning on concourse showing, weld it in.

[Russell Ashley]

The FAM says to weld it and shows where to weld. It says either gas or arc, so I would say that if you were restoring a TF for judged showing and you got the right judge who knows what he's looking for you would loose points for not having it welded. I've heard of show cars loosing points for things like this.

[solidaxel]

I found it a bit easier to cut and buff the bed sides one piece at a time laying flat, so we did not weld them to the cross member only bolted for final assembly

[Rods57]

Thanks everyone. I think based on location of the welds i can paint, cut and buff the outside pieces, then tack the cross in place and fix the paint on the seal section afterwards.

[youngrodder]

I welded mine and I liked how clean I was able to make the back by removing most of the bolts. I also used a rolled pan so that factored into why I welded mine.

Marc