howdy hamb! I got my hotrod ‘54 dodge pickup running then took it apart to mess with the trans, paint the underside without the driveline in the way, and tighten up any fitment issues or cheesy mock-up stuff that I can’t let slide on the final build up. One glaring item was the running boards which looked ok until you open the doors and reveal the swiss cheese underneath- right where shoes wore off the paint and the rain drips off the cab. Luckily I sectioned the boards a foot and had material to make patch panels. This is an old farm truck and while I am trying to make it nice I don’t hide the evidence of repairs. I just want functionality and NO RATTLES! Haha So I have the ugly but greatly improved boards attached to the 1/8” square tube brackets with six #10 stainless self tapping screws. I don’t want to nut & bolt them because the boards and brackets are the lowest part of the truck- just over scrub height. Would I come out ahead to drill & tap 1/4-20? Or should I lift the chassis high enough to drill the bottoms of the supports for socket access to do short 1/4-20 bolts with nylocks that live up in there? The front brackets are smaller tube and can get thru-bolted. Or is my instinct wrong that the screws are cheesy and they will be fine or I should put in a few more and call it good? Not looking to do rivnuts. Thanks Radar
I would use carriage head bolts, they are as close as your local hardware store and probably what was used from the factory. HRP
Yes, self tappers are cheesy. drill and tap from top , put a nice Panhead or flathead if you have enough material thickness to countersink. Sent from my LG-TP450 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Look for truss head bolts. They have a larger head than a normal button head Allen bolt. I would tap the tubing for 1/4" NF if it's thick enough or drill the hole bigger and weld nuts into the holes for more thread engagement. If you have a nutsert tool available that's a nice option, too. SPark
Ok so any excuse to buy a new tool right? I ordered a rivet nut tool, 100 1/4-20 nutserts, and a few 23/64” drill bits. Primo cold connections until the insert spins and it’s torch & grinder time...
I have done the same and like the look of the button head screws. Also will mention I have also used a lot of Apex Rivets or aircraft Cherry Rivets. When the right sized diameter and length is used the installation looks good and is also structurally sound.
Whats wrong with they way they mounted originally? Bolts from the bottom into the running board, don’t see anything and nothing hangs down. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
My board’s original hidden mounting brackets spot welded to the bottom side were almost totally rusted away. I chiseled them off and patched the boards with the leftover pieces from sectioning them. The original brackets got cut off when I shortened my 3/4 ton chassis a foot and after channeling the body over the shortened boxed & heavily modified frame I made new square tube brackets welded to the frame. My truck sits low now like 4” ride height with about an inch of rake. The rivnuts worked great. I had allens laying around so I bolted the boards down with washers. It ain’t goin nowhere or rattling and nothing hangs below my brackets which are flush with the bottom of the board sides and also the lowest part of my truck. I like restoration work but this is not that! She’s still got a lot of beater farm truck in her but sitting low with a mopar big block stroker she’s now mostly handbuilt and a totally different animal. The truck wasn’t nice enough to restore which I took as a licence to butcher.
You can use carriage bolts just like Chevy & Ford did them, in your case drill the top of your running board mount to except a 1/4" or 3/8" carriage bolt and drill a large hole in the bottom the be able to get a nut and socket up inside, easy done and will come off looking factory. HRP
Not a bad idea. The black oxide and stainless are invisible in the gloss paint until you get close enough to see that the rest of the truck is a heap but maybe I’ll do that on a buddy’s lift later so Im not rolling around in the dirt
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