Bent bedside strut?

[ratdude747]

Went to take my Bull to the store, and noticed something's off:



The bedside strut behind that flap is all bent up... Pulled the bedside in a bit too.

No obvious hit marks on the bedside... Must have nailed something hard on the road and not noticed.

Hopefully when I'm back from the store I can straighten that out... Ugh.

[Gary Lewis]

I would have thought you'd have heard something hitting there as the bedside is a big drum.  But hopefully you can straighten it out w/o damage.

[ratdude747]

Me too. A couple weekends ago I did hit a board on the freeway while on a long trip (in another thread). The  damage looks old enough that that could explain it. Oops!

Fixed it up (or as close as I can get it for now):

Broke the bed side bolt when I went to remove it. Thankfully, I had a similar looking seat bolt from one of my Ford rangers (replaced when I swapped seats), and some whiz nuts leftover from a manifold stud salvage job:



Hockey stick bed strut:



After 10 minutes with a vice and an adjustable wrench:



Installed:



If I want straighter, I'll JY it... Given the condition of the rest of the body, this will do.

[kramttocs]

You weren't kidding on it being bent! Nice job bring it back.