Bed Cross Sills Uneven

[damnyankee36]

I am mocking up the bed on the 66 and noticed that the tops of the sills are in alignment from front to back except for the rear one. It's about 1/4"-3/8" lower than the front three.

It's been years since I last test fit the bed and I don't remember this issue back then.

Am I missing something here?

[Clyde65]

Picture would help

[damnyankee36]

Here ya go. With a straight board laying across the front three sills, you can see the gap between the rear of the board and the rear sill.

[BR3W CITY]

Are all your panels and sills from the same truck? When I was redoing my bed in the '66 post accident, I realized my donor front panel and one sill was different. There was a steel floor available in the 70's which doesn't have the thickness of the boards, and the floor sat a bit lower...but otherwise they fit the same.

[PGSigns]

Were the bed sides assembled? My 66 was off just a little and the back has one 1/8" thick washer under it and I just pulled the boards down the last little bit.
Jimmy

[The Rocknrod]

I would think that once the entire bed is put together you'd see another problem. I wouldn't fit the wood the way you have it now, things may change dimension wise once its all together.

[damnyankee36]

Originally Posted by PGSigns

Were the bed sides assembled? My 66 was off just a little and the back has one 1/8" thick washer under it and I just pulled the boards down the last little bit.
Jimmy

At one point they were. Before I saw the gap you see in the pic, everything was bolted down and snugged and I noticed a small gap between the bottom of the bedsides and the rear sill. Right where the factory welded that small bead. I noticed everything was under stress as I was disassembled the bed. After seeing this I could see why.

Originally Posted by BR3W CITY

Are all your panels and sills from the same truck? When I was redoing my bed in the '66 post accident, I realized my donor front panel and one sill was different. There was a steel floor available in the 70's which doesn't have the thickness of the boards, and the floor sat a bit lower...but otherwise they fit the same.

Yes, everything is original to the truck except the bedsides. The front three sills are all the same height too.

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

I would think that once the entire bed is put together you'd see another problem. I wouldn't fit the wood the way you have it now, things may change dimension wise once its all together.

Exactly my thought!

A simple shim at both attach points on the rear sill should take care of this but I'd like to why I am having this issue before I do.

[The Rocknrod]

Originally Posted by damnyankee36

...
A simple shim at both attach points on the rear sill should take care of this but I'd like to why I am having this issue before I do.

Until it's all together you really dont know what you have. It's all a guess or shot in the dark. And I'm talkin no light!