1966 long box sides to short box sides

[wutnxt]

I have 3 short box trucks that could use box sides upgrades, I can find lots of long box sides in great shape but all of the short box sides....well they suck. So i am thinking about cutting down long box sides and making them into short box sides. Has anyone down this and know the secret short cuts that want to share ? I looked in the body area and could only find stuff about making the whole truck into a short box from a long box. I know someone has to have done this before suggestions or ideas?.....I just bought a long box and hope to take the box off on friday...

[Clyde65]

There is a guy in Oklahoma selling a short box fleet, let me look for it.....

here it is...
http://oklahomacity.craigslist.org/pts/2331549798.html

[lakeroadster]

Did a bit of searching.... Here Ya Go:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ght=long+short
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ght=long+short
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ght=long+short
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ght=long+short
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=123624

[wutnxt]

Hey that first link makes it look real easy......Thanks for hooking me up with all of those links....thats awsome

[jac70ss]

FWIW, the wheel openings on a short bed are about 3" shorter than the W/O on a LWB. ( I learned that fact last week and measured the two trucks i have, it was news to me)

[lakeroadster]

Originally Posted by wutnxt

Hey that first link makes it look real easy......Thanks for hooking me up with all of those links....thats awsome

[wutnxt]

Oh thats intresting.......

Now i am going to have to measure a couple of mine to see what i find out...thanks for the heads up

[lakeroadster]

Originally Posted by jac70ss

FWIW, the wheel openings on a short bed are about 3" shorter than the W/O on a LWB. ( I learned that fact last week and measured the two trucks i have, it was news to me)

Originally Posted by wutnxt

Oh thats intresting.......

Now i am going to have to measure a couple of mine to see what i find out...thanks for the heads up

There's a thread for that too. Click here: Wheel Openings Are Different!

Makes perfect sense that the opening would be longer if you think about it:

Bigger truck, more capacity, bigger wheel well openings for bigger diameter tires.

Those bigger wheel well openings look cool on a short bed if you are running big diameter rear tires!

[ralf]

Buy the two part video from Trucks TV.

[jimmydean]

This is a great write up, but doesn't talk about the wheel openings. Since you are just doing the bed sides (this was a whole truck) then it's pretty easy.

Take some out of the front, the back, and the wheel well and you are set. You could take 3" out of the wheel well and lose the stake pocket in one swipe, too.

<edit> forgot the link
http://www.classictrucks.com/tech/cl...uck/index.html

[Rich 5150 69]

Here`s a shot one...

[jocko]

interesting - I believe I've thumbed through all the above links and threads and I even own the Trucks DVD - the wheelwell opening difference NEVER crossed my mind. On the Trucks build, they didn't monkey with the wheelwell openings but I never noticed. I'm gonna go look at the DVD now, want to see if I can tell the difference.... (I really prefer the shortbox openings on a shortbed truck, but what the heck - I LOVE the Trucks build, so it must not really even matter.

[wutnxt]

well I will be at the body shop tomorrow and see what happens.......But good thing someone said something because with my luck i would have used one short box side and cut down a long box for the otherside and have two differnt openings.....and that would have sucked....

[wutnxt]

I just wanted to thank everyone for the input.....In the end i decided to cut down the box sides and put into the short box...rather then cutting down the entire box. In my case the Box is on my pro street truck and the front and rear panels have been altered to mount the box. So it just seemed like a easier and quicker fix for the project

[wutnxt]

It really worked out well thanks again for everything

[wutnxt]

There is the finished product.....The thing took just less then 2 hours to do once it was tacked in place

[wutnxt]

Sorry here is the pictures i ment to attach

[lakeroadster]

Awesome, looks great.... didn't even hardly disturb the patina!

And since you are going pro-street those bigger wheel wells should be functional for tire/wheel installation -and- allow you to show off those big meats! You planning to widen the inner tubs too?

Thanks for posting the photos!

[wutnxt]

I am going to do it again......it worked awsome....

[ol_skool_chevy]

anybody here ever tryed to do the frame shortnening with out lifting the cab off?....

[BurlyCrew]

Originally Posted by ralf

Buy the two part video from Trucks TV.

http://www.powerblocktv.com/episodes...ne-half-a-c-10

[rbar]

Originally Posted by ol_skool_chevy

anybody here ever tryed to do the frame shortnening with out lifting the cab off?....

Here's one that was done with the cab on. The cab was later removed anyway, obviously, and sandblasted.

[cg285]

i looked at the way everyone shortened the long bed and there is a better way imo. i did mine by drilling the spot welds on the end caps, separating the inner panels (my inner panels were butchered anyway by a prev steel bed floor), making a wooden buck, cutting the frt/rr ends, forming the end return over the buck and plug welding all back together. no welded vertical seams just clean metal

[oem4me]

Originally Posted by cg285

i looked at the way everyone shortened the long bed and there is a better way imo. i did mine by drilling the spot welds on the end caps, separating the inner panels (my inner panels were butchered anyway by a prev steel bed floor), making a wooden buck, cutting the frt/rr ends, forming the end return over the buck and plug welding all back together. no welded vertical seams just clean metal

Sounds interesting... and smart! Surely you took pics along the way and will post shortly, right?

[cg285]

Originally Posted by oem4me

Sounds interesting... and smart! Surely you took pics along the way and will post shortly, right?

sometimes i think about it (camera) but usually when i get started it's a..holes and elbows. cameras take too much time