bed mounting questions / opinions

[mikec4193]

Hi Everybody 47 to 59 Chevy truck

I have been mounting my pickup box to my 1952/53 Chevy truck....I bought all the parts...found detailed instructions on line as to how they bolt everything up and I am still wondering to myself...

Whats up with wood blocks that holds all that wood and the bed sides too thing up off the frame rails???

And the sliding slotted pieces that go under the channeled crossmembers???

I have never seen this much wood used in a vintage vehicle before....is this really the way they all went together back in the day???

I am trying to keep it as stock as I can so when sale day comes there will be less questions asked...would it not have been safer/smarter to use square steel tube to mount all this stuff too frame rails???

Just wondering out loud thats all....

MikeC

[dwcsr]

Those wood parts cost about a 2 cents each if that back in the 50"s. Wood standing on its end grain is very strong, it doesn't rot as quickly as the iron of the day rusts . Steel tube was very expensive to make back then. Wood was used often prior years as main structural pieces. So in short is was a cost factor of .02 x 50,000 units a year or 1.00 x 50,000 units both x 4.

[_Ogre]

I have never seen this much wood used in a vintage vehicle before....

many prewar car/truck would have had all wood frame to hold the sheet metal skin to.

[OrrieG]

Placed on end wood is very strong if kept from bending. My professor in school used the analogy that a Fir 2x4 could support a Cady if bending was restrained. Current value for Fir #1 is 1000 #/ square inch. #1 pine is 875 psi, oak 825 psi. A 2x4 is 5.25 square inches so in theory could easily hold up a truck, again if bending is restrained. Problem is once it got to the ground it would need a much larger contact area since soil bearing, around here, is usually only 2500 # per square FOOT, so it would take two square feet of soil to support the 2x4 fully loaded, hence the need for spread concrete footings. I believe white oak was the wood of choice for the bed supports because of the tighter grain than fir and pine.

[mikec4193]

Hi Everybody

So what do you guys use to preserve this wood?

As a kid I had a couple of early Chevy coupes (33-34) and they both had a lot of wood in the bodies...I guess since my last rebuild was older than this truck (1947 Willys) and it was all steel I was assuming these would be similar...hmmm....learn something new everyday...

Thanks for all the help with this question

MikeC

[OrrieG]

Spar varnish, protects but allows the wood to breath. Thousands of wood boat owners can't be wrong...

[oldcouple]

You could soak it in Minwax wood hardener. It is mostly used to repair dry rotted boards, stuff stinks like all get out, but turns wood to amost iron without the rust. Most any box store carries it in the paint section.

[Hampshire]

Minwax Helmsman Spar Varnish on red oak from Mar-k. 4 brush coats & 1 spray.

[mikec4193]

So whats up with the square nuts that hold the metal strips in place???...took me hours and hours to get them all in...what is the trick with holding the top of the carriage bolt inplace???

Whats up where some of the washers wider than others???....I got two bags of carriage bolts...larger ones I put along the side of the bed....the smaller ones went near the front panel and along the long metal strips...

I had to buy longer carriage bolts for the front panel as the supplied ones would not reach through the wood into the sheet metal shelf panel...

This was quiet the chin scratch-er for me...

Do you guys spray in undercoat on the bottom side of the wood bed???

Any insight would be great...

Cant wait to get this thing out of the garage....

MikeC

[Old Crow]

I used the same spar varnish on all six sides of each board. 4 coats with the 1st thinned about 20% and sanded between each coat.
Will add heat shields if necessary later on if needed. Exhaust won't be stock, so not sure where the shields will go at this point.

[Old Crow]

This picture ought to give you an idea of where all the different washers etc go,

http://s91.photobucket.com/user/Russ...ekwx1.jpg.html

[Hampshire]

...Any insight would be great...

Lotsa questions - you really need a comprehensive tutorial. I can suggest two places:

First, Check out the Mar-k site. I don't know if they have a PDF of their bed assembly instructions, but they are fairly good - they also sell them (I think).

Also, the Stovebolt forum may be the most likely place to get a step by step informed response. These people have vast experience in the areas you have questions about.

I used the same spar varnish on all six sides of each board. 4 coats with the 1st thinned about 20% and sanded between each coat.
Will add heat shields if necessary later on if needed. Exhaust won't be stock, so not sure where the shields will go at this point.

- definately the process to use... I sanded and tack clothed the first four coats and then got the spray can version at Home Depot for a final smooth coat.

- I used exhaust wrap on the over the axle portions -we'll see how/if it works. Mar-k sells some heat shield material, too (haven't seen it).

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

many prewar car/truck would have had all wood frame to hold the sheet metal skin to.

I was about to post the same thing til Ogre beat me to it.

May I ask how old the original poster is? It's not a knock. A younger person likely doesn't' relate to the use of wood in a car. Just know this, there once was a time - a loooong time - when EVERYTHING was made of iron, wood or paper. Steel was expensive and not as commonly used, plastics were in their infancy and NOT a "quality" product. Just look at older steering wheels to see that.

[_Ogre]

what is the trick with holding the top of the carriage bolt inplace???

if your doing a few bolts by yourself use a weighted box to hold the square bolt head in the strip
doing all the bed bolts, use a helper

if you use your truck or occasionally get the bed wet any clear coat will eventually bubble on the edges
original would have been black paint

fyi... i used trex plastic decking in truk

[Old Crow]

Ogre, did you find it wide enough to use the stock spacing, or did you add a rail and use narrower spacing for the rails?

I currently have my OT shop truck done with marine grade 3/4 plywood that I soaked in Thompsons Water Seal after I cut and drilled all the holes. All the Trex I found around here was too narrow for some of the boards on the blue oval truck.

[missallpc]

Use duct tape to hold the carriage bolts down. Also, with standard bolts, duct tape can be used in situations you can't reach both the nut & bolt. Press the tape tightly around the bolt head and on to the surface. I was amazed how tight I could pull the nut before the bolt rotated.

[mikec4193]

Hi Everyone

I just figured out I mounted all the mounting strips 180 degrees out....so I guess I gotta swap them around....I like the duck tap thought that is good...

I also never knew that the underbed crossmembers I was supposed to mount the mounting strips too also...

So we begin again...I welded the 90 degree ones (on the bed sides) in already so they are staying where they are...

My gosh...this project it just wont end...

Cant wait to get it out of the garage...10 months is way too long for something this big to be sitting in the same spot...

Thanks again for all the insight...

MikeC

[_Ogre]

Originally Posted by Old Crow

Ogre, did you find it wide enough to use the stock spacing, or did you add a rail and use narrower spacing for the rails?

I currently have my OT shop truck done with marine grade 3/4 plywood that I soaked in Thompsons Water Seal after I cut and drilled all the holes. All the Trex I found around here was too narrow for some of the boards on the blue oval truck.

i did add one bed strip and one board to get the width
all i did was to make the cuts for the bed strips, no boards were cut in width
i cut the strips a little lower into the ''wood'' to keep the paint from being scratched off

marine plywood may not look the best but it will last for many years

[Old Crow]

I use the truck to tow and haul. It's not pretty, but it's solid. I've used it as a test bed for several aftermarket kits, so it's got a V8/automatic conversion, CPP power steering and power disc brakes. The only suspension parts that aren't new are the front springs.
The outside of the truck is a different kettle of fish. I didn't want to spend $400 on an oak bed that would look better than the rest of the truck and then throw an old tranny or engine back there.
I've had it done about 3 years now, and the water still beads up on the boards when it rains. Maybe I'll re-do it with Trex when the plywood finally gives up.