Bed Cross Members Don't Line Up with Bed Strips?

[javadoc]

This is probably a stupid question, but here goes.

I’ve been working on the truck, and am ready to install the hickory wood strips that my dad and I made. I bought polished stainless bed strips from Mar-K, and when I put them in the bed, the pre-drilled holes don’t line up with the metal cross members underneath. What am I missing here? Are they moveable?

[dstarrett]

did you have the cross sills out? are the back in thright order?

[PGSigns]

They also have a front and back end. The front will have a pair of holes about 4" apart.
Jimmy

[javadoc]

I didn't have the cross sills out, no. The PO had put in a sheet of 3/4" plywood, and I pulled that nasty thing out. Can I rearrange the cross sills without welding? That'd be great if I could.

[kieth]

Originally Posted by javadoc

I didn't have the cross sills out, no. The PO had put in a sheet of 3/4" plywood, and I pulled that nasty thing out. Can I rearrange the cross sills without welding? That'd be great if I could.

I do not think you understand how the bedwood goes in, go to the mar-k website and you will get a better understanding of the process. there is a gap between every piece of wood to allow expansion and contraction, the wood itself is not bolted into place , only the steel is bolted down, the edges of the runners hold the wood in place. One actually starts in the center and then you work to the outside , do not tighten anything until the end of the process. the only holes in the wood that are bolted are the areas around the fenderwells and the outside perimeter of the bed. Kieth

Look at the picture in this link, the dark wood on the upper left is bolted thru by the flange of the bed, the ss rail to the right of it one can see the gap where the bolt goes down (you can see the contrast of the umpainted wood and the painted wood --we made our own floor and were in the process of cutting out and drilling for the fenderwells.

http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-G..._x5LW6zv-X3-LB

[wutnxt]

Keith is giving you great advice....

When i do the wood in a box i start at the outside and work my way into the middle but thats just the way i do it.....i find it works best for me that way. I also stopped bolting the box through the wood and instead i use shorter bolts and bolt the box to the frame using the frame of the cross member it looks cleaner i think. If your hauling lots of stuff or weight i wouldn't go that route...

The cross sills/members aren't welded they bolt in... onto the sides of the box....and some of them might be bolted to the frame in a few places

Because the guy had plwood in before there might not be all the cross members for the box in place....that might be one issue.

You might have the cross members in the wrong places...they should line up with the holes on the box sides ( he might have drilled extra holes in the sides to put the plywood in and that might be screwing you up )

Who knows what the PO had done under the plywood....they hack and toss out all sorts of things over the years

good luck just take your time and it will all make sense...

[MAR-Ktech]

Javadoc
Sometimes a PO will change the locations of the cross sills to fit their needs, especially if you notice that the bed is not original, like in this case it has the plywood.
The cross sills will line up with some of the holes in the bed strips and the holes in the frame. Bolts go through the bed strips, between the boards, and either go through a cross sill or where there isn't a cross sill, they attach to the boards using fender washers. Bed-to-frame holes will also be drilled in your cross sills (and if you buy wood from us, would also be drilled in the wood). The bed-to-frame bolts go through the wood board, through the cross sill (or rear sill) and bolt down to the frame. Here is a general instruction (not year series specific) That might help you:
http://www.mar-k.com/bed_parts_installation.html
Another one that you might want to look at is this:
http://www.mar-k.com/bed_mounting_information.pdf

Hope this helps!

[kieth]

I cut my own wood according to Mar-K instructions, the reason I started in the center is that I had not cut the wood for the wheel well openings yet, I figured the adjustments could be made after all the wood was in place in the center and any width adjustments could be made in the perimeter of the wood where it attaches to the bed wood. If you have a complete wood kit that was predrilled then you could go to the outside first and probable not have any adjustment issues. It seems I alway have to have a little fudge factor built in, so I let that be to the outside of the bed. Kieth

p.s. as we installed the bed from the center we did use scraps of wood to hold the spacing around the perimeter of the bed.

[javadoc]

Thanks for the advice, it's very helpful.

I do know how the bed wood goes in, that the wood doesn't bolt directly down, but the strips do, hence why I went to Mar-K for their excellent stainless strips. I milled the hickory strips with my dad, and allowed for the proper gaps. I would've used Mar-K's wood, but I wanted the added character of Hickory.

At any rate, what I'm saying is, the stainless strips that I bought have square holes tapped into them. If you lay these length-wise down the bed (front to back... the way they're supposed to go..) the holes line up with the front, back and one cross piece.

I pulled up the wood strips that I set in place, and it looks like the offending cross sills are welded down. So, something doesn't add up. Either the metal strips are drilled wrong (not likely), or the cross sills aren't in the right place. Being that the truck is 48 years old, that shouldn't be a surprise.

So it's looking like the PO mucked it up for me. Now I need to figure out how to fix it.

So, back to my question... can you move the cross sills without welding?

[wutnxt]

I think what we are all trying to say is....that only the front and back are fixed points....all the rest of the sills/ cross members bolt in not weld in. So there should be no welding or cutting of anything to move any of the cross sills/cross members. Only unbolting to move things...

[sigshooter]

I see your profile is a stepside, I ran into the same problem once!!!! The PO had changed the bed with an earlier model one. the cross rails are different between certain Years 55-59, 60-62, 63-66 but the rest of the bed is the same. Look closely and see if all the bed mounting holes to the frame line up. if not, maybe the bed was switched

[MAR-Ktech]

wutnxt is right. Cross sills can be moved with the exception of the front and the rear. They are not generally welded on except for the rear sill is sometimes welded.
If you ordered the strips from us, you should have received bed assembly instructions that will show you the correct locations of the cross sills. If you did not receive these, PM me your email address and I'll email them to you.

[pdxhall]

Seems to me that some of you are missing the point. I think he is saying that the PO welded a couple of the cross sills to the frame in the wrong location. If that is the case you will have to try and cut/grind them off and reposition them where they need to go. If the PO welded over the original mounting holes you will have to drill them out and then the sills will bolt through the frame rails.

[javadoc]

You guys are always a fountain of knowledge. I should've taken some pictures before now, so I'll do that and post back in a bit.

It would appear, and I'm probably describing this incorrectly, that the bedsides have some tabs, that the let's call them 'midship' cross sills bolt to. These do appear to be bolted to them. well, the PO used a sheet metal screw, which is really par for the course for this guy. He used one of those garage tool hanging things that you screw into he wall for an exhaust hanger, so this is what I'm dealing with. Anyway, the cross sills are screwed to these tabs that look to be part of the bedsides. I'm going to out on a limb and opine that these bedsides are not in face for a '64 stepside, but I'll post a few photos to describe what's going on.

The sad part of all this, I'm selling the truck. So, I have to get her looking good so I can entice a buyer. Sad, after all of this work. The engine doesn't even have 100 miles on it.

Anyway, stay tuned for a few photos. And, thank you.

[javadoc]

Well I figured something out, and not the 'proper' method but better. I attached some angle brackets to the bedsides, since the ones on there were obviously not in the position for my truck. It was sickeningly simple. The hardest part was getting the elevation right. Anyway, here's what it looks like without the angle strips in it yet. See if you notice anything peculiar...

3/4" hickory. I filled the knot holes with clear acrylic, and then topped with 8coats of urethane.