Stepside For An 85 C-10

[akjarhead]

I was wondering if anyone knew how hard or easy it would be to put a stepside bed on my 85 C-10?

[cliffsta]

Just a matter of building it and/or putting it on. The frames are all the same, its just a matter of buying a bed/building a bed and putting it on, pretty much. You gotta change your rear bumper (and brackets, too, i think?) because steppies have different bumpers.

[piecesparts]

If you want something that is new, look into a company called MAR-K. They sell bed parts and flooring. LMC and Chevy duty (Now called Classic Parts of America) both have bed parts for this style of truck.

[bluex]

you have to have the step side filler neck for the gas tank as well. Other than that just bolt it up. You can run a fleetside bumper, but it will look funny.

[cliffsta]

I'll have a pretty good walkthrough of it in a couple months, im building an entire new bed (save for fenders and steps, they're reusuable), i should have the money for paint some time this fall, once i find my cab... but i'm gonna actually try and do a write-up on building my bed.

Good luck

And ps I got my stuff all from Chevy Duty, hardware (excluding fender mounting hardware, had to get that from LMC). MAR K is quality lookin' stuff but jeez it was a bit on the $$$ side IIRC from their catalog.

[akjarhead]

Thanks guys. I just didn't know how hard it would be cause i've never done it..look forward to your walkthrough cliffsta my email is antonio.colon@acemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil if anyone wants to send stuff to me about that type of stuff thanks

Tony

[cliffsta]

From what I've gathered and observed, its really just a bolt-together thing. Chevy Duty sells a lil' booklet on "Restoring your Stepside Wood Bed" and its got several good pointers.

Pretty much bolt the rear crosssill to the bedsides, then the front panel to the besdies, then set the wood in... or at least that's how I invision it... of course there's a lot more to it...

As soon as I find a cab, I'll start tearing it down and I'll set up shop on the back patio or the carport and start messin' with the bed.

[akjarhead]

nice cause i love the look of those stepsides with the wood. I mean if I had to stay with metal i would. I wasn't sure though if I could just take the fleetside sides off and then put Stepside sides on it or not. I wasn't sure didn't think it was that easy. But we'll just have to see I guess. Thanks as always

Tony

[piecesparts]

Nope, that whole assembly will have to be changed. The floor design is different than the fleetsides (whether it is wood or metal) and the end panels are shorter in length.

[akjarhead]

cool. So could you make a list of all the stuff i'd need to buy to do it cause i'm wanting to do it soon as i can cause i love stepside beds. I understand if ya can't that's cool i was just wondering if you knew off the top of your head

[akjarhead]

http://www.73-87chevytrucks.com/merc..._Code=7387Beds

Anyone think I can use the parts off there to build a stepside bed for my truck?

[cliffsta]

Yeah that's some of the parts.... there's a lot more.

Here's the rundown:
Bedsides (left and right)
Fenders (L/R)
Front bed panel
Tailgate
Rear Cross sill
Metal bedstrips
Bedwood
Horizontal Cross sills (dunno if that's the right name... basically its about 5/6 horizontal strips that support the bed)
Steps (L/R)
All the mounting hardware (Bed to frame, wood to strips, fender to bedside, front panel attachment, probably one or two other groups i missed)
As mentioned above, you need the appropriate filler neck (and gas door, I dunno if repro fenders come with the door)

You'll also need a bumper and brackets, as mentioned ^^^, the fleetside bumper jus' don't look right on a stepside.

I'm sure I missed something, but someone will hit it for you

[akjarhead]

awesome awesome...thanks again bro. it's much appreciated this puppy's gonna be sick when i get done with her. By the way you're truck is gorgeous..haha i know i know don't covet thy neighbor's truck. but i'm in Iraq so we're not neighbors and i'm stationed in Cali so i can get away with it haha...sorry if that was blasphemous to anyone i just thought it was funny

[cliffsta]

My truck is anything but gorgeous right now... but I'm getting there. I'm on the prowl for the elusive 73-80 not-too-rusted cab... and saving money, cause when i get one I can prep it for paint and spend a weekend or two with my body/paint man and get all the pieces painted.

THEN I might build me that bed

I'm not the biggest expert on steppies around here... I'm surprised no one's jumped in and put me in my place, but I know a thing or two. This is the best place to ask anything man, someone knows the why/how/whatfor about everything.

[akjarhead]

That's a solid plan. I need to figure out how i'm going to go about what all I want to do to her when I get home. Well at least how to do it in a logical order. But the true test is seeing if those Californians will let me go without getting smogged cause if they don't make me smog it i'm good. Cause i'm in the military so it's going to shortly be registered back home and have plates from there. which is nice...just gotta see how that goes

[piecesparts]

Go on line and order a LMC catalog for that truck and go through it for a good list of parts.

[Slonaker]

It shouldn't be too hard to find a stepside bed in California. Then you could just relace anything it needs. I would imagine that building one from scratch would be costly, and the aftermarket sheetmetal usually is not as good as the original GM stuff.

That is the approach I would take. That would allow you to buy it, sell yours to recover some or all of the cost, bolt on the stepside, then replace anything it needs over time and as you can afford it.

Slonaker

[akjarhead]

Originally Posted by Slonaker

It shouldn't be too hard to find a stepside bed in California. Then you could just relace anything it needs. I would imagine that building one from scratch would be costly, and the aftermarket sheetmetal usually is not as good as the original GM stuff.

That is the approach I would take. That would allow you to buy it, sell yours to recover some or all of the cost, bolt on the stepside, then replace anything it needs over time and as you can afford it.

Slonaker

Thanks bro. That does sound like a heck of a plan. Just buy the stuff and build it then drop it on and sell the bed. Cause the fleetside isn't in bad condition as you can see and my friend that is hanging onto it for me said it's in good condition so that's not the problem I just personally like step sides better. Well as always thanks everyone for all the help. Seems if someone on here doesn't quite know someone else always does so either way all the bases are covered it's awesome...never thought i'd come to love this site so much haha..

Tony

[cliffsta]

Yeah, if you can find a bed, go for it. The problem around here is, all the (few) decent steppers are actually VERY NICE steppers and the owners are hanging on to them. On a day-to-day basis I do not see stepsides. There is one that a fellow mall employee has but its a bigger P.O.S. than mine. That's the only one I regularly see. Everybody just ate up fleetsides here I guess. Which pretty much relegated me to saving and building my bed (it only came up to around $1500 give or take $100 to buy the stuff I needed).. the stepsides for sale around here genrealy are REALLY NICE and are going for a few G, which isn't what I want to spend JUST for a bed.

[akjarhead]

I totally agree cliff. it's crazy because i saw the steppers that were like absolutely the most gorgeous creations on earth or the ones that look like the step children that the abusive alcoholic father beats and leaves out in the weather to die. And even the latter were still running for a G or two. mainly because of the motor but even if i found a gutless steppy i couldn't just buy it and then get rid of the rest cause i live on base and it's not like back home where you can let her sit in the yard haha...anyway thanks again for the estimate on prices...it's just a matter of finding all the right parts and having time. cause see we deploy once a year for 7 months...it sucks for example we get back this october and come back next september so you see my time constraint

[bluex]

Man I wish you were closer, I got the stepside for mine b/c I couldnt find a decent fleetside.

Its off an '84, no rust or anything. Only one small dent on the passenger fender about the size of a nickel. It does have some slight surface rust on the bottoms of the fenders, but nothing huge.

I would love to find someone to trade, but everyone that wants a stepper is at least 1500 miles away.

[cliffsta]

Originally Posted by bluex

I would love to find someone to trade, but everyone that wants a stepper is at least 1500 miles away.

I'm not 1500 away, I woulda traded if I'da known I'da even met you halfway but oh well, c'est la vie.

[akjarhead]

Man I sure wish I did live closer. Haha or at least was in the states that'd be nice. Cause I want a stepside but I heard it's going to be a huge pain to put on. So we'll have to see i guess

[akjarhead]

So I got my LMC catalog in like 4 days haha that's pretty quick for shipping it to Iraq. Anyway you guys weren't kidding. building a steppers not going to be cheap. But i had a question if I want to put the wood bed in it what would you suggest finishing the wood with because it says unfinished wood.

[cliffsta]

Well, it needs to be hardcore treated if you want it to last more than a few years. The stain you use is kinda dependant on if you want light wood or dark wood... and if you get oak or pine. I got pine myself, I like the light color of it so I'm gonna try and keep it as light as possible.

A truck buddy of mine suggested using some marine-grade sealant/treatment, I forget what he called it, but he said they use it on boats and that the metal generally rusts away before the wood shows any roughness. Again I don't recall the name of it...