Body Lines - Cab and Bed

[jason999]

Hello,

I have a 1966 Fleetside Shortbed Truck

My truck is in lots of pieces right now. The body work and paint on the bed is done and everything on the cab is lined up and most of it is in primer.

Before it was disassembled, the bed sat up just slightly higher than the cab. The body lines on the side were off just a little. My old bed wood was slightly thicker and it had been exposed to water, so I bought new wood from Classic Parts. The new wood is straight and a little thinner.

A few months ago, we did a test fit with the side pieces of wood in the bed. We didn't bolt it down. We just sort of mocked it up. The body guy said that it would line up fine when everything was bolted down. I am hopeful that when we assemble everything, the side lines will be perfect with the new wood.

The concern that I have is that the bed came off of another truck and the cab had new bushing put under it, so I am concerned that there could be a problem that the new wood won't fix.

If the lines are off when we assemble the parts, what can I do?

I have thought that the cab could be raised slightly, but I am afraid that would throw off the lined up front.

The only other thought that I have is that the support beams that run across the bed could be ground down slightly on the bottom. These are the support beams for all of the wood. All of the wood sits on the beams and the bed sits on the wood, so if the beams sat a fraction of an inch lower, then the whole bed would sit lower.

I'll try to attach a few pictures of the truck. Any input would be appreciated.

[jason999]

Here is the truck before (with my new wheels :-) )

[cru_zn_29]

If the bed is higher than the cab shim the cab and the core support. When i have had the a truck apart and doing the body work I align cab doors bed shim as needed with bolts and nuts. Then mark shims for location. Then disassemble paint and cut and buff then and reassemble. Cutting down the bed supports is not a good idea. IMO

[jason999]

Originally Posted by jason999

Here is the truck before (with my new wheels :-) )

Here are a few more

[jason999]

Originally Posted by cru_zn_29

If the bed is higher than the cab shim the cab and the core support. When i have had the a truck apart and doing the body work I align cab doors bed shim as needed with bolts and nuts. Then mark shims for location. Then disassemble paint and cut and buff then and reassemble. Cutting down the bed supports is not a good idea. IMO

I understand what you are saying. I agree that we could have put it all together with the new wood and shim the cab up before paint.

Instead, we just did a uick check with the new wood and the body guy said it looked good. He's more experienced than me on such thing. I have no doubt that the new wood helped some. It may be perfect, but Im just asking what would be the best thing to do if we put it together and it is off slightly.

If we raised the cab, it would change things up front. Why would it be a bad idea to cut down the bed supports a little? Im not talking 1/2". It would just be a fraction of an inch.

[ol_skool_chevy]

sometimes the cab mounts are bad and also the bed wood changes the lines....I would replace it all and run a string line down the sides to reline things up nice.

[cru_zn_29]

The new wood made no difference.I would bet your new cab mounts are not as thick as the originals. To me cutting the bed supports to lower the bed is mickey mouse IMO
Measure how much the difference between the cab and bed then shim up the cab and core support. The only difference will be the amount the body line and bed line.You can buy shims or make them.

[jason999]

Originally Posted by ol_skool_chevy

sometimes the cab mounts are bad and also the bed wood changes the lines....I would replace it all and run a string line down the sides to reline things up nice.

I should have mentioned. When I got the truck, it already had new cab mounts on it. I wondered if maybe the height of the mounts could have been slightly different than original.

[jason999]

The problem with shimming the cab is that it will throw off my lines with the fenders, right?

Have others had problems the the height of their cab after replacing cab mount bushings?

My bed may be from a different truck and I'm not sure about the bed supports. Did any trucks have different types of supports? Are the front and back supports exactly the same and interchangeable?

We will have the cab done and everything will be painted. If my bed is 1/4" higher in the back, Im thinking altering the bed supports slightly would be the easiest way to fix it.

If anyone sees a mechanical issue with doing this, please let me know. I would really appreciate some help. No offense, but I'm not sure why it would be Mickey Mouse. Ive added power steering, power disc brakes, AC, a tilt column, a 350, 18" wheels and a host of other things. Its a nice truck and I love it, but it's not exactly original. I'll grind those supports in a second if it solves a problem and allows me to move to the next step.

[DLW]

I'm subscribing here. My bed seems just like yours, a little higher than cab. It too had new cab bushings when I got it, I even replaced them again but no help. I stopped bothering with it since I was rebuilding the entire truck pretty much, suspension and drivetrain wise, but now I'm getting back to solving this. bed wood and supports will be looked at now as well..

Also, with shimming the cab, you would need to shim the core support as well so your front end stays properly aligned.

[PGSigns]

The cab has 4 mount points and the core support 2. All 6 would get the same size shim. That raises it all up even so no issues with the fenders. Hard to tell in the pictures but it looks like your bed is a little down in the back. The piece you are thinking of grinding is about a 1/4" thick. The little you could gain grinding it would not even be visable. Also check to ensure your body mounts are in it correctly and all the pieces are in it.
Jimmy

[thunder71]

It does look like the rear of the bed is to low and if raised up would lower the front of the bed...I would not be grinding on the cross supports because it will lose a lot of its strength...

[jason999]

You guys made a good observation that I should have mentioned earlier. I think the bed did tilt slightly.

Im curious why you guys say that the bed is down in the back? I feel like the back is right and the front is up.

If you think about it, it seems like the cab is lower at all mount points, and the back of the bed is lower so the front of the bed is the odd man out.

I also noticed that the bed was closer to the cab than I felt it should be, at the bottom, but at the top it looked ok.

I wouldnt think so, but could the wheel wells be mounted wrong (lower)? Would be a possible cause.

BTW, if i ground on the supports, I would weld new metal in to strengthen it.

[DLW]

Do you have the rubber pads between frame pads and the supports? Any missing?
If you loosen up all the bed bolts, do all the support pads sit evenly on the frame pads?
Was your truck always a short bed?

[jason999]

Originally Posted by DLW

Do you have the rubber pads between frame pads and the supports? Any missing?
If you loosen up all the bed bolts, do all the support pads sit evenly on the frame pads?
Was your truck always a short bed?

The truck was always a short bed fleet side, but I believe they found another bed or at least parts of another bed for it.

I have no rubber pads under the bed.

[cru_zn_29]

Have you used a string line from your upper trim at the rear of the bed to the front fender spear. Keeping string tight and measure the thickness the bed needs to be lowered. Now cut notches in your bed supports from the measurement between your string line and the top of the moldings. Or use the measurement what ever it is and add shims between the 4 cab mounts and the 2 core support mounts. I have owned over 20 of these trucks none have ever had the rubber pads under the bed.I have seen a lot of shims used with reproduction mounts

[63burban]

Make sure the bare frame is straight, tire pressure is up, no mixed matched tires and sitting on a good level floor.
Mount the box, cab and front clip, tighten the bolts and as others mentioned, us a string to check the body lines.
Shim whatever needs to be shimmed and you are done.
You are making more of this in your mind than it actually is. It's a 50 year old truck not rocket science.
I installed a different bed on my truck and one corner sat low. The guys that helped install the bed were all freaked out, I added a washer and ever thing lined up great.
You can't fix something that has not been assembled yet. Your body man knows what he is talking about. He has most likely done it many times before.

[jason999]

Originally Posted by 63burban

Make sure the bare frame is straight, tire pressure is up, no mixed matched tires and sitting on a good level floor.
Mount the box, cab and front clip, tighten the bolts and as others mentioned, us a string to check the body lines.
Shim whatever needs to be shimmed and you are done.
You are making more of this in your mind than it actually is. It's a 50 year old truck not rocket science.
I installed a different bed on my truck and one corner sat low. The guys that helped install the bed were all freaked out, I added a washer and ever thing lined up great.
You can't fix something that has not been assembled yet. Your body man knows what he is talking about. He has most likely done it many times before.

I agree with what you are saying, but still I'm a little curious to know why it would sit lower on one corner.

If I were there working on the truck right now, I might not be so curious. I'd probably just want to solve the problem and move on to the next task. In the meantime, I enjoy kicking around thought, ideas, and suggestions on the forum.

Thanks