Sorry, but I have bed wood install questions - '64 short step

[Arne]

I guess my search terms aren't good, I've failed so far finding what I need. Please don't flame me!

One of the recurring issues when you pick up a project that someone else has started is that you don't know for sure what parts you got with the project, and since you didn't take it apart yourself, you don't actually know how it goes back together either.

So the '64 step side project truck I picked up a few weeks ago was already painted, and came with new wood and stainless strips for the brand new bed. (All of the bed metal appears to be new repro except the left fender.) I've been struggling with figuring out how it all goes together, as none of the holes seem to line up. So I have 2 questions:

1.) The truck came with new stainless strips, including the 2 angle strips for the edges. But the angle strips were not installed (welded) to the bed sides before the bed was painted. Any ideas on how I should attach the angle strips to the bed sides?

2.) It looks to me as if the (apparently) pre-drilled wood kit is all wrong. The counter-sunk hole spacing does not match the frame mounting points, and the width of the planks do not match the hole spacing in the ends of the bed or the original (semi-rusty) cross sills. According to GMC Paul's site, the widths should be:

3 1/8" - 7 7/16" - 7 7/16" - 5 7/16" - 5 7/16" - 7 7/16" - 7 7/16" - 3 1/8"

These widths match the holes in the bed front and rear sill, as well as the holes on the existing cross sills. But the wood I got is quite different. They are:

4 7/16" - 6 7/8" - 6 7/8" - 4 7/8" - 4 7/8" - 6 7/8" - 6 7/8" - 4 7/16"

While these board widths appear to fill the bed width-wise, the only holes that match up are the holes between the 2 center boards. In addition, the countersunk holes for the bed-to-frame bolts mostly wrong too. Only the two nearest the front of the bed appear to match the frame mounting points.

I have no idea where this wood kit came from, or what it might really be designed to fit. But at this point it looks to me that I probably need to buy a new kit that is correct for a '64 short step. Any recommendations on who offers a properly fitting and affordable kit? Should I plan to buy it undrilled just in case?

[Arne]

Originally Posted by Arne

Any ideas on how I should attach the angle strips to the bed sides?

After giving this some thought, I think I'm going to bolt the angle strips to the bed sides, after drilling the appropriate holes. It looks like I can put 6-7 holes down each side without them showing from the outside by drilling the 2 end bolt holes into the stake pockets, and then about 5 down the sides into the fender wells. Looking for some nice button head stainless screws now.

[Braunschweiger]

But you know this page, best information about Bed Wood:
https://gmcpauls.com/47-72_BedWood_Info.htm
Or here, much about bed construction:
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=646002

[The Rocknrod]

No idea what that wood fits, could even be a Ferd.
Make sure it was assembled correctly. The instructions can be downloaded (2nd post) here - https://www.67-72chevytrucks.com/vbo...d.php?t=775580

[Arne]

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

No idea what that wood fits, could even be a Ferd.

Maybe a Ford, apparently they have the countersunk frame holes all in the same line like my boards do. On the other hand, most Fords I've seen in pictures seem to have only 7 boards for a narrow bed, rather than the 8 that I have or a Chevy uses. I guess it could be for a Dodge, but I'm not even going to bother researching that.

The short version is that I am definitely going to want a new set of correct width boards. So here's another question that many people may not know the answer to - my truck was a long Fleetside until a few years back when the PO did a short bed conversion. Any idea whether the bed-to-frame mount points are in the correct short bed locations after the frame has been sectioned? Might be better to buy them undrilled so that I can custom drill if needed.

On the other hand, the frame mount points look to line up with the pre-punched square holes in the stainless rub strips. So maybe pre-drilled boards will be fine. If I need to custom drill I'll need to buy a bigger Forstner bit for that.

By the way, Rocknrod, your truck in red/white has a similar vibe to where mine is going, but mine will be green/white instead. Probably won't be as tricked out as yours, either.

[MT65]

I like your color combination 👍👍👍

[jayoldschool]

Just make your own bed wood. It's easy, will be perfect fit, and you can put the holes where ever you need to.

[Arne]

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

Just make your own bed wood. It's easy, will be perfect fit, and you can put the holes where ever you need to.

I don't have a table saw to rip and dado the boards properly, but I'm pretty sure that I'll buy undrilled wood and do that myself.

[cwcarpenter98]

If you're concerned about the holes not lining up, you can avoid that by not running bolts through the wood. That's what the previous owner did on my truck, and I like it that way, so I did the same when I redid my wood.
I've driven the truck for a solid 6 years that way without having any issues with the bed coming off the frame. Also hauled a couple engines around during that time

[The Rocknrod]

Yes that's right I didn't run the bolts thru my wood either.

[Arne]

Originally Posted by cwcarpenter98

If you're concerned about the holes not lining up, you can avoid that by not running bolts through the wood. That's what the previous owner did on my truck, and I like it that way, so I did the same when I redid my wood.
I've driven the truck for a solid 6 years that way without having any issues with the bed coming off the frame. Also hauled a couple engines around during that time

Originally Posted by The Rocknrod

Yes that's right I didn't run the bolts thru my wood either.

So my understanding of this process is that I would bolt the cross sills to the frame, and the wood to the bed by way of the retaining strips at the front and rear, and also bolt the retaining strips to the cross sills to hold the whole works to the frame. In this case I'd need to add a small countersink to the underside of the two boards to sit flush over the frame bolts. Yes?

[The Rocknrod]

Something like that. I didnt countersink anything though.