metal bed bolt up

[Jason kitchens]

Does a metal bed floor on a 1968 c10 sit Directly on the frame in some parts ? Im going from wood to metal and not sure if im missing anything

[kwmech]

Yes, sometimes there was a thin rubber pad to keep it from squeaking, kinda like a flattened out inner tube

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by kwmech

Yes, sometimes there was a thin rubber pad to keep it from squeaking, kinda like a flattened out inner tube

Interesting. They sell rubber pads, I mentioned it to a guy who's built many of these and he says don't use them, reason being you're reducing a proper ground. Who knows, might work either way so long as there's a ground strap to the frame or so. All I know is I made and installed some, but I have to shim the bed in a spot or two and will probably remove them.

[sick472]

I used rubber pads on my metal-to-wood conversion. You should definitely add some grounding straps. Chances are the bolts would ground the works, but they tend to rust and loose the ground. Not to mention those bolted connections are usually well painted to begin with, whereas properly done straps will maintain the connections. I put two straps on between my frame and bedsides. One on each side at the rear. This helps ensure the taillights work well.

[BigBird05]

As grounds go I always add a ground wire to all of my harness's and install the factory ground straps. When I have a electrical problems it is not the ground.

[71CHEVYSHORTBED402]

Originally Posted by 71CHEVYSHORTBED402

Interesting. They sell rubber pads, I mentioned it to a guy who's built many of these and he says don't use them, reason being you're reducing a proper ground. Who knows, might work either way so long as there's a ground strap to the frame or so. All I know is I made and installed some, but I have to shim the bed in a spot or two and will probably remove them.

Having said this and thinking about it while I'm under my truck bed other than ground strap(s), even with some cushion between the bed and frame there's still contact for both through the bed bolts. So I decided not to remove them after all.