Drip Rails

[andyh1956]

Last Saturday I found a '73 Short Stepper in the Jackson Pick-A-Part. I bought the bed, the gas tank brackets, the grill & the cab roof & rear part. But this roof is smooth with no drip rails. They should be screwed to it but it's never had any. Were drip rails a dealer installed option?

[Greenlee]

From what I remember reading on here years ago, 73’s didn’t have drip rails when they first came out. Maybe there were complaints and the General decided to add them.

[bigblock73]

1973 drip rails were not offered, option starting in 1974, standard equip 1975 and after.

[bigblock73]

Another interesting 1973-only note, the panel below the rear window on the inside of the cab is smooth, whereas other years there are panel recesses stamped into it.

[Dead Parrot]

My 75 came with drip rails but they were some kind of plastic and riveted in. Replaced them with some metal ones found at Pull-a-part that used screws to fasten.

[andyh1956]

Originally Posted by bigblock73

Another interesting 1973-only note, the panel below the rear window on the inside of the cab is smooth, whereas other years there are panel recesses stamped into it.

Interesting. The back panel from this truck has rectangular pressed recesses in it. I cut it between these & the floor, maybe only 1 1/4" wide across there.
Oh yeah I only call it a '73 cause that's what the Part A Pull sticker on the fender said. Looks like a '73 but could be a '74 maybe. What's the difference?

[justin_jj_Taylor]

73's have bolt-on tailgate hinges for the tailgate, similar to the 72 and back. There's a couple other oddities if you really wanted to be certain. The shifter linkage coming off of the transmission is offset the opposite direction (on a 2 wheel drive 73 only)

[andyh1956]

OK. The tailgate had been removed when I got there & also the little round trunnions that it rotates on but I got the chains. The steering column had been removed also. It was a std shift truck but had a turbo 350 in it, I got the crossmember also!

[WyattTX]

I believe 73 is also the only year for a solid hood. 74-80 were purposely made to crease in the middle to avoid a guillotine effect during a head on collision. That is story I have always heard anyway.

[andyh1956]

Next time I go down there I'll look at the hood if the truck is still there, it was thrown up in the bed with half a garbage truck fulla crap.
The bed floor was two pieces of roof tin from a chicken house!