Remounting truck bed problems.. 60 short bed step side

[Leinhit]

Probably just rookie problems and the fact that I had the bed off two years ago and I can't remember details.

I'm having trouble remembering and lining up the mounting holes for the bed to the truck frame...

1. Is there some kind of spacer or rubber block between the truck bed and the truck frame? If so what is it and where can I get them?

2. I'm including some photos. In my mind there is no way what I think is the truck bed mounting holes lining up with anything on the frame for a bolt to go through.

3. It seems to me that the truck bed needs to go farther towards the cab but it's pretty much hitting the cab as it is.

4. And one of the photos I show you at the very rear bed mounting hole under the tailgate and how far off it is from the support going across the back of the truck frame.

The next photo is showing you the second to the last towards the tailgate mounting hole for the truck bed mounting bolt. It doesn't line up with anything..

I'm including a couple of photos to show you how close the cab is to the bed and how the front of the bed seems higher than the tailgate end and how the rear wheel doesn't seem centered in the wheel well.

Anyone has photos or videos to share that would explain it to me I just can't wrap my head around it at midnight. Thank you all for your patience and easy explanations..

[Grounded63]

Do you have all of your cross sills in the correct location. They are not all identical.

[Leinhit]

The cross sills are from the previous owner and are welded to the truck frame. And the bed was mounted to them when I got it. Wasn't my doing but they are already there and are in good shape and strong. They almost look like old stop sign post or something.

The two inside sills are attached to the bed of course and came off with the truck bed. To find their placement I looked at Old photographs of when I first took the bed off and then I looked on the bed itself at the wood angle iron support running along the sides. I could see the existing carriage bolt holes so I use those....

So I guess in theory I could have messed up the placement of the two inside ones which would be a major problem at this point. But at the very least the very front and the very last one should still be lined up because those were welded to the frame and didn't move once I took the bed off....

Or is my thinking still not correct?

[SkinnyG]

Not all the cross sills bolt to the frame, some are just to the bed - even if they have pads to go somewhere.

Some of the cross sills have bolt holes more to the outside, some more to the inside - they placement is important - but you said yours are welded, right?

My '61 had no pads, but LMC truck does sell them. I didn't use any putting mine back together.

The wheels are not centered. Stepside rear wheels are too far back, fleetside wheels are too far forward.

[Leinhit]

I have the truck up on my lift and additional pictures I'm going to post cuz I really need your guys help. *I don't know why when I upload the photos it seems to rotate them but the last three if you rotate to the right will probably make more sense looking at it.

With it on the lift I use my safety jack to lift the back of the bed up so it looks somewhat level.

1. The front bed mounting bolts now line up with the homemade cross sill that someone previously welded in. Again the bed was mounted and I took it off so this must have worked in the past.

2. But with the front mount holes lined up no others are. The very back under the tailgate is about an inch and 3/4 too far back. But I can't move the cab much farther forward maybe half an inch.
* If I have to I could put some 3/8 bar stock here bolt down through the sill support and then another hole into the truck mount bracket. It's not the right way to do it it would work but I'd rather do it the right way, short of taking off the support sills that I already bolted to the new wood and moving them. That would leave me with a lot of empty holes.

3. Additional photos show you the second to the last mounting sill holes and how there is nothing for the bolt to come down through the bed and bolt too. Not a frame, not a sill cross member, nothing. Even if some magic way it was moved forward two or three inches to be over the existing welded sill support that sill support doesn't have a hole already for the bolt.. so where was the original bolt? so that is confusing the heck out of me.

Sorry for additional photos but I think these might be more clear since the trucks up in the air and I'm not laying on my back.

[pdxhall]

It looks like you have a real butcher job there. It it were me, I would take the bed off and get the frame corrected. There are a lot of places you can find the proper measurements and you need to make sure you measure everything. You will be money ahead and much happier with your results. That thing is a mess.

[Leinhit]

Yeah I wonder if it's not the original box. maybe the original owner got a different box and felt the need to make these still supports out of whatever material was at hand..

The box color is slightly different than the cab so it makes me think it might be more different donor...

What's throwing me off is that it was mounted when I got it somehow but that secret was lost in the last couple years with it off and now that I'm going to reassemble it... It's like all the puzzle pieces are here you just have to figure out how to put them together

[Leinhit]

Can anyone tell me how much space should be between the top of the box and the cab?

Right now I have an inch and 16th.

That would give me a starting point...