RPO E81 Fleetside Wood Floor

[Stitch]

also, does the wood get installed from the bottom side...if not, what moves out of the way so the wood can be installed from the top?

[crossy's son]

nothing beats that 'look' for the 'show' part of the truck, especially in a fleetside of all things. great job.

[JohnC]

Originally Posted by Tex_50613

78 lb stepsides and 76 sb stepsides you could also get it, I had one of each with original wood floors in them in the last 10 years know I have the lb fleetside off a 75 still as I already stated and just was talking with my brother and he says that I still have the sb stepside with a wood floor out back of my father's place

The stepsides kept the wood floor up to 87. It's the fleetsides that were rare.

I agree you made the right decision Ray. It looks sweet with the urethaned wood, and not painted.

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by crossy's son

nothing beats that 'look' for the 'show' part of the truck, especially in a fleetside of all things. great job.

Originally Posted by JohnC

I agree you made the right decision Ray. It looks sweet with the urethaned wood, and not painted.

Thanks guys!!

Originally Posted by Fat Hoe

can the metal floor be unbolted from the bedsides and front panel by itself without taking the bed off the truck

No, I don't think it'd be very easy to take out the metal floor & leave the bedsides/front in place. Especially since the bed floor is what bolts to the frame and holds the bedsides/front.

Originally Posted by Fat Hoe

also, does the wood get installed from the bottom side...if not, what moves out of the way so the wood can be installed from the top?

It can be installed either way. I believe GM likely bolted the wood boards down to the cross sills and then bolted on the perimeter flange pieces to form a floor assembly. Then they probably bolted the wheel tubs, front panel, and bedsides onto that floor assembly just like with a steel floor. Finally, they painted the whole works.

In order to keep paint off the boards (and avoid lots of extra masking), we used a slightly different assembly procedure. We bolted the bedsides, front panel, and rear cross sill all together to form a "floor-less" bed. Then we bolted in the perimeter flange pieces and ran a bead of seam sealer (like factory) along where they join up to the bedsides/wheel tubs/etc. Next, I painted the inside of the bed while standing in the open area where the floor would eventually go.


We put the outside edge boards up in from the bottom, followed by the cross sills.


The remaining center boards went in from the top since only the front edge of those gets sandwiched under the flange along the bottom of the front bed panel. The rear edge of the boards simply lays into the notch in the rear cross sill. And those middle boards are held down by the steel strips/bolts that go between them.

Ray

[Stitch]

that's an awesome write up...I subscribed to this thread...when I get around to doing the bed of the truck, I'll be sure to post pics for everyone to see...mine's a swb, so we'll see how much I have to fab up...I'm going to cut and prep my own boards...there's a couple of sites that show how the boards need to be cut for the strips to fit right and all...Ray, I can't thank you enough for this...I've had this on the to-do list for the truck because I haven't seen anyone do this to a swb...thank you again...

Chuck.

[ray_mcavoy]

Hi Chuck,

You're welcome. That should make for a really unique bed having a wood floor in your swb.

I can't remember if I mentioned it earlier or not, but we used cross sills meant for a 67-72 wood floor fleetside to replace the rusty originals. They already have the correct height/profile which is about 1/2" or so shorter than ones for a steel floor (to account for the thickness of the wood). However, the 68-72 ones extend out farther (wider) under the bedsides than the 73-80 ones so I had to cut 3" or 4" off them to duplicate the originals. Finally, the bolt hole spacing pattern is different (due to different width boards) but the folks at MAR-K were able to supply us with some un-drilled.

[80SPORT]

The RPO E81 was popular in rural and farm areas;It was about the same as the tachometer option as percentage of build.

There was also a RPO E56 factory stake body on the chassis cab with a wood floor;these were very rare and if someone has one or has seen one please contact me.

[Stitch]

Originally Posted by ray_mcavoy

Hi Chuck,

You're welcome. That should make for a really unique bed having a wood floor in your swb.

I can't remember if I mentioned it earlier or not, but we used cross sills meant for a 67-72 wood floor fleetside to replace the rusty originals. They already have the correct height/profile which is about 1/2" or so shorter than ones for a steel floor (to account for the thickness of the wood). However, the 68-72 ones extend out farther (wider) under the bedsides than the 73-80 ones so I had to cut 3" or 4" off them to duplicate the originals. Finally, the bolt hole spacing pattern is different (due to different width boards) but the folks at MAR-K were able to supply us with some un-drilled.

thanks for the info...didn't think about getting them from a 67-72...that would probably be alot easier to find...I was just going to use some C channel, but if I could find original parts and somehow use them that would be alot better...also, when you talk about bolt spacing and ordering them with un-drilled, "them" would be the strips between the wood?...also, you just ordered the plain steel ones and painted them I'm assuming...I plan on doing that also, my truck is blue and white two tone and I think the blue will look good on the strips like in your bed...thanks again for the info...

Chuck.

[bigblock73]

Ray, your truck...and bed, look fantastic! I always wondered why GM never offered this option is short fleets.

[ray_mcavoy]

Hi Chuck,

Regarding the bolt spacing, and getting "them" undrilled, I was talking about the replacement 67-72 style cross sills ... the pieces that run side to side under the bed floor. In addition to the smaller 1/4" holes to bolt down the boards, these also have larger 1/2" holes going through them for the bed-to-frame bolts. And some welded-on reinforcement plates in those locations. The un-drilled cross sills we got from MAR-K included those reinforcements but they left them un-welded so we could position them as needed to line up with the mounting holes in the 73-80 frame.

As for the strips that go between the boards, MAR-K had them for this application with the holes pre-punched. They're square holes for 1/4" carriage bolts. MAR-K does offer special carriage bolts with a splined shank (instead of square) for use in round holes (like if you get undrilled bed strips). The factory bolts in this bed were actually that splined type.

Yes, we ordered the bare steel bed strips, lightly sanded, primed, and painted them with the same paint I used on the rest of the truck. I sanded/primed/painted the heads of all the bolts too. As well as the offset washers that are countersunk into the wood around the bed-to-frame bolts.

Thanks for the compliments Jeff!

[KQQL IT]

^ Very very nice

[Stitch]

Originally Posted by ray_mcavoy

Hi Chuck,

Regarding the bolt spacing, and getting "them" undrilled, I was talking about the replacement 67-72 style cross sills ... the pieces that run side to side under the bed floor. In addition to the smaller 1/4" holes to bolt down the boards, these also have larger 1/2" holes going through them for the bed-to-frame bolts. And some welded-on reinforcement plates in those locations. The un-drilled cross sills we got from MAR-K included those reinforcements but they left them un-welded so we could position them as needed to line up with the mounting holes in the 73-80 frame.

As for the strips that go between the boards, MAR-K had them for this application with the holes pre-punched. They're square holes for 1/4" carriage bolts. MAR-K does offer special carriage bolts with a splined shank (instead of square) for use in round holes (like if you get undrilled bed strips). The factory bolts in this bed were actually that splined type.

Yes, we ordered the bare steel bed strips, lightly sanded, primed, and painted them with the same paint I used on the rest of the truck. I sanded/primed/painted the heads of all the bolts too. As well as the offset washers that are countersunk into the wood around the bed-to-frame bolts.

once again, excellent information...thanks alot...

Chuck.

[BIG10]

That is sweet. I've never seen a fleetside. I learn something new everyday on this board. You guys did a fantastic job.

[djracer]

Originally Posted by BIG10

That is sweet. I've never seen a fleetside. I learn something new everyday on this board. You guys did a fantastic job.

I Agree!

[thrtsxchambers]

I have heard the fleetside wood floors were rare. I always wanted to put a wood floor in mine and found a company that makes one that just lays over the metal floor but I could 2 trucks for the price of the floor. Good lookin work.

[K20chevy]

Looks absolutely amazing! I just wouldn´t put anything in the bed anymore after making it look so great....
Too bad I still have to use my bed, otherwise that would be a great addition to my truck as well!

[JJK]

GREAT job Ray,

Did the fab shop you found replicate all the required pieces or only the one's needing replacement?
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[INSIDIOUS '86]

This thread is from 2009 guys. Happy new year lol
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[ray_mcavoy]

Thanks for the compliments guys!

Originally Posted by JJK

Did the fab shop you found replicate all the required pieces or only the one's needing replacement?

They were able to duplicate all of the parts that needed replacement. That included the rear cross sill (which has a notch to hold the ends of the boards) along with most of the perimeter flange pieces that bolt to the bedsides & wheel tubs to make the transition to the wood. The pieces aren't overly complicated so I think most any shop with a large sheetmetal brake and a bead roller could do the job.

[meatwagon83]

i was actually thinking of doing this in my dually

[K20chevy]

Originally Posted by meatwagon83

i was actually thinking of doing this in my dually

Make sure to post pictures!

[esbstuff]

Originally Posted by JohnC

The stepsides kept the wood floor up to 87. It's the fleetsides that were rare.

I agree you made the right decision Ray. It looks sweet with the urethaned wood, and not painted.

Are you sure they quit the wood floor 8' fleetsides in 80? I was sure I ran across an injected 87 that was a wood floor truck... If the scrapers haven't got to it, the truck was wrecked (hard) and was sitting in a field a few years ago. I might have to go and take a peek to see if it is still there. But no promises as it was extremely rusty the last time I saw it...

[Vbjunker]

Great write up and beautiful job. Not something you see every day.
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[MusicMan70]

My 73 wood bed and date coded...

[ray_mcavoy]

Originally Posted by esbstuff

Are you sure they quit the wood floor 8' fleetsides in 80? I was sure I ran across an injected 87 that was a wood floor truck... If the scrapers haven't got to it, the truck was wrecked (hard) and was sitting in a field a few years ago. I might have to go and take a peek to see if it is still there. But no promises as it was extremely rusty the last time I saw it...

Well, I haven't seen this option listed or mentioned in any of the 81-up factory literature like it is in the equivalent 73-80 documents. That would include the vehicle info kits from the GM Heritage Center (http://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-h...tion-kits.html) as well as the sales brochures which can be seen online at: http://brochures.slosh.com/

If that truck is still there and still has the SPID sheet I'd be curious to see if it lists E81 on there. If it doesn't, someone probably swapped a 73-80 bed onto that 87.

Originally Posted by MusicMan70

My 73 wood bed and date coded...

Thanks for sharing those pics! That's pretty cool that yours still has the date code visible! I don't recall seeing that on Dad's 77 but the old boards were weathered and worn a lot worse than yours.

Your pics also confirm something that I was previously a bit unsure about. That is those small carriage bolts that go directly through the boards in the rear/outer corner sections. I had a feeling they were factory since they go into existing cross sill holes but couldn't rule out the possibility that Grampa or Dad added them years ago to hold down warped/cupping boards. I'm glad to see that they do indeed belong there