Previous owner '68

[raggedjim]

Screw it, cut, cut cut!

[raggedjim]

And test fit. Now all I have to do is weld in some side strips, weld up the rust holes, grind down the surface rust, rust treatment, prime, paint, and everything else. Ain't trucks fun?

By the way, the inside edge of the fleetside wheelwells are 50", exactly the width of a stepside bed.

[zicc1835]

you, you , ..... you are good

[raggedjim]

Originally Posted by zicc1835

you, you , ..... you are good

Not good, but I am persistant!

[clay68c10]

I like where this is going.

[raggedjim]

Originally Posted by clay68c10

I like where this is going.

Thanks Clay, I'm hoping to get the bed floor to look good enuff so that one day there will be a guy on here claiming to have a one off Chevrolet prototype steel floor stepside! Most people will never even notice the steel floor, but the real truck guys will.

[Shifty One]

Great build...watching, and noticing that the grass ain't growing under your feet!

[raggedjim]

Originally Posted by Shifty One

Great build...watching, and noticing that the grass ain't growing under your feet!

Well, I SHOULD be working on the bed floor but the weather isn't cooperating. It looks a bit better today so maybe...

[sfont66]

Cool build! You have both knowledge and skills and it shows!
You also have a sense of humor that most people can identify with.

I really like that bumper jack that was previously your Grandfathers,so great that you still have it and use it regularly. I too have some of my grandfathers tools, makes me think of him, fine reminders of days gone by…..

Keep up the great work, we are following along

[hewittca]

I must admit I am not up to speed on my stepside knowledge and I NEVER realized there wasn't a steel bed offered. Your bed is looking awesome, and those clueless like me will never even know it's not original!

[raggedjim]

Originally Posted by hewittca

I must admit I am not up to speed on my stepside knowledge and I NEVER realized there wasn't a steel bed offered. Your bed is looking awesome, and those clueless like me will never even know it's not original!

Someone told me that they have a squarebody step that came with a steel floor but I can't find one on the internet. I wanted to see one so I wouldn't have to do so much thinking on this one but I finally gave up and started cutting! Now comes the slow tedious fitting and welding.

I have something else I'm working on that I don't think I've ever seen done, but it is still in the plannng stages.

[raggedjim]

Never even heard of cottonwood, I'll have to look it up.

Since I was working on the bed floor on my front porch I haven't been able to work on it lately due to the weather. I like to do as much grinding and cutting on the front porch to keep the inside of my shop a little cleaner. So I started looking for something to do inside.

Oddly I ended up grinding and welding anyway!

[raggedjim]

I had an old utility bed I bought from my neighbor years ago. I didn't need it but he needed the money so I bought it. I started looking at the tailgate on it and jumped straight into the rabbit hole.

Would this fit in a stepside bed?

[raggedjim]

Why, heck yeah! All it needed was some cutting, welding, and cussing and it fit kinda okay.

[raggedjim]

Oh, I had to evict the previous tenants...

[raggedjim]

Then I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to design a handle that would work AND fit in the limited amount of space I had in the upper tailgate roll. I know now why the aftermarket has never done this.

As an added bonus, it works! Now I just have to finish the welding and clean it up.

[raggedjim]

A pic of the outside of it. Once I do some work on it you shouldn't be able to tell it has been done.

[clay68c10]

Slick!

[wwboater]

The tailgate mods are very cool. Nice work.

[raggedjim]

Originally Posted by wwboater

The tailgate mods are very cool. Nice work.

Originally Posted by clay68c10

Slick!

Thanks guys, it wasn't something I would want to do again!

[raggedjim]

Thanks, Rg

[wpsharpshooter]

Whats the update today? With it being almost 70 degrees out.. Surely you been doing some wrenchin?

[raggedjim]

The weather has been great the last 2 days. I did get some time in the shop despite having to take my wife's aunt to the dentist. I worked on the tailgate mostly trying weld up the areas I had to cut to get the latches in place.

Still needs filler work but I went ahead and sprayed some etching primer to help slow down the rust.

[raggedjim]

Then I got one more filler strip welded on to the bed. I bent them to 90 degrees so I will have a surface to bolt (or weld, haven't decided) the bedsides to. Every little thing that gets done is one thing I don't have to do!

[72 tigger]

Nice fab work on the tailgate!