bed wood?

[halfcockedcustoms]

Lookin for ideas here....My "new" bed for my 64 has no wood.What have you guys done?Buy a wood kit?(and from who?) or build your own?Did a search but didnt really find much

[nomrlz]

i'm gonna build my own out of white oak. here's a site for dimensions if you wanna do it. most like MAR-K's kit it seems if you go that route

http://www.gmcpauls.com/47-72_BedWood_Info.htm

[Sillyoldman]

Mar-K is a great source for info & products. Did oak & SS on the '63. Mar-k supplied the pine & steel strips on my '71.

[6863m]

What finish did you put on the oak wook in the bed. Looks nice, I read all the literature from MAR K and it seems like they recommend a two part urethane product and a lot of sanding.

I am trying to decide between Mar K and Brothers in L/A, I can save the freight but I have not read much about their kits. I think they just buy them from someone and retail them. Mar K seems to build them and it may be a better product.

[Sillyoldman]

I used a Marine Spar urethane with a high gloss finish. I bought both of my kits opposed to making my own for a couple reasons. The boards are 97" long, I didn't want to buy 10'. Oak would have been too expensive to mess up.

[fleetsidelarry]

reading mark-k's tests it seems that pine will weather better than the oak and the best treatment was to use a penetrating epoxy sealer, followed by a UV blocking finish. You can pick any wood or other product you want and have it milled easily (do it yourself if you or a friend have a really good tablesaw). Dimensions are here:

http://www.gmcpauls.com/47-72_BedWood_Info.htm

was a post not long ago on here with LOTS of cool ideas. here it is

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...light=bed+wood

And Sillyoldman brings up an important point, the boards for a longbed are 1" longer than 8 feet which would waste a lot of lumber since the next board length up from 8' is 10'. I'm using yellow pine and I went with 8 foot boards figuring I can hide the shortage, but I plan on using mine to haul stuff and it won't be as pretty as his.

[msgross]

there is a guy on Ebay with kits as well. I was going with my local cabinet maker but his price increased to $450 for a short bed kit, Mar-k would be a good choice as well, they stand behind their products and if you have an issue you can always give them a call...

[Malibob]

Made my own from spanish cedar 4/4 x 6 and galvanized bolts an metal angle. Have to weld the nuts on though because they shake loose on the road and come off.



It is also nice because I can haul anything I normally would PLUS I can take it out at will.

[REDNOSE65]

Originally Posted by Malibob

Made my own from spanish cedar 4/4 x 6 and galvanized bolts an metal angle. Have to weld the nuts on though because they shake loose on the road and come off.



It is also nice because I can haul anything I normally would PLUS I can take it out at will.

Nice and practical...I may need to get with you when I'm ready to do mine.
Here pretty shortly, I hope.

[forestb]

If you want to save on shipping and still get the mar-k product. Classic Industries sells there stuff and you will only have to drive to orange county.

[6863m]

Thanks that is a good tip. I will do a search on them.

[steverino66]

Originally Posted by nomrlz

i'm gonna build my own out of white oak. here's a site for dimensions if you wanna do it. most like MAR-K's kit it seems if you go that route

http://www.gmcpauls.com/47-72_BedWood_Info.htm

Me too - paid $100 for the boards only - 3/4" planed and sanded - at a local cabinet maker last week. Will have to do some edge cutting/finishing. Bought some powder-coated metal strips from Mar-K, bolts & washers from LMC, so less than $200 total for short step bed.

[halfcockedcustoms]

Thanks for the ideas guys and keep them comin.Has anyone gotten a kit from these guys http://www.classicparts.com/1960-72-...ctinfo/07-058/ or does anyone know if there is a router bit that is setup with the right cutting edge for the boards?

[62 Bowtie]

Bought the oak kit from Jims Chevy local so no shipping then painted semi-gloss black per mark-k study it held up the best although I do like the look of stained wood I prefer the painted for my truck.

[Sillyoldman]

Originally Posted by halfcockedcustoms

Thanks for the ideas guys and keep them comin.Has anyone gotten a kit from these guys http://www.classicparts.com/1960-72-...ctinfo/07-058/ or does anyone know if there is a router bit that is setup with the right cutting edge for the boards?

I think you would need a table saw with a dado blade and a planer for best results. Maybe a dado blade for both? It would be cool if you could stack dados with both sizes to cover it in one pass.

[SCOTI]

These beds all look nice.

How about the 'patina' guys? I'm curious what people do to age some fresh wood?

[javadoc]

I'm making my own out of hickory. I found some from DR Antique Car Parts for $320 ($400 shipped) but my local mill will sell me stain grade hickory for $220 for what I need (1x6's though, so not traditional widths). Then we'll just route it to accept metal, clear it (a ton) and then place it. Should be done next week.

[chopped65]

I went cheap. 4x8 pieces of plywood. I have a long bed so needed two pieces. joined them in the middle cut to fit and stained to match racing stripes.

[halfcockedcustoms]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

These beds all look nice.

How about the 'patina' guys? I'm curious what people do to age some fresh wood?

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=463308

[lakeroadster]

Originally Posted by SCOTI

These beds all look nice.

How about the 'patina' guys? I'm curious what people do to age some fresh wood?

Originally Posted by halfcockedcustoms

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=463308

I plan to use (2) pieces of pressure treated plywood, use the above link idea of a propane torch to "age" it, then stain it and then use (1) stainless bed strip down the middle.

[mbgmike]

Originally Posted by halfcockedcustoms

Thanks for the ideas guys and keep them comin.Has anyone gotten a kit from these guys http://www.classicparts.com/1960-72-...ctinfo/07-058/ or does anyone know if there is a router bit that is setup with the right cutting edge for the boards?

You really don't need a router to do the bed boards. You can do all the slots with table saw.We sell the Mar-K bed wood as well but you are probably better off buying it straight from them.

http://www.mcssl.com/store/mikesbump...ndgarage/mar-k

[SCOTI]

Originally Posted by halfcockedcustoms

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/s...d.php?t=463308

Thanks, that is good info (I read that one before posting the question). I was curious if anyone here might have experience w/it & maybe some before/after result pics. I don't frequent The HAMB often....

[REDNOSE65]

These are some pix I wanted to share of a bed I found on the net...

61 Apache




walnut stain & clear coated

[Rusteeze64GB]

Here is what I did. Cost me about $100.00. I have to work on the inside panels of the bed, finish the carriage bolts and sand, stain and weatherproof the wood. However, I like the look

[REDNOSE65]

Originally Posted by Rusteeze64GB

Here is what I did. Cost me about $100.00. I have to work on the inside panels of the bed, finish the carriage bolts and sand, stain and weatherproof the wood. However, I like the look