Stepside bed information (55-87)

[napcoguy]

I have been trying to find a long wheel base stepside bed for my 84 for forever and they are near impossible to find so my question is this, would it be possible/feasible to use a 55-66 or 67-72 stepside box and install the 73-87 fenders onto it?

55-66 and 67-72 beds seem to be everywhere for a pretty fair price, are the dimensions close to the same? What would be needed to make one fit and look good?

Thanks

[Tx Firefighter]

Not really feasible to achieve good results.

For one thing, the fender holes are different so you'd end up having to deal with welding the old holes shut and drilling new.

Second, the steps are drastically different. The early trucks had a more pronounced step, whereas the squarebodies had the bulge in the steps for gas tank clearance.

Depending on your end goals and your budget, Mark-K up in Oklahoma does make beautiful brand new bedsides for long steps.

And, I feel your pain. I spent this morning in my shop trying to beat a bunch of junk into something that resembles a usable squarebody step bed.

[mongocanfly]

Agreed with txf..mar-k makes some very nice stuff though not cheap,by the time you figure in body work and whatever on any set you might find in the end mar-k may be the best option ..unsure of your fab skills but there are several members that fab their own bed sides so that might be a option for you as well dependant on your skills..

[S10Fan]

Another vote here for Mar-K, top shelf all the way.

[Gmc.guy]

I'm banging one together too. I have the boards almost done. It Took me 3 beds to find all the parts. I finally have some time now I have to change some stake pockets out.

[Gmc.guy]

I have a longbed stepside here that has no fenders on it that I can take pics and measurements for you. the steps on it are nice too if you want a pic to see what you are looking for.

[Gmc.guy]

It is an early one 73-76? It had the round gas cap and marker lights if that makes a difference I assume same as 81 up

[Tx Firefighter]

Originally Posted by Gmc.guy

It is an early one 73-76? It had the round gas cap and marker lights if that makes a difference I assume same as 81 up

There is a slight variation between the early (marker light era) beds and the later ones. The weld nuts where the tail lights bolt on. If you think about it the later models had one integrated tailight on a single bracket. The early ones had a round tail light and a separate back up light, each on it's own bracket.

I'm dealing with that now on mine. I'm having to weld up two holes per side and drill four new holes and install rivnuts for the bolts to thread in to.

[KrazyRay]

I have a friend local here that has a pretty clean long step bed from a 73. He wants $400 for it, but its a long way to Texas from here.

[Jstock85]

I have a fleet side but the more is see those steps the more i like them!

[napcoguy]

Gmc.guy, I would like to see your bed but I bet to ship that thing would cost me a small fortune, but who knows maybe I should price some shipping.

Same with KrazyRay, thanks for the heads up Im curious what shipping would cost to Texas might be too much to be an option.

I saw you can buy all the pieces from LMC but it would cost as much as a truck.

[mongocanfly]

You looked at lmc..did you check mar-k?..they're in Oklahoma...can you say road trip..I can tell you mar-k's quality far exceeds lmc..nothing new is going to be cheap but there's something to be said for nice rust free body parts..

[Tx Firefighter]

I'm actually going to drive up to Mar-K pretty soon to pick up my bed parts. I've ordered from them multiple times before and I am very impressed with a company that makes parts that good right here in the USA. I want to see the place with my own eyes.

I'll take pictures when I go.

[napcoguy]

Does anyone have his contact information?

[Gmc.guy]

I'll take some pictures once I get some time. I don't think the quality is worth the shipping that far. You could find better for same price I think

[mongocanfly]

whose contact info are you looking for napco?

[Gmc.guy]

I robbed the front panel today so I took some comparison pics short to longbed if it helps you. I'll post some side by sides of the bedsides here one day too

[Gmc.guy]

The step supports are the same and have a few extra bolts that's about it. Just longer step

[Gmc.guy]

There is a few extra crossmembers under the wood too. I'll post them when I take that apart too. I think if you use an earlier 67-72 bedside the fender would have to be checked on the wheelbase with the step bolted on and make sure the bead rolled part on the bedside behind the fender checked too

[Tx Firefighter]

Napcoguy, I'm not sure what kind of thing you've got going on with your build, but I will throw this out there.

I have a buddy here in Fort Worth selling this bed. Yes, it's a 67-72 long step bed so the fender holes are wrong if you wanted to install 73-87 fenders onto it, but it's got neat utility bedsides instead. Basically, it's a long step that they removed the fenders from and installed these cool commercial body sides. I've seen a few of them here on the board over the years.

Anyway, he is here in Fort Worth, and the price is extremely fair to say the least. I've seen it several times and it is worthy. Having the bed boxes on it from new, the bed sides are pretty darn good. My only qualm is I'm not sure how it would get along with 73-87 saddle tanks. It might take some massaging of the front toolbox back wall.

The first picture shows the main issue, which is damage to the right rear corner.

It's currently off the truck and disassembled. The lift gate is gone now too.



If you care, reach out to me and I'll put you in contact with him.

[napcoguy]

Sent you a PM Tx firefighter, also sent one to Gmc.guy. Thanks for the pics and yalls help.

[napcoguy]

I sent you a pm Tx Firefighter, also sent on to Gmc.guy, thanks for yalls help. I found a truck with a lwb bed on it, its not running and im not 100% sure of the condition but he wants 850$ for it. Does that sound reasonable to anyone?

[Gmc.guy]

I would say it depends on the value. I like to look at parts trucks for all the little things. Depends on your area but here a 100$ bill won't get you trucks anymore everything is 6-700$ +