What years were wood beds available?

[96blazr]

Good day folks. I’m having a little issue with some guys on a FB telling me they have trucks from 69 that came from factory with wood beds. As far as I ever knew factory didn’t offer wood after 68. They provided their SPID’s:
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[leddzepp]

E81, Pick up box floor indicates a wood bed. They are correct.

[68Gold/white]

I started a thread here, a few years back, about options. According to one poster, wood beds were available till 1980!!! I will try to find that thread, and bring it to the top, for you!!!

[MJN]

Originally Posted by 68Gold/white

I started a thread here, a few years back, about options. According to one poster, wood beds were available till 1980!!! I will try to find that thread, and bring it to the top, for you!!!

This is true, steel floors were standard equipment and wood floors were optional RPO E81. Heres a quick screenshot from the 1980 Truck Info Packet
https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/gm-...tion-kits.html

[body bolt]

My '71 Custom Deluxe has 'wood floor'.

[Louisvillekytruck]

All Longhorns had wood floor

[jimijam00]

Wood bed floors are cool.

[special-K]

I had a 1978 Scottsdale/30 Camper special dually with wood bed floor. I believe through '84 they were available, or maybe '87. I know Stepsides were built through '87.

[dagnabbitt]

I was always interested in knowing if GM had a carpentry department or if there was a subcontractor handing the beds. I like the wood bed floors.

I knew that many squares had wood bed floors but I seldom see any beyond 1974 or so. Cool to know that they made them until 1980. I wonder why so few people chose that as an option for those years.

[jumpsoffrock]

I use my '56 F100 with a wood bed as a work truck and daily drive it. Hauled 1300 lbs of cement bags and two engines and a transmission, I use that truck

Honestly it's one of the worse downsides of the truck, you have to treat it nice and if you drop weight on the wood it will crack and bend. Dragging stuff on top obviously destroys the finish or the wood itself.

I can't imagine someone finding a better way to hamper the use of a utility vehicle. I find it odd that the idea of wood beds in utility vehicles made it out of the coffee break room.


I understand today there are millions of people that own NEW trucks not to use them, but to show them off as a cute pretty trophy--but this was not how people thought 70 years ago--trucks were hard-used brute utility vehicles for commerce.

Wood beds look great, but are a bad idea for functionality and abuse.
Oddly enough its one of the reasons I bought my recently acquired C3500. Need a tougher truck to abuse.

[custom10nut]

My 70 has one, on the SPID

[72supr]

The wood floor gave livestock better footing and was quieter. In the seventies slide in pipe stock racks were made that had a wood floor in them. The stock trailer was becoming more popular then also which brought the end of a pickup with a wood bed.

[Steeveedee]

Believe it or not, a wood bed withstands abuse better than a steel bed. I'd like to see a commercial where they drop the concrete chunks in a Ford with an aluminum bed and compare the damage to to a steel bed in a Chevy. And then compare it to what happens to a wood bed. I know where I'd put my money.

[Thundarr]

Wood beds are awesome. My 71 steel bed (that I even coated with bedliner) is gettting scratched and beat up too.
I'm going to replace these planks in the 72 Lwb with still distressed but solid hardwood and continue using it as a truck.

[custom10nut]

I just remembered this morning.
Back when I first bought my truck in 1992, I had a random guy tell me that “you have a 68 bed on there, because they stopped making the wood floor in 68”.
I questioned it first, then confirmed that he’s was wrong.
The common misconception could be because 68 was the last year of the black painted bed floor.
69-72 the bed floor came painted with the body color.

[Keith Seymore]

Originally Posted by dagnabbitt

I was always interested in knowing if GM had a carpentry department or if there was a subcontractor handing the beds. I like the wood bed floors.

I knew that many squares had wood bed floors but I seldom see any beyond 1974 or so. Cool to know that they made them until 1980. I wonder why so few people chose that as an option for those years.

Contracted out to an outside supplier.

K

[tdangle]

MY 70 C20 has a wood bed. On the SPID E81 option

[dagnabbitt]

Originally Posted by custom10nut

The common misconception could be because 68 was the last year of the black painted bed floor.
69-72 the bed floor came painted with the body color.

Hm, learned something new, that answers another question of mine.

[dagnabbitt]

Maybe someone can answer this for me. I have heard or read that in 1967 wood was standard and it was steel that was an option. That is, it was 1968 in which a wood bed E81 option first appeared on the SPID.

Can anyone confirm or deny that by posting a 1967 SPID with E81... or is someone with an original 1967 able to chime in?

The reason why this is important to me is I have a boxless 1967 GMC and I'd like to know if it came with a wood bed or not. SPID below. If wood bed was standard in 1967, then this was a truck with a wood bed. If not, then it was steel.

EDIT: it was on this thread, post number four that a member mentions this as a fact http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=748884

[67 twins]

Originally Posted by dagnabbitt

Maybe someone can answer this for me. I have heard or read that in 1967 wood was standard and it was steel that was an option. That is, it was 1968 in which a wood bed E81 option first appeared on the SPID.

Can anyone confirm or deny that by posting a 1967 SPID with E81... or is someone with an original 1967 able to chime in?

The reason why this is important to me is I have a boxless 1967 GMC and I'd like to know if it came with a wood bed or not. SPID below. If wood bed was standard in 1967, then this was a truck with a wood bed. If not, then it was steel.

EDIT: it was on this thread, post number four that a member mentions this as a fact http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=748884

Not true. I have two 67s with wood floors. Both listed on the SPID, here is one of them

[Chevys4life]

My 1970 has the E81 pick-up bed option too!!!

[dagnabbitt]

Originally Posted by 67 twins

Not true. I have two 67s with wood floors. Both listed on the SPID, here is one of them

Thanks! Thats another myth busted, I guess. That means mine had a steel bed.

[67 twins]

Originally Posted by dagnabbitt

Thanks! Thats another myth busted, I guess. That means mine had a steel bed.

Glad I could help straighten out some of the myths about these trucks.

[ThreeQuarter]

Originally Posted by custom10nut

The common misconception could be because 68 was the last year of the black painted bed floor.
69-72 the bed floor came painted with the body color.

They started painting wood beds the same as the body color in ‘68. My ‘68 had a green painted wood bed floor. I did the research for my restoration and I went back with a #2 southern yellow pine wood floor painted body color. (Before and after pic below)

I know the 1968 brochures show black bed floors, but that’s because they used refreshed ‘67 models for the brochure photo shoots. Not all production year changes were finalized at photo shoot time. I’m sure the decision to switch to body-color floors was due to factory efficiency and wasn’t one of the features they thought customers would really care about. If that decision came late, I could see it not being important enough to justify a new photo shoot.

[68Gold/white]

I wonder if anyone has ever used the composite material for bed wood, like the stuff used on home decks???
Wouldn't look all that great, but would serve the purpose, not sure about strength, though???