The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed 1948 GMC 1ton Box Re-build

Hello,

I looked over a bunch of posts on the re-building of my 1948 GMC 1ton box. Every thread had pieces that fit into my puzzle, but I didn't want to hijack any thread, so here I start my own (again).

My box is now apart. The sides are good, except for about 4" of the left side & right side angle piece, right at the end where it meets the rear cross sill. We can manufacture a filler for this 4": and spotweld it on. The rest is all good, needs a little massaging, but doable.

Now the wood. I found 9 board - long-bed kits from USD700 to USD4,500 (the high price comes with an installer?) and I am probably not spending all my retirement money on this truck, so go with a lower priced kit.

I also don't like the boards finished to the level where one sees every scratch and was thinking about the old style linseed oil finish. Would it make sense to get the boards and soak them over weeks or months in linseed oil?

Time is not of the essence, because the cleaning, sandblasting, powder coating for frame and body painting will take some month.

Is the assumption correct that the best way to assemble all is starting with the cross members, sides-walls and rear sill-plate then the boards, starting from each side and the head-wall last?

Attached some pictures again.