For some reason my shop does a lot of 47-55 1st series trucks and we've replaced a LOT of bed wood over the years. Here are a few tips that may help. First remove the bed, it's only a few bolts and some of the nuts are really hard to get to with the bed on. Next stand the bed on it's front panel, on a pad if finish painted. This allows you and your helper access to the bolt head and nut without one having to lay on their back getting a facefull of fifty some year old rust and dirt. If you have to torch some of the bolts, the're up in the channel crossmembers and the hot slag won't be falling on you. About half(at least) of the carriage head bolts will spin and round out the square hole, so if you have a welder dot the head of each bolt to the strip if the strip isn't rusted away--otherwise torch it. If the bed is going to be all refinished just cut the heads of the carriage bolts off because it's a lot easier than reaching up in the channels to cut the nuts off. With the old bed wood out and whatever finishing is done set the bed on two sawhorses and square it diagonally, this is essential. If the angle strips on the sides are bad you can get cover strips that fit on top from Mar-K in Oklahoma City or Chevy Duty in K.C. Now for the wood--two ways to fit it: (1) down and dirty, get two 1X8's and six 1X6's and slide the two edge boards under the angle strips on the bed sides and use two of you new 1/4" carriage bolts for spacing the next board over 1/4 inch for the right gap. Continue spacing the one by sixes this way until there are three on each side, then measure the remaining space and subtract 3/4"(this is the sum two 1/4" gaps between the allready in place 1X6's and the two 1X8 center boards plus the 1/4" gap between the 1X8's). Now rip an equal amount off each 1X8 so together they equal the remaining gap less the 3/4". Set up your table saw so the blade is up 5/8" and have the blade just barely missing the fence. Clamp a second guide as tall as the fence so the board on edge will just slide through and cut your grooves-- remembering the side boards just need a groove on one side and not on the side that fits under the angle strip. Now reset the blade height to 1/8" and the fence to 5/8" from the far side of the blade and trim the groove side. A router will work fine but is slower. Now for the dirty: set the boards back in place and where ever there isn't a hole, drill a new one. The metal is soft and thin and with a good sharp drill it's a breeze. If originality is important measure the spaces between the factory holes in the crossmembers(rear is best) and rip each board to size. This takes more time and since it's weird widths you'll have a lot of scrap left over but looks nice. It's hard to start the flat washer, lock washer and nut in the confines of the crossmember channels so hold them up in place and have your helper turn the head of the carriage bolt until the nut is started. Well, I guess after this novel " War And Piece" will seem like a short story.
