Big Chevy 3600
I should have been more specific because the first time I put the bed wood on there were no holes in the wood. I loosely bolted the bed strips down to hold the bed wood together. Then I rested the bed sides on and bolted the front panel and tailgate. Once it was racked square, and the distance from the cab was established, I got a long 12" 1/8th bit and drilled up from the bottom through the frame and cross sill holes and through the wood. That gave me the center hole to drill from. I think I measured 1/8th (don't quote that distance, because I can't remember exactly!) from that center hole toward the cab to give me the center for the offset washer. Then used a Forstner bit to drill the shallow hole. Make sure you do this before opening up the bolt hole to the correct size! Once I had the the main bolts in, I moved to the bed side angle brackets. Mine did not have holes pre punched so I drilled through (from the bottom again) through the cross sill holes, through the wood and through the metal. Then I went through the long and time consuming process of squaring the holes for the bolt. I worked my way around until all holes were done.
Finally, I took it all apart to paint the wood. It is drying as I type. This weekend it all goes back together again.
Hope that doesn't make things even more confusing. I read about this process here on the forum somewhere.
Michael
