The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed Anyone ever installed the bed pre-assembled?

My '53 3100 Resto-mod is almost ready for the road again as soon as the persistent snow melts, that is…

I am in the midst of replacing the bed with the proper oak boards and it dawned on me that it might be easier to pre-assemble it on some sawhorses.

The floating cross-member nearest the cab would hold things together underneath and I could put another wood strip on the underside near the tail gate.

Then, with the help of some friends we could slide it in and then just finish off the 4 long bolts and the side rail bolts.

Otherwise, I will have to drop the rear-mounted fuel tank to gain access to the board bolts as I install them one at a time.

Has anyone tried this before? Any other advice?

Thanks and I promise to post pictures of La Noche as soon as I'm done. It is quite the story of buying someone else's partially-completed project a year ago and then working with a great shop to undo all of those mistakes and come up with a great ride.

In the end, I drove her halfway across Canada last fall before parking her in my heated garage for the winter and I'm now doing the oak bed, myself. No sign of spring here yet, so I've got a couple weeks to get the bed done right! Cheers.

works fine to assemble the complete bed and then set it on the frame for final bolt down, commonly done - all the cross sills hold it together, no need for anything else, the skid strips are bolted to each cross sill [including the back one and the front panel] and clamp the boards in place, no bolts thru the boards

Bill

Thanks, Bill, appreciate your help.
But on closer examination today, I see that it will be impossible to slide a one-piece bed in after all.
The side rails are welded to the bed sides and they were brand new replacement parts and the truck has been painted.
So, I'll have to do it the one-board-at-a-time way and figure out some way to reach up under the gas tank....
I bought the bed pieces/hardware from Brothers and although the oak looks great they did not include any instructions. I phoned them last week and they told me to check out this website for the order of the boards: http://gmcpauls.com
I got more from photos I've found on this website, but wish I had bought the Mar-K kit with instructions!
Pretty crummy customer service from Brothers and they even included the wrong block kit. Sent me four blocks with 2 pads instead of the 6 pads pictured on their website.
Still trying to figure out where the floating cross sill goes and how to attach it....
Cheers,
John

the 'floating' sill goes about between the wheel wells, the holes in the skids should give an indication of exact location ... lots of free info on Mar-Ks website

you're asking if you can pre-assemble the wood floor and then slip it into the bed? - no, the boards "float", and are held down by the skid strips bolted to every cross sill, so without all the sills you wouldn't have an "assembly", and even if you could hold it together to slip in, you'd still have to bolt the skids to the cross sills, the rear-most one of which is usually welded in .... the whole bed can be assembled off the truck, the bolts that hold it to the frame go thru the wood so you can't have it bolted on yet anyway, block it way above the frame and install the wood, then drop it back down for final bolt in - that's the "pre-assembled bed", complete except for being bolted to the frame

Bill

Thanks, Bill.

I won't be able to do the pre-assembled bed method because my side angle strips are welded to the brand new (and painted) side walls of the bed. I'd have to remove them first in order to drop in the pre-assembled bed.

John

It took me a minute....but I got it. The difference between boards and bed. Ha! You can assemble the boards into the bed with the bed off the truck. When you do that there is little effort to get at the bolts and nuts and washers. Look at the pics on the Mar-k site and put the cross members in with the boards. When you are done it can be lifted and placed over the truck frame. You will only have 6 bolts to attach and they are easy to get to. One in each corner with a block and rubber pad to the frame. The last 2 are on the back cross rail that is not the tailgate. The forward cross rail is a floater and is not bolted to the frame. All of the bolts that go thru the side angle strips just clamp the boards in place. Look at those pics it will become clear.

Ah ha! Boards vs. Bed. Thanks, Steve.

"I see," said the blind carpenter, as he picked up his hammer and saw…

John