The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop bed width

Does anyone know what the bed width of a 39 GMC should be? I believe in 40 they went to a wider bed but i am unsure of what the dimensions were. Since the truck has been around for so long who knows what bed may be on it.Mine measures approx.48 1/2 on the inside and i want to purchase a new tailgate for her and the companies do not offer any dimensional data. Also has anyone purchased a tailgate and has any good or bad experiences with the vendors? As always, thanks for your help......Dale

Hi Dale
My 39 GMC 1/2 ton has the original bed. The front panel measures approximately 48 1/4 on the inside. The tailgate body measures approximately 47 3/4.

Dale - Check out Mar-K. I got my entire bed from them, quality stuff. Worth a look.

George

I'm confused, my 39 GMC bed is also 48" on the inside but according to Mark-k it should be 45 3/4

The following is from Mark-k web site, I used a 39 chevy because they only list a long stepside for the 39 GMC.

" Selected Make: Chevy
Selected Year: 1939
Select the Model of your truck bed: Choose ModelShort Stepside

Short Stepside: Length of bed wood 75 7/8". Inside width of bed 45 3/4"
Long Stepside: Length of bed wood 85 7/8". Inside width of bed 45 3/4"


I assumed when I measured my bed somebody had put a 40 bed on it at some point.

Thanks for the info guys..... Stea, I was under the same impression as you,however i have noticed Chevy and GMC are not in sync with each other. I am guessing GMC went to the wider bed a year before Chevy did. I do not know for sure so i will try to get dimensions from the vendor before i order the tailgate. Again, thanks for the help............Dale

My 36 GMC has a 45 3/4 wide x 86 long bed. I know that it is the original bed, hopes this helps someone.

Hate to drag this back up but.... My 39 GMC has the 48" bed as stated before but now it has me wondering on the rear fenders. What are the width of 39 fenders compared to the 40? Before disassembly everything lined up as it should, do I have the newer 40 size rear fenders?

Hi stea
From everything I've read the 39 Chev fenders were wider than 40-46 because the bed was narrower for 39. My 39 GMC however, has the same size fenders as my 46 Chev. I've also wondered about the rear fender width on the 39 GMC. It may be as Dale suggests, GMC was ahead of Chevy on increasing the bed width.

GMC More Power More Payload :p

Sounds logical because if it had the wider fenders on the wider bed I dont see how the running boards would match up. Does anybody have the actual fender width measurements?

Cool I learned something new today about the 39 GMC.

Stea, my fenders are approx 11 inches wide give or take some, however these are glass fenders that the p.o. put on. I have done some research and am still unsure about the bed width though it seems the few of us here with them the beds were 48 inches wide. In the meantime while pondering which tailgate to order I noticed a nice flat piece of 3/32 steel in the corner of the garage and the lightbulb went off,why buy when i can make my own. It turned out great, and since this is a street rod it did not have to be stock in appearance. I would have had to cut up the repop any to do what i wanted, now i have 300.00 extra bucks for beer ...Dale