The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed Bed Strips ??

I should know this but I am brain dead at times and a quick search didn't help. Are my stock appearing metal bed strips to remain as stamped or painted black? Stamped is a little grayish. Tim ?

Here is a factory shot of a 51' (bed shots are rare) looks black to me?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/advance-design_parts_co/12315229543/in/set-72157640522200463
Another for 1950.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/advance-design_parts_co/15568564897/in/set-72157648801943787

A '51 would have definitely been black from the factory - if that's what you are looking for. The carriage bolt heads would have been black as well except for the six long ones with the offset washers which would have been natural finish cad plate. This is according to a VCCA judge.
Mike

I never did say it is for a 1950 1/2T 3100. But, it looks like black(flat or matte) it is. Thanks!
Info on the bolt heads appreciated too.

So if the carriage bolts in the strips were painted black, can we assume that the bed wood/bed strips/cross sills were pre-assembled on a bench and painted as a unit?
Then placed on the frame, and bolted in place with unpainted carriage bolts?
Then the pre-assembled bed sides/bed front/fenders was lowered onto the bed wood assembly which is already bolted to the frame?
What finish, if any was on the carriage bolts at the angle strips? If the above procedure is correct, then it would stand to reason that the angle strip carriage bolts would be natural (no paint) finish.
Carl

Thank you for asking, Carl

I hope to be troubling myself with these details within a year (if not this Summer).

By the way, my guess is that the metal strips would be semi-gloss black (same as running boards).

I think the bed boards (at least in some years) were "painted" with a mixture of linseed oil and coal-tar black, Lamp Black (I hope someone can prove me wrong with documentation).

http://www.oldchevytrucks.com/blog/index.php/2010/02/truck-beds-black-wood/

I'll guess the heads of the side bolts were painted body color (I hope someone can prove me wrong with documentation).

If you want to talk with an expert about this, call Bob Adler (search on-line). Let us know what Bob says.

Semi-gloss Black on the bed strips would look better than flat or matte. And matching the running boards makes sense to me. With the amount of paint required for a factory paint line of running boards, I can't imagine GM would opt for a different shade of black just for the bed strips. It would not be cost effective on the AD series.

Here is a excerpt from an Excel spreadsheet of a tech sheet that Bob Adler furnished to bajones238 to help him with his '53 Chevy truck. He was kind enough to share it with me. You will see Adler states the bed side angle strip bolt heads are body color. The remaining strips and bolt heads are black except for those with the offset washers which are cad plated.

Bed wood and skid strips black thru 1953, body color 1954
Bed corner strips spot welded to bed sides are body color
Bed bolts: Side: body color. Skid strips: black to 1953. To frame with offset washers: Cd plate.Side to f=rear fenders: body color

I too have speculated about the process that would have used in the production line to result in these finishes.

Mike

Thanks you for posting this info. Much appreciated.

So is Bob Adler suggesting that the corner bed strip bolts were pre-painted body color prior to assembly of the bed? If so, why didn't they pre-paint the bolts with the offset washers?
Carl

As I said earlier, I too have wondered about the assembly process. A little while ago Brad Allen posted some old factory photos of the bed being assembled but unfortunately it was a stake body bed - not a pickup truck. I think there were some pickup beds in the back ground. It showed the beds being assembled as a separate unit which then would have been painted and then installed on the chassis. Since the bed was completely finished, it would make sense that the bolts used to attach the bed to the chassis would not have been painted. As to the bolt heads for the angle strips being painted body color, while those of the rub strips were painted black - we can only speculate as to the process.

A couple photos I took a while back of an amazing 2,700 mile, original paint 1949 GMC may give us some clues to the process. In this first photo of the underside of the bed, if you zoom in on it you can make out a number and the word "Narva" printed in grease pencil on the underside. Narva is the green color of this truck. bed bottom The only reason I can imagine they would do this is if the bed including the bed wood was assembled separately and then painted.

In the second photo of the inside of the bed, you can clearly see that the inside of the bed top surface has been re-painted with some black looking substance. bed top If You look closely at the bottom of the photo and zoom in on it, you can see remnants of Narva green paint on the wood along the side angle strip. This leads me to speculate that the factory may have assembled the bed wood (already assembled and finished) to the sides and then painted the bed the body color of the truck. Maybe the factory used some sort of paint mask system to minimize the over spray onto black part of the bed - but who knows?

A third photo shows the inside of the bed, with the body color bolt heads on the side angle strips, black rub strips and bolt heads and cad/natural finish cap screw heads securing the fenders to the bed sides. bed inside Again, this was a GMC and not a Chevrolet so the process may have varied between the manufacturers and even within the plants of the same manufacturer. This is just one of those things that makes this hobby interesting.

Mike