The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Tons 'o Fun New 9ft bed progress!! & 1ton GMC build

Here's my latest photo of the bed I've built. It's coming along nicely. I need to build the rear cross sill still. It sure looked sweet with the tailgate on!

http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/f...mage_zpsuzcewqxe.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

That does look nice!

Nice fabrication job! I do envy your welding capabilities! Did you make the stake pockets or were you able to find them some where?

That is some mighty fine work - nice truck too.

I used stake pockets off of my parts trucks to make them. Then used 16 gauge 1-3/4" tubing to do the top. I plugged the ends with frost plugs 1-5/8".
My end plan is to fabricate some "fender extensions" and bolt the stock fenders to them. A custom dually fender that can be returned to a single rear wheel if wanted. I think that will turn some heads!
Thanks for the comments guys!

Jim,
You can get all the parts NEW except the bedsides,from Mar K,a member here. www.mar-k.com
They might make them up special order.
Another vendor,Bruce Horkey,will make the sides,but they are pricey. www.horkeyswoodandparts.com
regards,
steve sr.

Oh and by the way Fox,
That IS some Beautiful work on that bed.
regards,
steve sr.

I thoroughly enjoyed building them and have significantly helped my budget. I got enough material bent and ordered to do the 1ton and the 1/2 ton. $550 for bedsides, front panels, rear sills for both trucks.
I can't build stainless polished bed strips though!

Love this truck. Nice work on the bed. Jim

Please post more pictures as you go. I'm interested to see how you make the fenders fit around the dual wheels. Looks great so far.

I will post pictures as I progress. I am curious to see how it goes too. We shall see how they turn out! Hopefully all goes smoothly.

Agree......very nice work...keep us all posted
Dan

Hi Fox

I am rebuilding (from scratch) a 9 foot box for my "Howard Knapp" 1 ton turned into a 1/2 / 3/4 ton truck...I gotta a couple of questions...on the side panels you have a something that sticks out near where the rear fender mounts...one under the fender and one under the top rail...what are those things for?

How big of a "kick" did you use on the bottom of the side panels? I have figured out the side panel is supposed to be 19" tall and the what is left over I be bending and will be using the to cover the stake pockets tops and mount the top rail to it also...

Hope mine comes out half as good as yours...

Also are you using wood for the bottom of the box floor?

MikeC

Mike,
Those little stick outs are little stake pockets. The top one originally had a hole on the bent,angled top side for a hole but now it's closed on mine. The one underneath the rear fender is only a side panel stiffener. It's a stake pocket that I cut on angle to reproduce the original one.

The bottoms lip kick out on my panels are 3/4", but there's room for up to 1".
My panel sides, I tried to cut to 18 3/4" and it came out at 18 7/8" which seems perfect. I'm not sure how these pictures turned out but here is the diagram I drew before I got it bent.

The top side (the bent part) I cut at 4 3/"4 but I ended up trimming off 11/16" in order to have a nice gap to weld on.

http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/foxj12/library/?view=recent&page=1

Here's a new photo of the bumper and lights installed.

http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/f...mage_zpsqibfid2x.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

I haven't yet finished the fender extensions. But I have cut out the templates and have trimmed the sheet metal to the width I need. I have entered the dually into the show and shine on Canada Day (July 1st- holiday) and I really wanted to showcase the dually idea but work and family stuff kept me occupied for a bit. Also, my bed wood and strips are in!!!!! The next pics I post should be some sweet ones! Wish me luck!! I hope this works!

Mike,
I'm not sure if the extra little stake "stiffener" that resides under the 1 ton rear fender is present on a 3/4 ton. I believe this is a 1 ton only thing. The 1/2ton trucks did not have that extra or the little tiny one tucked under the top tubing rail. They (1/2's) only had the front and rear stake pockets.
1tons had "5"- (4 actual holes in top bent angle of bed side)- the front stake, 2nd front, little one under tube rail, medium one under fender that only served as a stiffener and the rear stake.
If anybody knows more about 3/4s, I’d like to know, too.
Thanks.
Fox J

Here's a mock up of an extension tacked together. The rear flows better as it does not dip down as it meets the bed side. I was expecting this but it does not really concern me. I still have to fine tune a lot of stuff. Mold metal towards front and rear bottoms of fender to fill the gaps, adjust some of the tacks straighter.
I think it will work out OK!

http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/f...mage_zpstch9dotf.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

Love the look of the duals, nice job

Fox,
Impressive!!!!!!!!!!
Your a true craftsman! The dually fenders are really a sharp look!
I echo the others, keep the pics coming.
Jim

super cool! I was thinking about building a bed at some point. Thanks for the inspiration!

http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/foxj12/library/Mobile%20Uploads?sort=3&page=1

Starting to blend the corners and shape the lower fender belt line. I have also planned out my running board idea too. Double wide near the rear fender and then narrow toward front like the stock.

http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/f...mage_zpscl9omaz8.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

The running board will flare from the back of the cab out to the outside edge of the fender. Yeesh, this is a lot of work.

Update. Here is the running board tacked together.
I welded out the extension and had a hell of a time with it springing out. I had to pie cut it in numerous places to get it back straight and unfortunately now it isn't as perfect as it was. I must exercise more patience on the other side and use a couple of tricks I've thought of to counteract the bowing of the fender extension.
I am however extremely pleased with how the running board is starting to look.
Too bad I have a complete other side to build!!

http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/f...mage_zpsurdhwhiq.jpg.html?sort=3&o=1

I think I can call the left side done!!!!! Yay!

http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/foxj12/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsrswwqpmw.jpg.html

Looks very nice!! A nice job of craftsmanship.....fender extensions and running boards..you should be very proud....it looks very bad azz from the rear with those duals..
Dan

Bed wood dry fit. I had to do a little trimming to get it fit perfectly as per the instructions from MAR-K. After all my careful measurements too! Looked great for a while until I tore it all out so I don't get sparks on it while I build the right side dually fender.

http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/f...mage_zpspnr7g0ko.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

Very nice work and I love what you are doing. I have always felt that it is a shame that someone can't manufacture a fender extension like that and sell the complete 9' bed package. I feel like it would create a whole lot more interest in the 1 1/2 ton and 2 ton trucks. Just my opinion.
But congrats to you on doing it yourself. It really looks great.

Nice job on the fender extensions, too bad the fronts aren't as easy.

I love this!! Very nice! So when are you going to start taking orders?

Thank you very much for the kind words fellas! It has been a lot of fun building these (and a challenge). I would love to see some kind of kit like this available too. Hint hint MAR-K! Haha! I don't think customers would like the wait time I'd probably have building a set for them! Remember, I'm only half way! I'll keep posting as I go.

I've started the right hand side dually extension. Amazing how much faster and better it is going than the first! It almost makes me feel like taking the left one off and making it fit better. I can't wait to show you guys the dually all done. Ohhh boy.

Nice work Fox! Really enjoy the updates. You motivated me to learn how to fabricate/refurbish used box pieces into a complete box for my 3/4 ton.

I have a question for you on how you mounted or fabricated your fender extensions. Are they c-shaped in cross section so you can bolt to box and to the original fenders? and do they have cross supports?

What I am doing is mounting 1ton fenders or panel fenders to my box since i have them. They are much narrower than normal fenders and need extensions/spacers. If you have any pictures from underneath how you mounted them that would be helpful to me.

Workmaster,
Yes, the end plan was to enable me to convert the box from dually to single by simply removing the extension and changing running boards. Hopefully the change would take an hour or so. I'd like to show the idea at the summer show&shines by having one side a dually and the other side single.
I will grab some photos and share with you later tonight or tomorrow. They are C- shaped like you describe. I used the fenders to outline the mounting surfaces on a plate sheet. I traced it out, then cut out the two thin LARGE C-shaped mounting surfaces. Then I drilled the holes in the C's that would line up with the fenders/bed side. I used threaded rod and nuts to space out the two mounting surfaces. This allows you to set the gap nicely and helps square up the holes before you weld them. Set your gap, cut your sheet to cover the two mounting surfaces and slowly tack weld it all together. I also thought about cross bracing but was surprised at how stiff the extension was when I was done. For now I may just add a steel rod brace from the back of the extender to the box side like the original fender had.
I'm sure this is hard to follow. The pictures will make a world of sense I hope.

Work master,
Here are some pictures.

http://s1372.photobucket.com/user/foxj12/library/?view=recent&page=1

Just browse through. You can see on the one photo the threaded rod. I put these through each hole to square up t he fender. Worked well. As you weld it up, go slowly, the first one "sprung " on me and was a bear to get back to where it was. Hopefully these help.
One of the hardest parts to get just right is the front "beltline" near the bottom of the fender's front. Especially if you don't have the proper tools. I used pieces of angle iron in my big vice to "coax" this beltline and had to do a lot of fine tuning with hammer and dolly to get it right.
Good luck!

Thanks Fox!

Exactly what I was thinking but had to be sure. So the spreader bars are enough support or do you have diagonal bars somewhere as well? Now to find some sheet steel.

Actually Workmaster,
The threaded spreader rods were only there to hold it square while welding. Once you're done welding, take them out. I was surprised at how stiff it was. With the running boards bolted up, and the splash apron it's pretty solid. The back of the stock fender still flops a little and this is where I will have to figure out a brace.
BTW, I used 16 ga sheet for this project.

Right side extension...done. Yeesh. That only took 3 months.
Running board right side to start and finish, rebuild stock ones too so I have the single wheel option and the 9ft box is DONE. Hopefully by New Year. I do have Xmas holiday break from school so it might be possible! Ahhh, maybe June. : D
It sure is hard to move around my single bay shop with that huge 1 ton in there. Add on the dually extenders and I literally have 10 inches of space between my north and south workbenches! It sure has made building this side a challenge. I did the left in July. Outside. In the sunshine. With no snow. With tons of room. I sure hope this new side is straight because I couldn't get a far away look at it! :O
Who else hates winter?

Hi Stovebolters

Would it be kosher to run a 9 foot bed without splash aprons on it?....I have my 9 foot bed done and then I cobbed up some super long running boards but never got around to cobbing up splash aprons....they look really complex with all the funky bends and radius's too...can you run them with out them on the truck???

Any insight would be great...

MikeC

You could, but it really leaves a massive hole. If you're driving in wet/rainy/snowy stuff it may cause a lot of spray. In addition it would also help stop rocks from coming up near the cab or hitting corner windows. My 2 cents, put something in there. AS I was welding on my running boards the other day, I wondered how a set of splash aprons might look if they were simply square? It would be a whole lot easier to build and may not look half bad. Or how about this? Come up 1 inch off the running board, bend 45', 2-3"run, bend 45, and finish up to the bed....Huh maybe I'll try this two if my originals don't survive the bead blaster!

Take a look at this, it's not a great photo but the only one I could find in a quick search. Top picture seems most clear. http://www.oldchevytrucks.com/blog/index.php/2010/02/1947-1955-optional-wide-running-boards/ I have seen one set of thes and wish I would have fabricated something like this for my truck. I think this is along the lines of what you are speaking.