The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Bedliner

Does anyone know of a manufacturer/dealer (preferably in the Los Angeles area) that makes a drop in bedliner that will fit a '54 long bed? My understanding is that these bed sizes are the same as all stepsides through 1972.

I looked and looked and could not find a drop-in liner for an AD. I ended up buying two 4 x 8 sheets of diamond plate polished aluminum, 1/8" thick. I had a local sheet metal fabber bend up the sides which consisted of a 3 1/2" section that sits on top of the rails, then the sides, then about 3" along the bed. Custom installation all the way with lots of measurement and fitting but it sure looks nice. A 4 x 8 sheet in my area costs $219 so it isn't exactly cheap.

Thanks, BoTi. I think the aluminum would get a bit scratched up when using the truck for hauling. I did see a '52 chevy a couple weeks ago that had Al diamond plate up the sides and on the bed rails and it looked awsome.

I'm trying to balance between form & function here. Do you think there's any way to find a plastic liner that's close and cut/seam the difference?

tl, you are right about the wear and tear aspect of polished aluminum. I installed it because I do not plan to haul much if anything with my '55. If I do, I will lay something down to protect the finish or use a utility trailer to haul stuff (I normally use my 1997 S-10 as my daily workhorse).

I found the aluminum to be relatively easy to work with. Plastic is another matter...I don't know how one would take a one-piece bedliner and cut/fit to make it work in an AD AND make it look good.

TLORBER, my understanding is that the bed insides were the same up until 1982 on the shortbed stepsides chevy's. only the fenders were different. RON

the 55 to 87 are simular.54 is different.

tlorber what about taking a tape measure to the local junk yard and seeing what they have?

bed liners cause more damage to the bed then hauling stuff sprayon bed liners are the way to go a rock hard finish i have two trucks that have plastic liners sence new id hate to see what they look like under there i even had one bed repainted because it looked like someone took a griner to the finish

Spray On/Roll On Bedliners are better, more durable and they look better...but of course you just put all that crap on your truck, so I would recommend Herculiner or something and do it yourself, unless you can't handle having that permanently on your truck.
By the way, they are no trouble to do yourself, and at least mine turned out very nicely.

'54-'87 beds were the same basic design. The side stampings changed with the changing rear fender styles.

Well, thanks everyone for the input. What are your thoughts on having a permanent lining on one of these trucks?

Depends. But its your truck, do what YOU like with it. Not like you are preserving the last of a dead breed. If its a work truck, then do it. If its a show truck and you want an original wood bed...

As for me, mine had a big crap box on it that would have taken 3 years to fix. So I scraped it out and changed to a home made flat bed. But, mine's a work truck.

btw, I am going to use the spray on liner on my 47 willys which is pretty ugly. SHould cover a lot of sins.

If I was using spray-on liner I would remove the bed wood and have the sides and tail gate coated, and then re-install the wood. I think this would look pretty good and it also keeps the advantage of the wood.

The wood was originally done for load handling. You could nail stuff to it, livestock liked it better, and it is fairly cheap and easy to replace.

spray on bed liners ? can't stand em ever try working on the panel after that crap has been sprayed all over your beautiful paint don't like it wouldn't recomend it and it's only my opinion.its aTRUCK BOXthey were made to get banged up and scratched stuff spilt in them thats what makes them trucks!