The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed 1950 3100 more bed questions

Hello all,

Many thanks for all the help and input provided thus far!

I have a couple more questions on my 1950 3100 bed pieces:

The Mar-K tech sheet says to use 5/16"-18 x 3/4" indented hex head bolts to attach stake pocket on bed side to rear cross sill. My stake pockets have holes on both sides(front and rear). Should there be bolts on both sides or were long ones used as previously there could have been stakes there?

Were the tailgate hinges originally black?

I plan to put on the stainless bed strip angles on the sides and bolt them on. How many bolts are required and what is the spacing?

Is there anywhere that gives the dimensions for the countersunk offset washers and bolts into the wood bed strips that bolt the bed to the frame?

Thanks, Jerry

I'm pretty sure there were the 3/4" long bolts on front and back of the rear stake pocket to cross sill (it's been a while since I took mine apart and I don't have a snapshot of that area). There's no need for thru bolts as there should be stops in the pockets to keep a stake from dropping thru. The only thru-bolt in the rear stake pockets was for the tailgate chain, and that's offset from the hole in the bedside for a stake so the stake would miss it.
I queried Mar-K about whether they had original stake pockets (which were bent out of sheet metal and spot welded inside the stake pockets), but they said they did something differently (or left them out altogether). I bought a replacement stake pocket and it had no stop in it. Mine were all bashed completely apart, so I fabbed replacements out of 16 Ga steel.
Replacement Stake Pocket Stops

You want to use the 3/4" bolts. They will keep the besides from moving around. Using longer bolts to go completely through the stake pockets will not get tight enough before the stake pockets begin to collapse from the pressure.
Carl