Hello. I bought this truck a few years ago. It didn't have a bed on it (originally had a fuel tank on back, previous owner removed it), so it had a short frame for a 1.5 ton, actually the wheel base is about the same as a 1 ton. So, I've been looking for a 9 foot bed for it. I finally found one set up as a trailer on craiglist for a fair price and it was only 15 minutes away. Anyway, I got it mounted today. This is a '48-'53 bed and is wider than the 9 foot beds of the '37-'46 series so it's up on 4x6 beams to clear the tires. Looking locally for '48-'53 fenders. Here's a link to info about the 9 foot beds, specifically on the featured 1.5 ton - http://oldchevytrucks.com/blog/index.php/2015/03/1947-chevrolet-1-12-ton-pickup-open-express/
Looks good setting there. Paint the wood to match the frame and get some fenders on and you'll be set.
Martin '62 Chevy C-10 Stepside Shortbed (Restomod in progress) '47 Chevy 3100 5 Window (long term project) ‘65 Chevy Biscayne (Emily) ‘39 Dodge Business Coupe (Clarence) “I fought the law and the law won" now I are a retired one! Support those brave men/women who stand the "Thin Blue Line"! Hug a cop! USAF 1965-1969 Weather Observation Tech (I got paid to look at the clouds)
Ed - I am borrowing a set of fenders from my neighbor (he's restoring the 1950 1/2 ton he drove in high school 25 years ago) to get the final alignment on the bed before I bolt it down. I'll see how they look when I mount the fenders, I don't want the tires sticking out beyond the fenders if I can help it. I don't plan on using this truck a lot for work, but I when I do, it's usually in muddy environments and don't want to sling mud all over. I'll post some more photos when I get it set up. Thanks.
Finally got around to mounting a borrowed fender on my '46 1.5 ton with 9' bed. Starting to think about making spacers for the rear wheels so I can lower the bed onto the chassis instead of way up on those 4x6s (needed to barely clear the bed - empty bed, a loaded bed would rub). Anybody know of a place to get a 10 lug spacer for this at a reasonable price (similar to the image below)? Anyway, here are some photos. It's an A-D era bed, but doesn't look too bad or out of place to me.
Can you cut openings in the bed sides and let the wheels extend into the bed, in order to do what Mike is suggesting? I believe the hot rodders refer to that as "tubbing". My Dad had a '46 1 ton pickup when I was growing up. It had sort of mini fender wells on the inside of the box about 3" wide or so.
May I ask how you intend to mount the lumber to the frame? I am pondering a similar modification in the future, but to a flat bed. Have a few ideas, but not sure what the "right/easy" way is. Thanks.
It is a great looking truck! Could you please take some photographs of the inside of the cabin showing how the windscreen is tilted up? How far can the windscreen tilt up?
I just posted a thread about tilting windscreens - ID WWII Truck...
Getting closer*. The gas tank needs to be pulled and cleaned, lots of rust keeps getting past the filter (just put in a new one and it's already getting rust bits in it). While I'm doing that, I'm going to pull the bed, weld in the inner fender and then mount the bed on the frame. Here's a one minute video of the truck from a few angles....
*thanks to Wheelie for the shifting housing, fixed my gear grinding and popping out of gear.
