The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Panels 'N Burbs Does Panel body sit on the wood floor?

Is the panel body supported by the wood floor or only on the wood/rubber mounting blocks at the mounting points? I have the body off the frame of my 1937 panel delivery. There is no floor. I have a question about the assembly of the vehicle with respect to the floor to body connection. When I put the wood floor on the cross members with the wood blocking and rubber pads, is the wood floor shimmed to support the weight of the panel body in conjunction with the body to frame mounting points? I know there are body to frame mounting points forward and at the rear of the body but I am unsure if the outer pieces of wood floor actually supports the body weight by the inside rim flange of the body.

Thanks for any info you can give!

David

The below Post is for 47-55 1st series panel body truck mounting points, not sure if it applies to a 1937.
POST

Q. When I put the wood floor on the cross members with the wood blocking and rubber pads, is the wood floor shimmed to support the weight of the panel body in conjunction with the body to frame mounting points?
Yes, it is shimmed using the rubber pads. it does on a 47-55 1st series panel body truck. Picture

Assembly line Pictures

The inside rim flange of the body is what really supports the panel body.

Thanks a million for the info. Now to try to shim so the body is supported uniformly!

David

If your truck came with wood planks and
if you don't care about it being 100% original, you could use marine plywood.
Would help keep the dust out. Just a thought.

1929 - 1954 Master Parts and Accessories Catalog Panel Body illustration not sure of year, older than 47 ?

Jorb,
Thanks for the idea for the floor and the link to the old factory photos!

I notice the holes in the wear irons line up with the holes in the rim of the body. Do any of the wear iron bolts go through the crossmembers? All of them? None of them? I think there are more holes in the wear irons than there are crossmembers unless I'm missing a crossmember of two.

I also have two cross members that have only two large head carriage bolts at the ends that come through the floor just outside the frame rails and just inside the outer most wear irons. (I think on some years these are the bolts with the washers that have off-center holes) There are no holes in these pieces to bolt to the frame. Am I correct to assume these just sit on the frame rails? I'm at a loss as to why the floor is designed like this but I'm sure there's a good reason.

David

Q. Do any of the wear iron bolts go through the crossmembers? All of them? None of them?
Not sure, there could be some wear iron bolts that line up with the crossmembers.
My 54 has a factory marine plywood floor and the only holes in the crossmembers are at the frame mounting points.
The wear iron bolts are short.

Q.Am I correct to assume these just sit on the frame rails?
I not sure about how it is for a 1937 panel.
If they make a 1937 factory assembly manual it would be good investment.

Thanks for the info. In the end it's just a floor. Pretty hard even for me to screw that up. As for the assembly manual, unfortunately no manual like that is known to exist. At least according to anyone on the stovebolt forums!

If anyone has assembled a pre war panel, please chime in.

David, there is a bolter named Jim May who lives in Minn. and has did a complete build on a 38 panel so if you look him up I'm sure he could be of help........look him up in the users list at the top of the page. I think his handle is his name. I've visited him at his home and he is a great guy. Has a 37 pickup too.

Dear David,

I'm just seeing your post now--as Alvin mentioned (thanks for the kind words, Alvin!), I have a 1938 3/4-ton panel on which I did an off-frame restoration, so I think I can help. In reality, the actual wood floor of the panel does NOT support the weight of the panel body, though there are contact points which do support the weight. It is assembled exactly like the wood bed of the 1/2-ton pickup (I just re-did my 37, and was reminded of it). As you know, the body of the panel at its mounting points rests on wooden blocks that sit on rubber pads (approx. 1/4") that sit on the frame. You can (and should) mount your body on the frame at those points before installing the floor.

The floor itself consists of several wooden boards (7, if I remember correctly) that vary slightly in width (the outside boards are wider than the interior ones). You can ascertain exact measurements by checking the rear cross member (that attaches to both sides of the panels at the back of the truck and sits right below the bottom of the doors. There you will see a ledge 3/4" deep, with a series of holes drilled. Your bed boards sit BETWEEN those holes (not over them). The bed boards extend from that ledge up to back of the platform where your seats sit. There should be corresponding holes in that floor panel, that line up with the holes in that rear ledge (you can pull strings between these holes that will indicate the width of your bed boards). That distance will determine the length of your bed boards. If I recall (and I'm going by memory) the width of the interior bedboards is approx. 7 1/4" (you need to leave a 1/4" gap between bed boards to accommodate the width of your 1/4" carriage bolts that will attach the bed strips to the boards). The 2 outermost boards, on left and right, are wider and have to be cut to fit around the wheel wells on the interior of the panel body. These boards on their outer edges will slip UNDER the flange attached to the walls on each side of the panel (just like the outermost bed strips on a pickup bed).

In addition to the front and rear attaching points for the boards (as outlined above), there are 2 cross pieces that sit across the frame. These look like U-channels and have a series of holes going across them (these holes are to attach the bed strips). These cross pieces sit on the frame rails of the panel, right and left, with a wooden block and rubber pad (just like the attaching points). Long carriage bolts on either end go eventually through the bed board, the U-channel, the wooden block, the rubber pad, and the frame rail. The wooden block and rubber pad should bring them up to a level that is just enough to accommodate your 3/4" thick bed boards.

The bed boards themselves have a rabbit cut into them along their edges, approx. 1/4" wide and about 1/16" deep, to accept the height of the metal bed strips.Once you have all the boards cut to length, etc., you should lay them in the bed with the holes front and rear BETWEEN the boards. Your bed strips then lie over those gaps, sitting in the rabbits and the bed bolts (which are 1/4" carriage bolts) go through the bed strips, between the bed boards, and on the underside are finished off with fender washer, lock washer and nut. Where the 2 cross piece braces go across, your bolts will go through the bed strip, between the bed boards, through the U-channel, then fastened with washers and nuts. You are right that where the boards go across main mounting points, there is a recessed circle in the bed wood with offset hole to accept a washer and carriage bolt that goes all the way through to the frame rails. If you don't have a lift, you are about to spend a lot of time on your back--don't ask how I know!?!?!?

Toward the front of the right side of the bed, you will have a round plate (approx 4-5 inches) that also needs inserted into the bed board--this is for access to the sending unit on top of your gas tank, which should be directly below.

N.B. if you don't have the cross pieces mentioned above, they are available from Jim Carter. I had my originals, so the spacing for the holes was perfect for my bed; if you go with replacements, you may have to drill these yourself. Also the bed strips from suppliers come pre-drilled or you can drill them yourself. I would imagine that the bed strips for the 1/2-ton panel are the same as for the pickup, but I'm not sure. Since mine was a 3/4-ton, I ordered the longer bed strips without holes, and I cut them and drilled them to fit my panel. If you drill your own holes, you will have to file the edges of the holes to make them square to hold the carriage bolts. It's a bit like a Chinese puzzle since all these holes must line up, on bed strips, cross pieces, and frame--but somehow in the end, they do!

That's a lot of words--I hope they are clear and make sense. If you have questions, let me know.

Good luck!

Jim

Jim, Wow! I can't thank you enough for taking the time to write such a clear and detailed description of the floor construction. I think this should go in the tech tips. This will make the reassembly a breeze!
Thanks again!

David,

Glad to be of help! I remember staring at the puzzle of the bed construction for a long time, with lots of trial and error, before figuring it out 100%. Don't hesitate to reach out again if I can be of further help.

Jim

Wow great information. My floor is in good shape except for one plank that the left inner fender is bolted to. It has a rather large split. If I decide to replace it this post will help Thanks.