The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed Rear cross sill 47-53 AD

Does the rear cross sill on the bed, which has the mounting slots which bolt the rear section of the bed to the frame, is it bolted to the side bed panels, or is it welded to the side panels. Will be tearing into my bed this summer, and have to have minor welding repairs made to the rear sill. Thanks, Mike

hey mike
i had to replace mine it was just bolted on.

52 chevykid

I checked four original rear sills that we have in the sample shelf. Three were only bolted and one had been welded plus bolted. No way to tell if it was originally welded, but no sign of welds on the other three.

Later years were both welded and bolted from the factory.

Mar-Ktech

The 1951 Engineering Features book from Chevy states that the rear cross member was now welded in addition to being bolted to the rear stake pockets. It says this was done to eliminate bowing of the bed sides when loaded that was a problem on earlier models.

Bob

Thanks, Bob. That explains why some of my 47-53 samples were welded and some not. Mine shows remains of a vertical weld on the rear vertical face of the rear sill where it bolts to the stake pocket. I notice 54 and newer also have the weld on the top surface of the rear sill just behind the angle strip. Of course 41-53 angle strips cover that area so weld would not be practical on the top surface for the earlier trucks.

Mar-Ktech