The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk Running Board Mounting Questions

Help. I am working on piecing together a bunch of pieces to make 53 AD truck. The frame is a 3600 or 3/4 ton. I am going to shorten the frame to fit a 1/2 ton short bed. I finally got a used bed and a set of running boards which I am trial fitting to see how much to take off the frame and center the rear-end in the rear fender.

Not ever having taken one of these trucks apart or having an assembly manual (I know I need to buy one, but with my mix of parts I am pretty sure it would be less help than this forum) I need some help with the position of these parts.

The 1/2 ton running boards have three places for the carriage bolts to mount to three running board supports. My 3600 frame only has two supports on it, so I assume the 3/4 ton running boards are different. They are also apparently in a different place along the frame, since when I set the running board on the supports but pushed forward so that it is close to the front fender, the carriage bolts are about 1.5" in front of the supports. Are all three 1/2 ton supports the same ? I have another big bolt truck that I can rob a couple of supports from. I know the back of the running boards bolts to the front of the rear fender. How close does the running board get to the front fender ? How close is the filler panel that bolts to the top of the running board supposed to be to the back of the cab ? How much space is there supposed to be between the bed and the back of the cab ?

I don't know if there are specific distances written down anywhere, but I'll give you approximate measurements from my '48 half ton.

Are all three supports the same? No. The rear one is definitely different. The forward two appear to be the same.

How close does the running board get to the front fender? On mine it's about 3/8" at the narrowest, but this could differ from side to side or truck to truck, based on how the front fenders are attached.

How close is the filler panel that bolts to the top of the running board supposed to be to the back of the cab ? Again, this can differ, based on how the bed is positioned on the frame. Mine are really close - maybe a quarter inch, but I've seen other that were up to a half inch.

How much space is there supposed to be between the bed and the back of the cab? At the center of the cab, I've got a half inch.

I hope this helps.

You really need the factory assembly manual. You can find them on EBay every day; just type in 47-54 Chevy factory assembly manual in the item search. I would give you the link but our friendly forum gestapo would have a conniption (a hysterical fit caused by extreme excitement or anger).

Wouldnt it be easier to start with a 1/2 ton frame???
Then you know for sure everything is right the first time.??

Tom - good information, thanks. I have been trying to guess distances from some of the pictures, but that is hard to do. At least your dimensions will get me in the ballpark.

Big Chevy - I am going to buy one, just have not got around to it yet.

Marty - yes, it would have been MUCH easier to start with a 3100 frame, but nobody was giving them away. The 3600 and 78 C10 parts were free. It is amazing how much trouble some of us will go through to make free stuff work, when we would probably be better off time and money to buy the right stuff to start with.

The trucks with the flatbeds have shorter running boards with only two supports. A factory assembly manual is really a good thing to have.