49 PW Truck Bed Help

[texcwa]

When I got this truck 6 years ago the PO threw in some bed pieces that were not on the truck originally and said they were in poor shape. When I unloaded the truck at home, I just set these pieces to side of work shop and forgot about them.

Today I decided to do an inventory of what I had for a bed. I washed down what he gave me only to find that the sides were in fairly good shape with some rusting/damage to the rear exterior stake pockets and the tailgate also good with minimal damage. They look to be good candidates for restoration. What is your thoughts? Also these three pieces are all I have. I am missing the back and any mounting brackets? I do not have a clue as too whats needed in addition to what I have in order to mount them. I know I need all of the cross members and brackets to install the wood floor but can I install the sides, back and gate without these cross members and brackets? if not, what is the minimum I need to install?

The rear fenders on the other hand look to be in poor shape and probably need replacement, I have attached a couple of their pics in the next post.

Thanks and any help would be greatly appreciated.

[texcwa]

Additional pics of the Tailgate and Rear Fenders, thoughts on restoration? Thanks

[53Crusher]

Bed

This is about as far as you can go without the cross members. You will notice that you have to have the two outside boards installed at a minimum to be able to place the bed on the cross members. Two large bolts will go through the outside wood planks into two cross members. Your truck uses the 1st series bed.

I have hundreds of pics if you want more detail. Would point out that all four pieces are available as reproduction. The cab piece you are missing will simply bolt onto the sides.

There are some spacers that go between the cross members and frame to reduce rattle. There are also two small metal spacer pieces that mount between the cab in front of bed to give it a more finished look.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Having the bed elevated as this make a big difference. Remember if you are using new parts, tailgate, bedsides, fenders, to test fit and do a pre assembly fit of all the pieces. The tailgate to hinge brackets will take some work, the center tailgate hinge fits very tight.
Also the center board for the first series bed has to have a relief taken out of the wood for the center tailgate hinge to fit.
Another thing is the rear fenders. The new reproduction rear fenders are very nice but at times you need to get creative to get them to mount.

[texcwa]

Thanks for the response 53Crusher and Matt. Matt, I will most likely be needing to purchase the rear fenders and all other associated parts to get the bed on (without the finished wood floor at this time) I would rather get used parts in decent shape over new re-manufactured if available. If it becomes too costly, I may do a flat bed sim to Todd M and W_A_Watson_II

53Crusher, Great job on your bed, I am very envious. I believe I have done a good restoration on the chassis and can only hope the my sheet metal work turns out as well as yours (very doubtful though). Not sure if you use Dropbox as a means of sharing photos but if you do, I would love to see as many photos as you have of both the bed pieces and how they fit together and the frame mounts on your chassis. I too took hundreds of restoration and assembly photos including the brake down and assemblies of engine, trans, transfer case, PTO, wench, diffs and every part of the chassis (I even broke down all leaf springs, blasted, painted and reassembled). If others read this post, my pics are available to help assist reconstruction.

If you do use Dropbox or Hightail as a cloud, my email is tex@curtainwallanalysis.com. Again, thank you both for the help.

[53Crusher]

Cloud

Thanks for the compliments. I am about 8 years into the restoration, and still find myself doing little things now. Anyway, I sent you an e-mail with a link to my personal Cloud device. Hope it works, but please let me know. If not, I could copy all my pics to my Dropbox or OneDrive.

[Nor'Easter]

FYI and unbeknownst to some, reproduction rear fenders do not match the originals. Original fenders are slightly convex in cross section as viewed from the front or rear of the truck. Reproductions are flat/slightly concave.

I have owned both.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

I have also noticed this on the reproduction fenders, have you had any issues with the mounting of these? I have been told due to the gauge of the new repro rear fenders that the rear lower fender bracket is not needed. I have always saved the factory brackets and and attached them to the rear fenders, that small angle bracket that is attached to the bottom via rivets.

[texcwa]

Thanks for the compliments. I am about 8 years into the restoration, and still find myself doing little things now. Anyway, I sent you an e-mail with a link to my personal Cloud device. Hope it works, but please let me know. If not, I could copy all my pics to my Dropbox or OneDrive.

53 Crusher. thanks for the photos and they all downloaded just fine. I would or responded earlier but your file was over 3 GB with more than 1500 photos and it took awhile to download. Your file on the bed gave me some great incite on how it all goes together and your other photos were also helpful for some of the cab arrangements. By the way, great job on your restoration. You had quite of bit of work on the frame and the rear PTO set-up was amazing. (and I thought I took allot of photos, only 1,800). Between us, you could build a B1 from start without the manual. lol

[53Crusher]

photos

Glad my little Cloud device worked for you! So many people on this forum and in the PW community were helpful to me when I was restoring that it's nice to pass the favor on. Didn't realize I took so MANY pictures.

Can't wait to see how yours turns out.

[Nor'Easter]

I have also noticed this on the reproduction fenders, have you had any issues with the mounting of these? I have been told due to the gauge of the new repro rear fenders that the rear lower fender bracket is not needed. I have always saved the factory brackets and and attached them to the rear fenders, that small angle bracket that is attached to the bottom via rivets.

I bought a pair for a friend, he said the radii do not match. Matt Tisdale said just flex them to fit.

If I need a nice set I'll have them made at a coach builder so they are correct. It's a dead giveaway.


OP all those bed parts are in great shape, I wouldn't be looking at reproduction parts.

[Nor'Easter]

Glad my little Cloud device worked for you! So many people on this forum and in the PW community were helpful to me when I was restoring that it's nice to pass the favor on. Didn't realize I took so MANY pictures.

Can't wait to see how yours turns out.

Tim, if it interests you (as I'm sure it would others) you can create a free Google Drive (comes with any free GMail account) and you can upload photos there. The drive can be made public and a link to it could be made a sticky or placed somewhere on the site.

[texcwa]

Another question on the parts I have, ref 1st two posts, the sides look to be for a series 1 but the tailgate looks to be a series 2, am I correct?

[Frank Irons]

Another question on the parts I have, ref 1st two posts, the sides look to be for a series 1 but the tailgate looks to be a series 2, am I correct?

Yes, you are correct on the tailgate. It can be made to fit with some hinge relocation. There is a 3/4" height difference between the older tailgate and the newer style.

Frank

[Chewie]

Between us, you could build a B1 from start without the manual. lol

That sounds like a good idea..