Make Your Bed! - Installing A Classic Chevy Pickup Bed

Do It Right, Do It Once, And Never Look Back

By Rob Fortier

In the past, I've been known to half-butt things just to get them done. I'm not talking about cutting corners to save costs or even doing things shoddily--I mean making due with what I had rather than waiting like a normal person for the right parts and, like the title says, doing it right and never looking back. Oftentimes, though, when you're working with deadlines, there just isn't time to wait! With this in mind, jobs of late have been "planned out" a bit more thoroughly in order to avoid the usual half-butting...well, sort of. Case in point this go 'round: The bed on my '53 Chevy.

From the get-go, I'd arranged to install one of Bruce Horkey's beautiful bed wood kits. Well, parts were ordered, and when the time came to put it all together, I realized the bed box wasn't nearly as worthy as I'd assumed, even for a temporary wood floor as initially anticipated (it would be taken out and then reinstalled after paint). As it turned out, upon a thorough investigation of the steel perimeter, if I'd attempted to put the wood floor in and fix the box later, I'd probably end up having to buy another wood kit. It was that bad. For starters, the front panel had at some point been welded to the cross sill; the forward set of wood blocks was replaced with heavy steel industrial shelving brackets, which were welded in place; the bed panels themselves were in need of hours and hours of repair; and, among other things, the majority of the bed was held down to the chassis with C-clamps--ones I put on to band-aid all the broken welds that previously "secured" it. Long story short, I should have been planning a complete bed rebuild before I even considered the wood floor!

OK, one step forward turned into two steps back. Fortunately, there were people out there just waiting for someone like me to come a callin'. People like Chevs of the 40s, Brothers, and, of course, Horkey's Wood & Parts. At first, I thought I could get away with just rebuilding the bed sides and forward panel, leaving the stock tailgate for a later restoration. Wrong. After spending a couple of hours on the old gate, I threw in the towel. But because I'd already ordered the panels from Chevs of the 40s and it was late in the game (yeah, as usual), I relied on my neighbor, Brothers, for the tailgate, which they luckily had in stock. As for the lower supports, Horkey previously included the three cross sills with the wood kit, and after I explained how the rear main cross sill had been poorly welded to the chassis AND the bed sides, Bruce made sure I ordered a new one. Another long story short, my old bed is now "yard art" around an old orange tree in my backyard; nothing was salvaged for use on the new box.

Once the rear suspension was wrapped up, I refocused on the sheetmetal. With the bed box finally complete, I can once and for all get that wood kit finished and installed. From there, I will replace the beat-up old fenders and running boards with replacements from Goodmark Industries. Stay tuned--and remember, do it right, do it once, and never look back!