So, I’ve had an idea in my head for quite some time. And up until now I really didn’t know if it was possible, or worse yet, if I could pull it off. The idea was to swap or install a steel bed floor where a wood bed once was. The idea came to me because I’m very rough with my things and tend to abuse them more than the average Joe.
When John from Deuces Wild Hotrods & Customs asked me what I was going to do with the bed floor, I pitched him the idea. His face lit up because I think he’d wanted to do the same thing on a pickup. We brainstormed on how to accomplish such a task and came up with a simple answer – LMC Truck.
John measured the factory Fleetside bed and found that the LMC bed was the same length as the LMC floor. It’s easier to reduce the bed’s width than it would be to shorten its length.
LMC has several different steel beds that replace the factory ’73-87 Chevy bed floors and practically slip right into place. For my application I used part number 38-9566-T for a shortbed truck. When I say it almost slipped into the factory bed, I wasn’t kidding. The LMC floor is so close, all I did was trim it in a few spots to make it fit.
Since the truck has wide 285/35/R18...
Since the truck has wide 285/35/R18 tires, John and I thought it would be a good idea to make room for 315 to 335 rear tires, just in case I wanted to go larger in the future.
The only issue I ran into was the wheel well openings were off on one side by 6-8 inches, but my wide 285/35/R18 Nitto tires fit with no problems. Since I was also planning to raise the bed floor to clear my C-notch, the wheel well opening was not an issue. Note, if you don’t plan on raising the bed floor, everything should still fit. Since this truck is being built for autocross, adding weight is probably not the best idea, but we are adding the weight in the back where we need it. Besides, I want to use the truck for just that – a “truck.”
A few more measurements and...
A few more measurements and I was ready to cut the new floor. We made room for wheel movement and for larger tires.
I don’t remember the exact...
I don’t remember the exact measurement, but the bed was raised 6-7 inches to clear the C-notch. Notice the permanent marker line above the bed floor. John marked the inside of the bed evenly so that he could visualize the bed floor fitment.
Toward the tailgate, the LMC...
Toward the tailgate, the LMC bed floor will need to be modified to clear the ends.
John and I measured several...
John and I measured several times and then we used a cut-off wheel to remove the LMC bed corner.
I flipped the LMC bed floor...
I flipped the LMC bed floor over to cut the underside of the bed corner.
John then cut some angle iron...
John then cut some angle iron and drilled a few holes in it so that he could plug weld it to the bed.
We then removed the bed and...
We then removed the bed and flipped it over.
We continued the angle iron...
We continued the angle iron around the sides of the bed so the LMC floor has something to sit on.
The tailgate and stock inner...
The tailgate and stock inner bed floor were then removed. John sprayed the bolts with liquid penetrating oil.
This is the hairy part. We...
This is the hairy part. We removed the back of the bed that’s next to the cab.
We used several large wood...
We used several large wood blocks to help support the bed floor.
With the help of the shop...
With the help of the shop locals, we lifted the LMC floor onto the stock bedsides. The angle iron helped support the floor while we checked to see if everything lined up.