Truck guys...need some wood bed advice...

My '56 chevy stepside is in dire need of a new wood bed kit. Wood, rails, bolts etc. What type wood do you suggest(pine, oak), and who sells the best kit?

I'm thinking of using stainless rail strips and brush finishing them. Will prolly also go with stainless fasteners.

I need to get this done asap for the Hamb drags. Thanks...

 

the pine is harder (better) than the oak in those kits. Get a good dye to match the truck or a complimentary stain. If you're gonna just clear it, use the oak, it looks better. After staining, use auto clear on it to protect the color and finish. Don't use polyurethane or it will yellow in the sun...regardless of what you read. Stainless will look great. get the one with hidden fasteners. Doing much the same on my 58.

 

they make kits for cameos

check into it

 

I bought a kit from LMC truck years ago for a 73 Chevy stepside i built.(same bed as yours)
I used the pine, and bought the stainless strips for it.
It was actually a nice kit, fit great and looked real good all together..I don't remember any issues with the stuff i got.
Here's a link to thier site, and the pages with the bed info. Although it looks like they only show oak..

http://www.lmctruck.com/ICATALOG/CA/t.aspx?Page=24

Tony

 

I don't own a truck, but I can give some advice on the wood floor boards I made for my 31 roadster. Red oak has a density of 44 lbs per cubic foot (dry). Pine has a density of 27 to 36 lbs per cubic foot (dry) depending upon the grade. Standard white pine is 27. Oak is denser and more durable than pine.

I used an outdoor floor urathane for the red oak floorboards that I made. (with UV inhibitors) I've used them for two years now and they still look great.

Good luck,

Dowie

 

Larry,,use oak,,,oak is a hardwood,,pine is NOT.

Unless you can score some very old heart pine,,but be prepaired to shell out a lot of cash.

Having been in the paint business over 40 years,,I've seen every kind of finish you can dream of ,,,

I would suggest something in the Spar urethane type finish,,,used in a lot of old wooden boat restoration.

Silicon water bases don't hold up,,,no mater what some people will say,,

Sikkins and Cabots both make products that are durable and will hold up extreamly well.

Make sure the wood is dry and coat both sides. HRP

 

I should add, i used pine 'cause i couldn't afford the oak back then.. It did work and look good for the time i owned it..BUT, even guy's around here suggested using oak.

 

C'mon Larry- go down that road again....you want mahogany or teak...


http://www.bedwoodandparts.com/ListItems.aspx


how about bubinga or curly maple?

 

Just don't use Lignum Vitae (ironwood),that stuff is HEAVY,so heavy it doesn't float! HRP

 

DID A 52 CHEVY P/U AND USED BRUCE HORKEYS, BEAUTIFUL KIT!!!
http://www.horkeyswoodandparts.com/

 

I'll second Horkey's products.
My Dad has Black Waulnut wood/Stainless strips/Hardware from Horkey in his 53 F-100, and it's BEAUTIFUL stuff.

 

This is where almost everyone else gets their kits from, and just resells them. Trust me, I used to work at a big time street rod shop. They come from Mar-K

Mar-k:
http://www.mar-k.com/

 

damn...thanks for the quick replies guys.

I gotta fess up tho...I ain't gonna stain/finish/protect the wood. I want it to age quickly.

 

Go to the paint store and buy some cabots weathering stain,,,the longer it stays in the sun the grayer it will get,,, HRP

 

...this is the kit from a place called "mar-k" they will have all the stuff you will need, owrs has 3-coats of marine spar varnish sanded betweem coats,here's a photo.

 

I'll 2nd HRP and add...use a stain meant for decks.
A truck bed is more like a deck than a piece of furniture or a wooden boat that only gets walked on with white soaled shoes. I did the floor in my stepside d.d. and used Horkey's kit. The kit was right on, but I used a poly type finish (spar varnish?) that was recomended for boats etc. blah blah....
It was very thick, so as soon as it cracked from tightening down the metal strips, or it got scratched, water got under it and stained the wood, then it peeled.
I would use a Thompson's Water Seal type product that soaks into the wood if I did it again.

 

Cameo and stepside use the same kit.
I'm using maple on my 59 because
I have it left over from a hardwood fo
loor job.

 

Depending on your budget, I just used a sheet of plywood, used oak stain and clear coat and topped it off with polished carpet strips.

 

gotcha...

 

Ive found Jim Carters antique truck parts to be overall the least expensive compared to Brothers, LMC, Bowtie Bits, etc. Granted youll find one or two pieces cheaper at some but overalll Jim Carters tends to be the better deal.

http://www.oldchevytrucks.com/cgi/htmlos.exe/start.htm

I shot 10 coats of urethane clear coat on top of the dry natural white oak wood, sanded in between each layer and looked like it was dipped in glass when finished, the truck was a contrasting Black Cherry

 

Forgot to mention, I used no stains since I was shooting clear and it wouldnt have stuck to the wood if stain were used first, plus I wanted the wood light as possible for contrast with the color of the truck and bed strips. I had it for about8 years with no peeling or rotting of any kind

 

The wood in my bed is so rotted, that the bolts ain't holding it down anymore and it moves around. This old girl has the original faded paint and I want to keep the aged look going. That's why I don't want much protection.

 

A buddy of mine has 56 ford with the same set up you describe, he uses ONLY Thompsons Water Seal to bead the water and prevent further rotting, hes had his on the road about 13 years now. Applys it about every 6 months

 

Larry, the sky's the limit on wood (in general). Hardwood would probably be a preference. Find a grain you like and go for it. I'm prolly gonna use maple in my bed. Light stain and spray a clear laquer topcoat (or several)...sorta like painting a car. I like the stainless deal myself.

 

I have a client that "restores" 47-55 Chevys/GMCs---he uses burnt motor oil on his new wood kits yep, he lays out all the boards on saw horses and wipes that stinkin black mess on every edge, top and bottom and leaves them outside for a day or two, then wipes 'em again.
Waterproofs and patinas in one step.
Makes a nice finish--kinda like weathered factory boards.

 

A buddy came over yesterday and said the same thing. He said to mix used oil and deisel fuel and paint 'em. Like minds...

 

Seems that I remeber it was the Bruce Horkey's stainless strips that had no visible heads above the strips - rather they were in a sliding rail beneath the strips. I liked that because it looked so clean, but was one of those custom features that you had to know it was (or wasn't) there.

Something else that you might think about is a thing that I saw awhile back on Trucks or one of those goofy shows on Spike TV on the weekends. They actually took their bedwood and had the tops of the boards sandblasted before they finished it. Sandblasting took much of the softer wood off of the top and left it with a neat profile that even stained and/or would weather differently. I'd love to see what the finished results of something like that and how it looks (on someone else's ride) before I tried to do it on my Dubble A.

 

go to mark ks website and they will have some info on finishes or check out the beds fourm on the stovebolt page.this topic has been beat to death there.as far as pine goes what theyre talkin about in the kits is yellow pine a whole different deal than the soft stuff you get at lowes.and i second the opinion on jim carters ...oldchevytrucks.com as being reasonable on bed wood and kits i have bought alot of parts from him and he doesnt gouge your f'n eyes out on shipping either. but then again mark ks right down the road from you also..my .02...................dave

 

..you could gather up some old weathered barn wood and wire brush it to acheve the look you want...you just need the thickness of the original wood to go by.

 

new wood? I don't think you'd want that by what you said.




I was missing one wooden runningboard. I had wood flooring out of my converted shop. Some had paint in spots, some had worn off paint areas that looked too new. I did the finish with filthy black scum left over from cleaning out the oil pan. then wiped it off.