The Pickup is in for final****embly and with the floor yet to go into bed, I was able to get the much needed measurements for the frame. A couple of surprises were noted. The biggest ones were the gaps between the leading edge and the sides.
I think it has something to do with the frame needing to line up with the mounts on the chassis rails.
With all that out of the way, I’m keen to get to work on the cross rails first, starting with the one the tailgate attaches to.
There’s a quarter inch stepped flange running along the top where the mounts for the hinges fasten. I will be able to make this section in the bend brake.
The other thing I got measurements of is the floor. They were originally steel but the owner decided he wanted a timber one instead. This one is constructed from a single sheet of 3/4 inch ply for simplicity. Notice how the bed is varnished different shades of stain to simulate individual planks, once the stainless steel bed strips are fastened it’s hard to tell, it’s a single unit. I can source this from my local lumber yard.
Hey Guys. The pickup was back in the workshop last month so I was able to get much needed patterns of the sides and the tailgate. This is the pattern for the sides. I also took patterns of the tailgate and bead profiles.
The other big development was ordering a full slab of 3/4 inch thick form ply for the bed along with 1/8 sheet of regular ply and lengths of 1 x 1 angle iron. Once cut to size the slab will act as a jig for the three sides to fasten to. The angle will fasten to the bottom edge of the sides and the bottom edge where the bed will sit.
The second length of angle will sit just below where the floor sits. There are three points of reinforcement that tie the sides together.
The Jalopy Journal
