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Username Post: Bed Floor Conversion        (Topic#77046)
Anonymous 

10-05-04 12:26 PM - Post#524400    

Has anyone ever tried to install a Fleetside 67-72 Metal bed floor into a 63-66 Fleetside bed? I'm trying to get away from the wood floor in my 65 long bed but want an OE look i.e. no sheet metal or diamond plate. I have a 72 longbed fleet bed with a metal floor and was thinking of trying this. Just wanted to see if anyone had tried it before or has any input.


Thanks,
Keith




 
Keith1965 
Old as Dirt Member
Posts: 5368
Keith1965
Loc: Portland, Or USA
Reg: 11-23-02
Re: Bed Floor Conversion
10-05-04 01:41 PM - Post#524401    
    In response to

This has come up many times in the past, to my knowledge no one here has actually welded a later model floor in, I know people put diamod plate in their beds. Pretty self explanitory take a saw z'all or plasma , cut the floor out of your 72 and get it in place and then stitch weld it up. Make sure to let it cool, would look horrible if you had a nice set waves across your bed Once you stitch it up and has time to cool going around and weld up the rest of the floor.

Best of luck! and make sure to take pix!

Keith

'64 SWB Under Construction: 2.5 inch Z, Custom lower A-arms, 3 inch drop spindles, drop dropped, raised bed floor, custom back half, 4 link and much much more!


 
Anonymous 

Re: Bed Floor Conversion
10-06-04 05:19 AM - Post#524402    
    In response to Keith1965

Thanks for the reply Keith. The good part about these old truck beds is they are completely bolted together. What I pland to do is completely unbolt (take apart) each bed and try to bolt the 72 floor in the 65. Hopefully there will be little fab work. I'll take lots of pictures along the way.

Thanks,
Keith



 
Anonymous 

Re: Bed Floor Conversion
10-06-04 06:30 AM - Post#524403    
    In response to

Hey Red,

I think a later style (67-72) would look great in one of our year trucks, but its more than a simple bolt in job



 
Keith1965 
Old as Dirt Member
Posts: 5368
Keith1965
Loc: Portland, Or USA
Reg: 11-23-02
Re: Bed Floor Conversion
10-06-04 06:53 AM - Post#524404    
    In response to

Good point!

I completely forgot about that difference in height. Ever consider a stock floor body drop? "cause if you did this would be the time to do it Having a good idea that is not your truck, I would look at the cross sills on the later model bed floors and then check what your up against.

Keith

'64 SWB Under Construction: 2.5 inch Z, Custom lower A-arms, 3 inch drop spindles, drop dropped, raised bed floor, custom back half, 4 link and much much more!


 
jhicken 
Frequent Contributor
Posts: 1137
jhicken
Loc: Flagtown, NJ
Reg: 12-28-01
Re: Bed Floor Conversion
10-07-04 01:13 AM - Post#524405    
    In response to Keith1965

Correct me if I'm wrong but aren'tthe later model metal floors "corrugated" [for lack of a better term]? That may make up for some if not all of the height difference. If needed, a spacer shouldn

1965 C-20 Custom Camper


 
inliner 
Member
Posts: 77
inliner
Loc: Lakehead CA
Reg: 07-14-04
Re: Bed Floor Conversion
10-07-04 02:43 AM - Post#524406    
    In response to

Sounds like a cool idea, that would give you the "updated" tailgate.-sweeeet-. I'd like to see how those different body sculptures look together.
My 66swb bed is in pieces right now. There sayin rain this weekend, maybe I'll get bankin 'n sandin on the fenders.
good luck,
Jim, 2.5 '66 shorts



 
hilandr451 
Valued Contributor
Posts: 3892
hilandr451
Loc: Houston, Texas
Reg: 01-02-02
Re: Bed Floor Conversion
10-08-04 02:54 AM - Post#524407    
    In response to

Quote:

You'll need to modify your metal bed to take up that 3/4" gap. There might be an easy way to do this,




how 'bout 3/4" square tubing stock tacked on top of all of the cross sills? wouldn't that do it?

I'm thinking about doing the same thing on my '66. To me a wood bed is just too temporary if you use your truck for hauling stuff. You can spend $600.00 on rails & bed wood & have it look like shh - I mean doo doo (sorry Dale Jr. made me do it! ) in about a month.

-The Hilander.
Silver 2017 Silverado 1500 double cab 2WD 5.3L,
1966 C20 Custom Camper "Rattle can primer red" 5.7L, 700 R4 trans 410 diff. front disc, p/s


 
cadptsman 
Forum Newbie
Posts: 14

Age: 65
Loc: Arizona
Reg: 05-14-10
05-16-10 02:40 AM - Post#1915612    
    In response to Keith1965

Hey All,

I noticed this topic in the archives, but there wasn't any way to reply to it, so I'm just going to start a new thread here.

The original question asked was if it was possible to swap in a '67-'72 steel floor into a '60-'66 bed. The answer is yes, and it's actually quite simple to do. I did this to one for my brother in law on his '65 3/4 ton some 15 or 16 years ago.

You need to completely disassemble both beds, to include cutting the rear bed crossmember or sill away from the bedsides where it's welded together right below the tailgate hinges. It's just a short weld, maybe a 1/2 inch in length on each side, I'm assuming to keep the bedsides from working loose from just the bolts.

Once you have the steel floor of the '67-'72 free of the bedsides, front panel and fender wells, you can begin to assemble your 60-66 bed around it. The old bed crossmembers from your original bed won't be needed at all, since the steel floor has them already welded in place, and they are the right height to match the 60-66 floor with the wood in place.

The bedsides will bolt to the rear crossmember just exactly like they did to the original, and they bolt up to the floor along the edges just the same as well. The front panel will also bolt directly in.

As for the wheel wells, I can't remember if I had to use the 67-72 wells or if the 60-66 ones bolted in. It's been 15-16 years since I did this, and I just can't recall how the 67-72 wheel wells bolted to the floor panel. I am thinking that they bolted in the same way, since either the wood or the steel floor was still an option through '72. It would make sense to bolt them in the same way to keep from having to design two different types of wells.

The bolts that hold the bed to the frame are also in exactly the same places as the '63-'66 frames. If you have a '60-'62 truck, you will need to drill new holes through the floor to mount the bed. This would be easier to do if you lay out the original bed crossmembers on the steel floor before you begin the reassembly. That way you can mark out exactly where you will need to drill your new holes and avoid making any extra ones in the wrong places.

This is a great way to add a steel floor to your old truck without resorting to heavy diamond plating or 1/8th to 1/4 inch steel. I replaced the wood on my '66 1/2 ton some 25 years ago with 1/4 inch diamond plate, and let me tell you, it was one HEAVY bed after that! It sure made the old truck ride nice though, and it kept the center of gravity rather low too! LOL!!

One last thought, if you are thinking of using a '74 or newer bed, you will run into several problems. The floor doesn't bolt to the bedsides the same way, the wheel wells are longer, thus the floor area is shorter, and there are either one or two raised humps to allow for the fuel filler necks to clear, depending on how many tanks the truck has.

I hope this will help someone out in the future if you're thinking of doing this. It sure makes a nice conversion, especially if you can find a pristine steel floor to use.

Rick C.

56 Cadillac CDV, 2-64 Olds Starfire Convertibles, 64 Chevelle 2dr hdtp, 64 SWB 3/4 ton, 64 LWB 1/2 ton, 64 1 ton dually, 66 LWB 1/2 ton, 72 Corvette, 81 El Camino Royal Knight, 88 Suburban, 92 Lumina, 96 Monte Carlo


Edited by cadptsman on 05-16-10 02:46 AM. Reason for edit: spelling

 
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