Have you guys ever wondered why it doesn't look like more has been made when you have spent countless hours working at it? I'll bet you there is 60 hours in the pictures I am about to post. It sure doesn't look like it to me, but hey it's progress. I guess it takes time to try and do it right.
So, we put the tailgate on to see if everything fits and to check the rolled pan fit before we take the bed back apart to weld it all up. Sounds easy, right? WRONG New bed sides, new tail gate, new tail gate hinges well it didn't even close. When I did get it to close after tweaking some holes the top of the tail gate ended up 3/8" below the top of the bed sides. That's right 3/8". You can't slot holes that much, plus the holes in the bed sides had nuts welded to the back. Well, here is what I did to fix it. I used a hole saw to cut the old hole and nut away but on center for the new hinge location. I then welded a flange nut to the back of a heavy washer. I then tacked the washer into the hole. I did it for both holes that mount the hinge to move it up 3/8". I will finish weld and grind it down when I take the bed sides back off for welding. Here is what I ended up with.
After this was done the tailgate still would not close. On these old trucks there are two tabs, one on each side of the top of the tail gate. They engage slots in the bed sides to keep the tail gate centered and support the bed sides when the gate is closed. These are now guess what, yep 3/8" to high. So I had to cut them off and move them up. Geez! I bet I have 20 hours just getting the tail gate to close and get roughly aligned.
After that we moved onto making the mounts for the chassis to bolt the bed to. I think we came up with a clean/strong solution that matches the style of the chassis. We set them up to have 3/16" shim on them right now so that we have room to align everything later down the road. Here is what they look like.
By the way, I welded these brackets. I'm not as good as my welder, Harry but I am getting better. I just need to learn how to use that TIG now! Anyway, a couple more hours and the bed will officially bolt to the chassis.
Now that the bed is mounted and I know what kind of space I have, it is about time to design the gas tank. After that it is off to the front of the truck. Progress, love it. Thanks for looking. As always, feel free to comment. Good or bad, I want it right.