[Snake72]

Big day yesterday. My new bedsides came in, got a great deal on them from my local supplier. No shipping cost because I picked them up at his shop and $525 per bedside, however the driver side had some minor damage from shipping so he knocked $100 off that side. Less than 1K for 2 new bedsides, I'm happy. They are triplus brand from Classic Industries.

I previously had bought all new cross sills and rear sill, had new tubs and new tailgate. Bought a bunch of 5/16 bolts and went at it. Went together pretty well, had to hog out a few front panel bolt holes to get the bolts in them but not bad. The tricky part was getting the rear sill to slide into the besides to bolt them up. Had to cut a little bit off the sill for clearance then they bolted up fine. The tailgate went on fine and gaps seem to be pretty good for rough fitting. I'll blow it all apart for paint and raptor liner on the lower inner bedsides and tubs.

Last weekend a friend and I ripped and grooved the hackberry boards on a table saw. Dado blade worked awesome for the grooves. I set the boards in just to sit back and look at it.

The only original metal on the bed is the front panel and tailgate trunions and straps (painted blue in the pics)

I'm a happy camper. Can't wait to set it on the frame.