'67 step-side replacement rear bumper

[toomanytoyz]

Any Progress with the Bed ???

Thanks, Rick

[barthmonster]

Sorry about that bumper thing. Yeah I didn't really like my sons bumper either...

What color is that orange pearl (tangelo ?) ??

Thanks!! Your truck looks superb!!!

[barthmonster]

Originally Posted by Richard8971

.................FYI, my wife picked the color and it fits the truck. My friend James who owns James Dean Creations created the color, he modified a factory color for a bike paint job. Fits the truck perfectly. I think she has good taste... I have to be honest, I have seen other 67-72 painted this "color" but mine is slightly modified. More "bling" and much, much, much easier to spray. (The org was a tri-stage [candy] color, mine is a 2 stage color [regular BC/CC])

Sorry, yeah I blew right past the color, was enjoying the pics. Now that you mention it, it is a lot 'brighter' than HOK Tangelo Pearl. Nice, real nice !

[Richard8971]

Originally Posted by toomanytoyz

Any Progress with the Bed ???

Thanks, Rick

Hey Rick, not yet. We had a '79 3/4 ton 4x4 Ford restoration in the shop that we had to finish. I gave the customer back his keys today, and he was extemely happy. We had his truck a couple of three months, so it was time. I know this is a Chevy site, but I'm gonna post pics of the finished project anyway . He spent close to 11K on this and had everything redone (including interior). His wife's father owned it and he wanted it restored back to factory specs, so this was done to honor him. Hope you enjoy. I will start on my bed wood tomorrow, now that the Ford is done.

Later,

Don

[Richard8971]

Originally Posted by barthmonster

Now that you mention it, it is a lot 'brighter' than HOK Tangelo Pearl. Nice, real nice !

Thank you! HOK tangelo pearl is an awesome color, that would have been my next choice. I love orange, esp orange pearl. Not too many people realize that it is a pearl color until they get right on it, and that's cool. Should be on the road soon... at least hopefully!

Don

[Richard8971]

Ok, here is the start of the bed wood. First of all, I want to apologize in advance for my bad written instuctions. I feel however that you should be able to get the drift of what I am saying. The photos will help some too...

A quick trip to Lowe's produced two sheets of furnature quality oak 3/4" plywood. (photo 1) I rooted through the pile until I found a couple of sheets with damage on one side. They are usually quick to discount sheets that are damaged just to get rid of them. I got one for $14.00 and the other for $35.00, not bad considering that they are $50.00 a sheet, full-price.

Start taking some measurments on how wide the bed is. Mine was 50" across. That means that 25" at the half-way point means you need two sheets to get each half. (photo 2) My bed wood needed to be 77 1/4" long by 25" each. Mark the lines with chaulk string. (photo 3) Make sure to cut a little short to allow for expansion of the wood and for fitting. You don't want them tight in case there is a variance in distances.

Cut slowly using a good quality plywood blade, you don't want to splinter the ends. Now this is where it gets tricky. My wood is 5/8" thick and the distance it needs to be is roughly 1/2" thick at the braces. (photo 4,5,6)

Lay each sheet in the middle of the bed so you can mark where the braces go. You will need to take a router and shave the back side away so each sheet can lay flat. (photo 7,8)

I'll cut the groves this weekend so I will be able to post photos to help explain why you need the groves on the back side. The factory wood has groves on the top of each side to allow for the strips to sit flush with the wood. Cutting the bed wood on the back side allows for the strips to sit on top, (which is what I wanted, I had custom strips made for my truck, they are flat) but you can always cut groves in the bed wood like factory so that your strips lay flush.

Hope this makes sence so far.

D

[Richard8971]

I won't have to cut a grove for the back panel on the bed. There is more than enough clearance for the wood. (photo 5). Just FYI, but your bed may be different.

[toomanytoyz]

Looking Good So Far, I was Beginning to wonder what happened with you till i Remembered it's Christmas Time

Rick

[Frizzle Fry]

This will be interesting. Might have to borrow that idea

[Richard8971]

Ok, phase 2 in the bed wood trilogy. Once you have gotten the marks down for where the bed braces go, flip each piece over and router out the space needed to allow the sheets to lay flat. I put in a photo of the routered out sheet on the bed so you can kind of get an idea of why you are doing this. (photo 1) You may have to router out more depending on how the sheets fit into your particular bed. Don't cut out too much, you can always cut more later if you didn't do enough. Double check your measurements.

Remember, this arrangement only applies if you want your bed strips to lay flat on the sheets. If you want your bed strips to lay flush (like the factory), you will have to router out groves in the TOP of the wood to let them sit down inside. You also may have to make a jig of sorts to keep your router lines perfect. I reallllllyyyy recommend doing a test trial on a scrap piece of ply to see if you will like the end results. That will keep you from having to replace your main piece for the bed.

The only advantage of having the strips on top of the wood is that if you DO ever lay anything inside the bed, it will sit on the strips and not on the wood.

Get some rough measurements of where the bed strips will lay on the wood. Each strip centerlined should work ok. Then measure where your bed bolts will go through the wood and then lay each sheet in and mark the holes. Drill and then bolt each sheet down. Lay each strip down on your center lines and mark where each bolt will need to be drilled. (Photo 2,3)

Once you have both sheets down, your center strip will cover the gap between the two sheets. (Photo 4,5) Keep laying the strips down until you have all the holes marked. Unbolt the sheets and then remove them from the truck. Drill all of your holes and you might have to put the wood in and out a few times to make sure you are drilling in the right spots. Take your time, but most importantly make double sure of your measurements. That will be a lifesaver.

I took a DA with some 220 grit sandpaper and I went over the top of the wood and sides to make it really smooth and to get rid of grime marks. I will carefully hang the sheets and spray a candy coat or two of my color over the wood (to tint the wood to match, this may not work well with all colors, test a piece first) and then clear-coat with automotive clear. Once the clear has dried, I will sand the clear on the top of the wood with 600 grit and then re-clear to give it a deep look. I will post pics once that is done and then I can final bolt the wood down and I'll be done.

Later, D

[toomanytoyz]

Boy That Sure Looks Good, Thanks for the Very Detailed Write up you Did on this. I Like Your Idea of having the Strip's Raised off the Wood a Tad Bit..........

I Like the Color Contrast of the Painted Strip's against the Oak, That's the way i Chose to Go with Mine also..........

Rick

[kyull67]

I think the wood will look great once you get it painted.
Are you only using four bolts to hold your bed to the frame, or are the other four hidden?

[Richard8971]

Originally Posted by kyull67

I think the wood will look great once you get it painted.
Are you only using four bolts to hold your bed to the frame, or are the other four hidden?

I painted my wood today and it does look good. It has a slightly orange cast that matches my truck. (It also has a tint of pearl, should light up pretty good in the sunlight)

Yeah, it does only have 4 holding down the bed, for now. I haven't drilled out the other 4 yet. Good eyes...

I forgot my camera so I will post photos tomorrow of the painted wood and I should be able to get most of the bed together by tomorrow evening.

Later for now. Don

[caja_larga]

paint question.. Is there a problem with painting things at diffent times. I always thought that paint might not match.

[Richard8971]

Originally Posted by caja_larga

paint question.. Is there a problem with painting things at diffent times. I always thought that paint might not match.

The short answer to your question is yes, there can be many problems associated with painting pieces at different times.

The long explination is that everything from outside temp, metal temp (if your booth is 80 deg and the car is 50 deg because it sat outside all night...) reducer speed (slow, med, fast... etc), number of coats, gun (and compressor) air pressure, how you applied the coats (slow, fast, different overlap...) and even the number of coats of clear can slightly change the color.

Don't get me wrong, we are talking small color alterations, but enough to spot if you know what you are looking for. I have even spot painted areas using the same can of paint I used to paint them the first time and it didn't match. (and it was a shade of cream)

Metallics are more easily affected than solids. The best way to paint a car (or truck) is to jamb everything in first, then paint the outside complete. (in the case of a truck, paint the bed off of the truck at the same time you paint the cab). I personally was ok with the slight risks of painting parts sepertately.

There are a couple of areas on my truck that are shaded differently, but so far only I have noticed it.

The rules of thumb, if you are going to paint piece by piece, are...

1. Try to get all of your spraying done aroung the same time. (IE, over the spring and summer). Your temps will be more even.

2. Try to use the same reducer speed each time.

3. Keep track and write down your spraying pressures.

4. Use a sealer primer over everything to keep the color more even.

5. Keep track and write down the number of coats of base or color.

6. Keep track and write down the number of coats of clear coat.

7. Try and buy enough paint for eveything once. (IE a gallon, not a quart each time as you run out) Remember each batch of paint is hand mixed when you order it. The paint stores don't stock your paint already made up, they have a rack of (20-40) toners and use a formula to weigh out how much you need of what.
The guy who mixed your paint two months ago is prolly suffering from a hangover and will screw up your new quart of paint today. Or you will get one guy who mixes everything perfectly one time and the slob (who thinks that a 3-4 gram overpour is "good enough") the next time. Paint (reducer, clear...) by the gallon is actually cheaper than buying 4 quarts. Call your local automotive paint store and see for yourself.

Also avoid spray bombing anything that will be seen as far as color goes. You won't be able to match it, ever. Spray bomb enamel and lacquer will look, feel and wear differently from automotive grade paint. Don't be fooled by the car photo on the can of Cry-lon (spelled differently so I won't get sued), it isn't automotive grade. Cry-lon is great for patio furnature and your dog house security bars, not the outside or inside of your truck.

Hope this helps,

Later, D

[caja_larga]

thanks for the info.

[Frizzle Fry]

That looks great and would be perfect for the Burbs where you really need too seal up well. I was afraid the traditional planks would have to many air leaks (not a problem in a truck). I'll definitely have to go this route with Tubby! Thanks for the info

[Richard8971]

In a galaxy far, far away.... Ok, sorry, got off track a bit. Part 3 of the trilogy, well sort of.

Here are some pics of the painted and clear-coated wood and pics of the install. I chose not to sand and reclear because I loved how the grain of the wood really shows and a reclear would have filled most of that up. (Personal prefrence) All I have left to do is put the center strip in and I'm done. I love how the wood has a orange tint that matches the truck and I hope you guys can see the pearl lighting up in the one pic. Hope you enjoy. I did all of this for well under a 100 bucks and that included the strips (I had mine custom made) and the mounting hardware.

Good luck if you venture down this road. I will see about putting together some better instructions in the how-to section if enough people request it.

Later for now, D

[Richard8971]

Phew, the bed is done. All I have left to do is put my wiring harness back in and hook up the tranny and I can start cruzin'. I should be able to get my wiring back in this weekend, fortunately there isn't a ton of wires. Hope you all have a safe week comming up.

D

[Richard8971]

Oh, almost forgot, I got my front bumper on. Cost me 100 bucks and it's aftermarket. It has to be one of the best quality, nicest looking aftermarket chrome bumpers I have ever seen. (Acton Crash, not LMC) I got really lucky. Sorry for the bad pic, I'll get better ones tomorrow of the front end if the sun is out.

Later, D

[Richard8971]

Originally Posted by Frizzle Fry

That looks great and would be perfect for the Burbs where you really need too seal up well. I was afraid the traditional planks would have to many air leaks (not a problem in a truck). I'll definitely have to go this route with Tubby! Thanks for the info

I would think that it would work good for that. The only thing I would recommed is that try to find a way to keep the wood full thickness. I lost some strength cutting the groves, but not too badly. I'm not real keen on how the bed is held on the strength of the bed wood. You think the guys who designed this truck would have had the bed bolts go through the metal strips or something... oh well... hopefully it will hold. In the end, it just is plywood.

Oh well, worse case I will have to buy a real wood kit but I think this will work great.

D

[kyull67]

Looks great!
Are you keeping the white wheels?

[Richard8971]

Originally Posted by kyull67

Looks great!
Are you keeping the white wheels?

They are just for now. I will get nicer rims once it is back on the road and my pocketbook has had a chance to recover some.

D

[Richard8971]

I gave myself a good present this year. I took time off and got my wiring harness rebuilt on the 25th. Lots of wires needed to be replaced as well as a few plugs. I also retaped it to keep everything new looking. I started getting the harness back in the truck today and I should be done by this weekend.

Hope everyone is having a safe years end.

D

[toomanytoyz]

We all need a Little Rest now & Then, Hope you Had a Nice Christmas...............

Rick