Friday project

"DipodomysDeserti" (dipodomysdeserti) 08/07/2015 at 21:07 • Filed to: None

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This was a nice little Friday project. The bed of my ‘66 GMC was pretty tore up. When I removed the wood I noticed that the bed wasn’t really attached to the frame. All the rivets had stretched and I could lift the bed up about three inches. I bought some anchor bolts and secured the bed to the frame. I then cut my $17 worth of wood using a $20 jigsaw from Harbor Freight. I layed the new wood in and bolted it to the bed. I put some water proofer on the wood just to seal it in a little.

I plan on covering the bed with old metal signs. I picked the stop sign up at an antique store for $20, so I figured I would put that one in first in order to hold the two pieces of wood together. Once all the signs are in in going to spray some clear Plastidip on them in order to give the bed a little grip. I think it turned out pretty well. I would have splurged for a new wood set, but this truck is pretty ratty and I think having the bed made up of old gas station and street signs fits the character of the truck more.

BReLp7dzHM3ytYsE > DipodomysDeserti 08/07/2015 at 21:09

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That’s a super cool idea. Keep us updated

DipodomysDeserti > BReLp7dzHM3ytYsE 08/07/2015 at 21:13

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Thanks. I've seen some rat rod trucks with the same thing done, and I really liked how it looked. Hopefully I can find some more cheap signs.

MM54 > DipodomysDeserti 08/07/2015 at 21:32

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Very cool - just watch out that the OSB doesn’t start to swell/delaminate from moisture.

BReLp7dzHM3ytYsE > DipodomysDeserti 08/07/2015 at 21:45

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Good luck!

DipodomysDeserti > MM54 08/07/2015 at 22:09

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I sprayed it will a bunch of water proofer to try to prevent that. I'm in Phoenix, so moisture isn't something I have to worry about too much, but of course it rains the day I'm putting it in. It's meant to be replaceable as I'm sure I'll have o swap it out in a few years.

Kevin Barrett > DipodomysDeserti 08/08/2015 at 02:47

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That wood is going to trap moisture and hold it against your bed—sealing it with plastidip will only exacerbate the problem.

DipodomysDeserti > Kevin Barrett 08/08/2015 at 12:49

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The bottom of these old beds are open, so there’s not really anything for the moisture to get trapped against. There’s no metal bottom or anything. There are two metal beams which span the bed, but that’s it, and they’ve been there for fifty years with wood on top of them. I sealed the wood with Thompsons before I put it on to prevent it from holding water. I plan of spraying the signs with the plastidip before putting them on. I'm also in Phoenix, where it rains a handful of times a year, and is usually 80-115F with 10% humidity.

Kevin Barrett > DipodomysDeserti 08/08/2015 at 15:02

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*Paranoid plane mechanic is obsessed with corrosion.*

DipodomysDeserti > Kevin Barrett 08/08/2015 at 15:09

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There is a lot of rust on the body, though. I’m going to turn it into a hot rod eventually. I bought it cheap, and it came with a 350 swap, and a bunch of aftermarket goodies.