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wood for truck bed


randygall

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Just a word here from an old car nut. Although, folks do what they want, and I do not have a problem with that at all, but nearly all trucks (including pickups used yellow pine--not oak).

Most guys use red oak because it is sold by all the restorers, and it is a very nice looking wood when finished. Yellow pine needs to cure a few years before it turns a nice red mahogany color.

My row-house in D. C. had trim in the bathroom and kitchen of yellow pine which was a beautiful red mahogany in color. I just put an oil finish on it, and it was great looking.

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I used some baseboard out of a 100 year old house we tore down at our farm. I just sanded and varnished the back side which had never been painted or stained. I do not know what kind of wood it is but it turned out pretty good.

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The 1948 - 52 pilot-house trucks used oak, though not the most expensive grade. It was always painted black, never natural color. In 53 Dodge went to hard yellow pine. Personally I can't see covering beautiful wood with paint and perfer the natural pattern and color of the wood to show.

Edited by Bob_Koch
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Mar-K gave me Bruce Horkey's address before I knew about P15-D24. My Truck came with a structurally compromised (and butchered) bed that also must have been in a corner-hit accident. The stake pockets were the only thing worth salvaging so they were Fedex'd to Bruce, reconditioned and attacked to new metal sides. Horkey's Wood and Parts Bruce supplied a brand new tailgate, front panel, and unfinished ash (my choice). Every aspect of his workmanship was flawless. Even my body shop guy said "The guy that did the bed did an unbelievable job" Bruce knows the beds of our Dodge Trucks better that anyone and can supply pre-machined and unfinished wood, hardware and accessories.

http://www.horkeyswoodandparts.com/

Hank :)

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Edited by HanksB3B
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Your pictures back up everything you said. What a great transformation.

Mar-K gave me Bruce Horkey's address before I knew about P15-D24. My Truck came with a structurally compromised (and butchered) bed that also must have been in a corner-hit accident. The stake pockets were the only thing worth salvaging so they were Fedex'd to Bruce, reconditioned and attacked to new metal sides. Horkey's Wood and Parts Bruce supplied a brand new tailgate, front panel, and unfinished ash (my choice). Every aspect of his workmanship was flawless. Even my body shop guy said "The guy that did the bed did an unbelievable job" Bruce knows the beds of our Dodge Trucks better that anyone and can supply pre-machined and unfinished wood, hardware and accessories.

http://www.horkeyswoodandparts.com/

Hank :)

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This shows a bit more..I wish I could have gotten results that one of our fellow P15-D24 members was able to achieve by "shrinking" the metal. If you look at the picture with the bed on sawhorses its not hard to understand how by chopping the short bend of bed side (I guess to keep the overloaded bed of the "old-roofing-truck" off the rear axle) it rendered the bed almost useless.

Although it was the single-most expensive part of the restoration, I don't regret it a bit. Funny how people at a car show that don't know much about pick-ups will pay the most attention to "the wood".

Hank :)

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Just to let you know that if you plan to have your truck judged at an AACA event and you do not have the correct wood and alsothe correct color and in this case painted black rough cut then you will have major popibnts deducted on your restoration.

Please contact the AACA regarding this major issue if you are going for a true restoration project. Yes the highly urethaned oak looks great as a presentation aspect but it is not correct and most people do not know this. It is all looks that they want and not the correctness that counts.

If your truck had been a previous AACA award winner several years ago then you were grandfathered in as being incorrectbut they did not take back the award.

Alwasy do your homework if the car or truck is going to be judged. Better to do it now and then be caught at the event and lose becasue you over restored with incorrect material.

Rich Hartung

Desoto1939@aol.com

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Hey Hank,

Might be worth noting that you have a short side bed, where-as most of us have tall side beds. Which means we can't replace the sides with flat steel cuz we haz a pressed pattern. So in affect, you cheated. Oh....and that goes for all you short siders....Reg!:D

48D

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Yes you are correct Tim

Horkey's Wood & Parts was able to supply a brand new tailgate with the correct dodge script as well as the front bed panel both of which also have a pressed pattern. I've always wondered how or who supplied those. Is there someone who purchased the dies from Chrysler Corp.?

I wonder what ever happened to the die to manufacture hubcaps. I have two good wheels with clips (not sure if B3B's had 15" or 16" wheels). I sure would like to have a total of 5 wheels painted Dodge Truck Cream and 4 hubcaps someday. Trouble is there isn't much 50's found in Junk Yards today.

Hank :)

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Edited by HanksB3B
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Personally, I'd like to watch the roll put into top of the panels. I know the rest is put through a brake and a press but that tight a roll over that kind of distance has me curious.

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Yes you are correct Reg.

Horkey's Wood & Parts was able to supply a brand new tailgate with the correct dodge script as well as the front bed panel both of which also have a pressed pattern. I've always wondered how or who supplied those. Is there someone who purchased the dies from Chrysler Corp.?

I wonder what ever happened to the die to manufacture hubcaps. I have two good wheels with clips (not sure if B3B's had 15" or 16" wheels). I sure would like to have a total of 5 wheels painted Dodge Truck Cream and 4 hubcaps someday. Trouble is there isn't much 50's found in Junk Yards today.

Hank :)

Wheels and caps are around if you watch. Search on ebay but don't put the years in. Be vague. Lots of people have hubcaps and no idea what they fit.

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Personally, I'd like to watch the roll put into top of the panels. I know the rest is put through a brake and a press but that tight a roll over that kind of distance has me curious.

I went to a HVAC ductwork fabricator and he said the same thing. Glen at the shop that cut off the stake pockets explained how they did it and if I remember correctly it had to do with bending it only so far on a brake press and then using some sort of floor-mounted cam to do the final cinch. There must be a

been-there-done-that member on the forum.

A friend of mine that is a VP of R&D at Mazda is in the process of restoring a Pilothouse and his father worked for Chrysler back in the day. I will ask him if his dad knows next time I talk to him.

Hank :)

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completing a roll on the end of a part requires some specialty tooling. they are made just like door hinges, generally a two hit process on a press brake w/ a 3 op to finish the roll tight.

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So what all types of wood will work? Planning on actually using the next truck for some occasional work so I'm thinking regular pine is out. Sounds like yellow pine is ok, red and white oak, and I would think ash is ok too. Anyones I'm missing? This project will be done on the cheap so I'll be at a local lumber yard buying which ever is cheapest probably.

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I cheated and used 3/4" marine plywood painted black. I'm cheap...I mean frugal.... and wanted to be able to use my truck in my construction business. It's held up well since I installed it in 1998.

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Reg did you still use the strips? And a pilot house has steel cross members right? What kind of wood cross members would you use with the plywood? Oh and did you cut it into strips or just install it whole?

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Reg did you still use the strips? And a pilot house has steel cross members right? What kind of wood cross members would you use with the plywood? Oh and did you cut it into strips or just install it whole?

Well Young Ed. I did purchase some new bed strips and will be installing them one of these days. Yes, metal cross members. On your older truck with the wooden cross members I'd probably use oak for strength but maybe not being frugal and all. Douglas fir might be just fine. I used the sheet in full. No cutting into individual strips.

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So what all types of wood will work? Planning on actually using the next truck for some occasional work so I'm thinking regular pine is out. Sounds like yellow pine is ok, red and white oak, and I would think ash is ok too. Anyones I'm missing? This project will be done on the cheap so I'll be at a local lumber yard buying which ever is cheapest probably.

give Youngblood lumber a call. See what they are charging, and ask if a Guild membership discount would apply to what you are looking at. I can go with you and give you my discount.

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Thanks I plan to call them. Just trying to narrow down what I want. For what I'm doing I'm thinking the plywood might be the way to go. I'll still need some decent lumber for the cross members. On the 39-47 trucks they are 2x4x48

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