1953 Chevy Truck - Bed

Few people in 1953 bought these trucks just to drive back and forth to the grocery store. Rather, the old trucks wear some signs of their long and faithful service. High quality reproductions of the front bed panel and tailgate are available from Mar-K Industries right in nearby Oklahoma City. That seemed like the best way to go.

A little more corrective surgery was required to get a good fit on the new panel.

It would seem to be a simple job removing the tailgate. The top bolt on each hinge goes into a captive nut. The excess length of bot sticks out the back of the nut in a place that can't be reached from behind. Fortunately we were able to break each bolt loose. We carefully worked each bolt out and back in about a quarter turn at a time. Each time the bolt was sprayed with StrongArm Spray to carry some lubricant back into the nut. Eventually each came out without damaging the threads of the captive nuts. We were reluctant to use heat in any way for fear of warping the sheet metal.

The bed and spare tire rack were then sandblasted--in, out and under.

The bed was primed with epoxy primer in preparation for further body work. The underside and tire rack were topcoated with the final color right away to avoid the need to be sanded again. This picture also shows the fenders beginning to return to their original shape.

New tires and tubes were mounted after the 5 original rims were powdercoated. We're toying with the idea of some orange pin stripes to tie in the OSU colors of orange and black. For that reason we're leaving the hubcaps off for now, in case we end up pulling the wheels to spin them (by hand!!) on the balancer while pinstriping. That decision will be made when we can look at the truck overall with the bed and rear fenders back on.

The original bed floor was long gone. Someone had welded in a steel plate, supported by round stock and 'edged' with angle iron. Some surgery was required to remove the old front panel.

The tailgate was fitted in a similar fashion before any further body work.

The bed had a plate welded into the floor on the inside. While the inside won't be on display, it also caused damage and warping on the outside. The initial reaction might be to fill all the flaws with plastic filler. Unfortunately, that method doesn't do very well, particularly on a pickup bed. One consideration is the weight and flexing at the mounting points of the fenders. It was realized that a majority of the welding damage is in the areas inside (covered by) the fenders. So, it appears the judicious use of a little filler in the areas that will show can be made to conform with the natural look of the bedsides, as they'll be once the fenders are mounted. This was a hard-learned lesson of the past when a great deal of effort was once expended to get a pickup bed's sides laser-straight only to have them take on a slight warp as the fenders pulled and twisted on them.