for those of you wondering, and who have asked me about it, this hasnt been sitting idle.
lots has happened, but I'm not at a stage to update all of it yet
what I will give you though, is a nice update on how to make a
convincing pickup bed for a pre-war pickup.
now, ive put quite a lot of thought into this. ive spent a lot of time looking at pics and seeing how pickup beds of the period were constructed. I'm not aiming to make one 100% period correct as it would have been done back then, but it had to look like it was. flat sheet steel and a box section frame all welded together simply would NOT suffice!!
youve seen the pickup sides I marked out and beadrolled up further back-
now, I needed some stake pockets. these are the 'frame' that runs up the corners of the bed to strengthen it, but they get their name from the fact they should have a slot/hole in the top to allow a wooden stake to drop in at each end, which serve to add height to the sides of the pickup bed for carrying larger loads.
but, they're also a big asthetic part of the bed. on earlier trucks like model As and the like, you can get away with square stake pockets. but on a later thirties bodied vehicle, they really need to be a bit curvy any swoopy to match the body style.
so heres what I came up with.
the fronts were kept simple-ish, as I noticed that as the front stakes ran up the enclosed corners of the bed, they were about half the size of the rear ones that went at the open end of the bed, as they simply didnt need to be as big or as strong as they had the enclosed corners of the bed to offer support to them.
so, I made them out of 2x1 box, with the top cut and welded out at 120 degrees to match the fold of the bed, with the top then rolled out to meet where the top rail will sit. the bottom corner was then rounded in too (pics to follow of that)
here the shape of the top, in progress-
at the back end, I made them quite a bit bigger, 2x3. but, I didnt leave them just as box section.
heres the start- I only had 2x4 box, so I had to cut some down to 2x3-
all smoothed up- youll notice its no longer a box section now, and has had a strip removed from the back.
I then cut off one edge, flipped it around, and reattached it-
so it looks like a folded up section. all smoothed out-
then, I sliced down the front to seperate the front side and chamfers from the rest-
then the top corner was cut and angled the same as the fronts-
then the sides were cut out to approximately where the tippex line is, then the front bent in and clamped down to give a nice sweep to the curve.
ive missed a few pics out really, but here it is all finished off and smoothed out-
now, I need a rear valance to add some depth to the back end. its simply some 3mm wall box that id cut in half lengthways and filled with holes a while back, to make a K-member for my model A, but then I changed the design so it didnt fit, and its been recycled into this-
which has had another L-shaped section cut out of a length of box and welded on to give it a return at the top which is bolted through onto the 2x2 pickup bed frame. very simple, very strong and very bash-proof unlike most sheet steel valances/rollpans!!
as this pickup will be used/abused and this is the most prominent section at the back, I thought I was wise making it out of this heavier gauge material.
ive also shortened the bed by a wopping !" as it just didnt sit quite right as it was. a lot of work for little loss really!!
ive also made up the rear bed mount brackets and fitted those at the same time. pics of those to follow shortly too.
I think it has the look of a 'proper' pickup bed now rather than something home made, so hopefully itll fool a few people when its done!!
[*]
to mark out accurately!!
