Anyone know the difference between the two beds? Curious...

 

The fenders aren't set in the same place on the box sides, so the fenders don't fit with the running boards unless you move the fenders, which of course leaves an extra set of bolts or holes if you remove them. It's a lot of work and you'd end up ruining the sides, warping them from the heat if you tried welding them all up.

 

That's what I thought. What if I raised the running board brackets up to match the fenders? Maybe that would eliminate the gap between the running boards and the cab? You know that little piece of black thingy thing that is supposed to cover the gap? It's called the "cab to running board skirt"

 

Then what would you do with the excess front fender hanging down at the front of the running board after you moved it up? How funny will the truck look with the extra "ground clearance?" It may be best to leave well enough alone.

 

Here are two pics of my truck with a 1971 bed. Back in 1998 when I fixed up my truck I knew that the beds and fenders were identical from 53-72.... But no one told me that the fenders were mounted higher on the 57 and up trucks. My bodyman kept asking me if these are the right running boards. He had a hard time getting them on. It wasn't until I got the truck home and it was sitting in my driveway that I noticed that a lot of tire was showing. I measured the old bedsides and the one now on my truck and discovered that they were about 4 inches higher.

Here are 2 pics of my truck where you can see how my running boards are cocked upwards and how the cab to running board skirt is crooked. I have lived with this since then but my plans are to someday buy a new bed when the truck is ready (or my bank account is ready) for a paint job.




Would it be do-able to extend the front of the rear fender down several inches to attach the running board???

 

Well, looks like the 57 bed is goin on Craigslist!! That sucks too, it's perfectly straight with no rust.