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Hello "express box" people. I am rebuilding mine and have cut new cross-members to match the steel plates which are over the top of the center pieces. It appears I will need shims between the cross member and the bed frame, I assume this is a rubber piece about 3/16" thick but just want to confirm with others in case I am missing something.
Are your metal inserts the stock pieces? I think not and you've got too much indent. The two center cross members should allow the bed wood to sit flush and flat on the lip of the bed side just as exists on the other cross members. Stu
There is a rubber seal that goes the length of the bed on each side, but it doesn't serve any spacing function, only seals the edge. Stu
Hello Stu and thanks for the reply. I have no reason to believe this is anything but original, this is a unmolested truck sitting since the 80,s. The old cross members have the exact same drop as do the steel plates, there is still the same primer on some of them which matches the bed, etc etc. This is a Canadian Mercury, the bed valence or roll does not match anything else I have seen except another local truck of the same origin. It appears the tailgate designs are from the pre 50 period, locally some trucks have hinges with 2.25" bolt centers and others have 2" centers. So perhaps this is a anomaly but Ford was using parts off the shelf? There was plenty of material in the old cross-members to determine there exact size. Without a shim the rear steel cross-member will rest directly on the frame instead of the wood block it is supposed to rest on. If there was any rubber separating the box and the frame on this truck this spot is the only place it could go as there would be nothing to retain it between the cross-members that "float" on the frame. Thanks for your thoughts.
My steel plates were flat but, I don't know for sure if they were original.
Contact Bruce Horkey. He makes the wood cross members and sells a kit including the plates. I have seen posts were it was said he provided info for guys making their own. Worth a shot.
Ours was pretty complete when purchased . the steel plates are the same as yours , also there were approximately 1/4" thick wood shims to flush up the rails to the cross members . The rubber pads go between the cross rails and the truck frame .
Hello Guys, just thought I would finish this thread with final result, it is a head scratcher for sure. The second picture shows the shims in place. The picture at the front of the bed and directly below the hammer is where a rubber shim is added between the cross-member and the frame, this is the only place where there is a retainer to hold the shim, no other cross-members are seperated with rubber. all of the above result in about 3/16" between the rear cross-member and the frame. the notches in the second cross-member are not a mistake, it sits on one of the truck cross-members and needs to be notched for clearance. this whole setup is strange but it works. Old merc is about 2 hours west of me here in alberta.
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