Mat supplied the measurements I needed from his Camaro offline. Thanks Matt.

Anybody with access to a 61 Vette?

 

Most people with a 61 Vette would require a credit report and family geneology before they would even let you look at it! Are you sure you could afford any parts off of one?

 

Guys! The box is finally “done” and ready for viewing in my gallery (10 pictures from the last couple of weeks have been put into the 2007 gallery). I realized today, it’s taken me/us 11 months from start to finish on this box. Far longer than it should have, but there was a lot more work than meets the eye – (although much of it was due to optional design enhancements…..

For those contemplating going this route, I’ll recap;

I took a 6.5 ft box from a 88-94 GMC Sierra extended cab pick up and narrowed it 16 inches. I took the stock 54 F100 fenders and took about 5 to 7 inches off the inside of them and then mated the fenders to the box.

My original intent was to use 88-93 Caddy tail lights frenched into the box sides but they need to be accessible from the rear for service and since I was welding in new inner walls, that wouldn’t be possible, so I went with that old stand by – 59 Caddy bullets…

I could have bought a roll pan and narrowed it, freight would have been a killer and it’s more fun to build your own (although I sure wish I had a sheet metal brake to bend it!).

You’ll notice I removed and filled the original wheel tubs to create a cleaner bed floor…not that it will ever carry anything other than beer!

I also filled all the detail lines on the sides of the box to make it more closely match the profile of the cab sides…..

I thought it would be much cheaper than it was but some of the expense was due to many of the little bells and whistles I added along the way.

Here’s a run down of costs;

late model Silverado/Sierra short bed fleetside 300
replacement (used) fenders 150
patch panels for fenders 50
shop time/materials @ Cavanagh's 100

Mods -
- eliminate wheel tubs
- patch floor with strip removed from center

- make and fit patches for bottom feature lines
- make and fit patches for stake holes on top
- patch gas filler door for permanent closure

- fabricate new crossmembers to mount box to frame 2.5 " square tubing $35.00

- fill stock taillight openings $100.00
- tail light assys (59 Caddy bullet assys) $100.00
- buckets to french taillights $0.00

- design and build roll pan for rear under tailgate
- license plate lights ("Litz N' Bolts") $50.00

- Narrow and reweld tailgate
- weld Ford script into outer face of tailgate $38.00
- latch assy kit to move to inside of tailgate $50.00

- repair front edge of fenders w patch panels

- Fabricate inner walls for bed
- Sheet of sheet metal 4 X 8 $100.00
- inner walls

- Rear Bumper (69-73 Camaro RS front units) lengthen abt 4" each $80.00
- additional regular 70-73 Camaro bumper for pieces $100.00
- fab up bumpers (RS units lengthened by 4" each)

- mount fenders and do body work
- gas cap door assy (Harley chopper flush mount) $60.00

- sandblasting bumpers & 2" I.D. pipe for mounting $35.00
- additional misc steel - rod and angle iron framework for bed wood $70.00
- POR-15 and Rust Encapsulator for underside of bed $60.00

- Primer - 2 part Epoxy (PPG) $75.00
- Primer top coats - high fill $75.00

- Wire for tail & license plate lights - 3 rolls $28.00





The costs shown are the cost of the parts/components used including freight, currency exchange, duty and taxes, etc.

The above cost - $1,666. Cdn does not include cost of the bed wood or the fancy SS strips that will hold the wood in place.

Depending upon your circumstances, you could probably do it for less money especially by eliminating some of the things I did;

Chopper gas filler
New inner walls (Had to use 2 sheets of sheet metal for the three pieces)

(While you could probably do a stock reproduction bed for about the same money, at least I was able to nickle and dime over a period of 11 months and not lay it out all at once.)

In conclusion;

I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of getting this all to work and I am very happy with the appearance of the truck with this bed. However, thank goodness I had my son - Ramsay – the welder because there was a ton of welding involved – over 120 linear feet of it!

I did celebrate yeasterday afternoon with a couple of frosties (as Bobby would want me to). Wanted to take it for a spin to show it off but the neighbour refused to push me....

Perfect time to put her away for the winter and contemplate next year's work.


Anyway - there she be!

 

WOW!!!!! That is a thing of beauty! Wonderfully creative!

And I thought the chop job was hot.

Color me impressed.

 

looks kickass, cant wait to see it all finished up with the wood

 

Randy,

Thanks. considering the caliber of your work, I take that as high praise.

Jared,

Thanks. although I love walnut, because I plan to go two tone green, I'm thinking maple with a very light stain and the SS strips...

 

sweet very sweet!

 

Keith,

Thanks! Not as radical as the stuff you've been doing, but I'm happy with the look.

 

Robert that's incredible! I love it. If I lived closer I'd push you around the block.

 

Fergy! Good to see you back. Now I see why you have been MIA for so long. That looks SUPER!!!!

 

Brilliant!

himmelberg

 

I think all the good superlatives have been taken...so I'll just say COOL!

 

Thanks a lot guys! Far too many hours but lots of fun making it all work out.

Just need to finish off the bumpers and get them chromed and figure out how I'll finish off the tailgate latch mechanism...The original mechanism is pretty much all seized up....thinking about going with a solenoid like Randy did, but not sure how it would work...

Want to go with smooth running boards, but for what they cost and then freight - probably just make our own.....

Ah well, got a few months now to plot next year's work....

Later,

 

sounds good, i have done latches before were i moved the handle to the inside, pretty easy on the chevy, you can even reuse the plastic guard

solenoids would be cool, you could use door poppers i suppose

 

Your situation is a little different than what I was trying to do, but FWIW, here's a pic of my tailgate solenoid latch. You'll probably have to copy and enlarge it, but it might help with your noodling. I was trying to keep the whole thing to a small box on the face of the rear bed with the actuator rod running down the post socket to the solenoid underneath the bed. It would have been easier with solenoids in the gate, but I didn't like having to plumb electrical into the gate.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...=70773&width=2

Happy noodling! Yours will be better.