Bed Wood color 1936 1/2 ton pickup,high cab

[Rayz]

What is the correct color and material used to achieve the color of the bed wood and attaching hardware. Also did they use pine or oak in 1936? What does AACA require

[keiser31]

13 minutes ago, Rayz said:

What is the correct color and material used to achieve the color of the bed wood and attaching hardware. Also did they use pine or oak in 1936? What does AACA require

1936 what?

[Rayz]

Chevy 1/2 ton pickup bed wood 

[Rusty_OToole]

As a general rule they used spruce. Pine rots and oak warps. Finished with tar or creosote. This is from memory of when pickup trucks came with wood bed floors. Last seen in the sixties or early seventies.

[Bloo]

I would try the VCCA forums, those guys know more details than you would think possible.   

 

https://vccachat.org

 

 

 

[jpage]

I  don't know for sure, but I think that most all bed wood was treated with some kind of preservative and then painted body color with the bed as a unit. None where stained and varnished!

[Soupiov]

My '78 F150 Flareside has bed boards that are body color but they were clearly treated with some kind of sealer first.  

[Restorer32]

AACA judging rules say that beds were always painted body color.  Varnished wood was never a factory option.

[Glen Andrews]

Rayz: I'm not positive about the 1936 high cab, I have a 1938 (low roof) Chevrolet pick up. I know the 1937-1938 and for a few more years, the beds were made by an outside vendor and were shipped to the Chevrolet assembly plants and were already painted in black primer when they arrived, the wood was Oak and was also painted black primer, the bed skid strips and hold own bolts were also primer black. At the assembly plants the the tailgate and bed panels were painted to match the body color, leaving the boards and skid strips primer black. The bed was attached to the frame with carriage bolts that were silver and were not painted. So correct color could/should be flat black; my boards and skid strips are gloss black so they are okay for AACA judging (my truck has a Senior Grand National) . Stained & varnish wasn't done at the assembly plants: tar and creosote probably was not done either, more than likely the owner of the truck back in the day added tar or creosote to protect the wood boards and to extend the life of the wood so he didn't have to spend $ to replace the boards. Try a company called Mack Products in Moberly, Missouri; they do beds and parts for old trucks, they list Oak boards for 1934-1938, which includes the Chevrolet high roof cabs. They may know if Oak was used for the bed of your truck.

Good luck,

Glen

[Rayz]

Thanks for the info, I will check out Mack Products....Ray

[Rayz]

Almost forgot, If the top side was to get painted body color what would the under side finish be ?  Thanks again  Ray

[Glen Andrews]

I take it you mean the boards, they too were painted primer black, as well as the nuts & other hardware on the bottom that hold the skid strips in place. The carriage bolts and attaching hardware that hold the bed to the frame remain natural, silver, or galvanized appearance. As I indicated, my boards (top & bottom) and skid strips are gloss black, which is considered over restored, but is okay for AACA. Last April, 2021, in Charlotte, there was a guy with a beautiful 1953 Chevy pickup that had stained and varnished wood. The owner told me that the lumber came from the family farm, and he was not going to paint it due to sentimentality. Obviously his choice, I don't know how many points were deducted. So there ya go.Later,

Glen

[Rusty_OToole]

I had the impression at the time, that wood pickup bed floors were treated with creosote or some kind of tar preservative but I could be wrong. It might have been black primer soaked with oil after carrying junk motors and parts. This is from memory of old trucks I owned 40 or 50 years ago.

[De Soto Frank]

Bed floors for Chevy / GMC trucks were southern yellow hard pine.

The bedstrips  were plain mild steel.

The floor and strips were painted black (flat or possibly semi-gloss).


They were NEVER varnished like a blond bowling alley floor.