Good Wood

[YellowK5]

Well the first big(sorta) project for my newly acquired 71 C20 will be to replace the orig 50 year old wood ..After removing a rotten 4x8 sheet of plywood with some plastic stuck to it (held in with dry wall screws) from the bed I got a good look at how the orig wood was...Not so good but i knew that going in..2 and half hours and 3 sawzall blades later..after cutting every bolt off due to rust...I now have a naked bed...I all ready have a stack of red oak that I cut to size..I need to do a finish fit then rout the edge cuts and drill holes...I plan to keep this one a survivor truck so no repainting just cleaning and sealing all the trim strips.

[best view]

That’s a nice truck

[Steeveedee]

I'd check into the longevity that you can expect with red oak. I think that white oak would be a better choice, personally. The General used southern yellow pine (SYP). The important criterion for wood exposed to the weather is porosity. Pores in the end grain are like soda straws and can wick moisture way up inside the wood, leading to mold and deterioration. White oak and SYP are pretty much sealed up on the ends, so will live longer.

[YellowK5]

I kinda just went with this looks pretty! I plan to seal it up well...And living is Socal will help a bit..It was also what I had available to me..Time will tell I guess...

[jocko]

do you plan to paint or stain the wood? Factory finish would have been same as body color - and light blue is not exactly common in that year. Folks seldom install bed wood like the factory did (i.e. painted), but my humble opinion is it is the best look on something that isn't a hot rod or swb show piece - in other words, a good finish if you actually plan to use the truck like a truck and put something in the bed to haul it. Paint seals the wood quite nicely.

[Steeveedee]

Yup the wood in my Longhorn was painted orange from the factory, but it got plywood and indoor/outdoor carpet on it, and then a shell. That wood looked pretty good when I pulled the shell, carpet and plywood out to make it all new, about 5 years ago.

[Ricks1971]

I am using sapele wood it weathers good and looks awesome

[jocko]

(clearly not med olive repaint on the 2nd pic though, ha...) But the white one was the original finish.

[franken]

https://www.mar-k.com/ has drawings of how to cut bed wood.
I always suggest that folks just tighten the strip bolts and shear them off.

[KevinK7]

Sharp looking truck, congrats

[sick472]

I did a lot of reading before converting my 72 to a wood bed and found that using POR-15 on the undersides, all sides/edges and along the groves for the bed skid strips works very well...(and probably the best for the upper sides too).

See Mar-K's bed wood tests for outdoor weathering...

https://www.mar-k.com/PDFs/Instructions/wood-test-1.pdf

https://www.mar-k.com/PDFs/Instructi...alwoodtest.pdf

Dito on the white oak being better, but, like you, I ended up with red oak. Surely well treated red oak will last a long time...I'm hoping the difference is marginal.

As far as top coats go, I'm convinced for ease of maintenance that an oil treatment is best for those of us that do not want that glossy clearcoat/painted finish. I used a Penofin wood treatment stain that had some grey pigments to give an aged look, but linseed and tung oil (and likewise, even motor oil) are very good alternatives.

Here's a good thread on oils to use...

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=712931

Great truck you have...enjoy the new wood!

[72c20customcamper]

I milled white oak for my stepper. I'm letting it age to give it an original look I sealed it with oil based but no uv blocker . It's getting a nice black and gray tinge to it. I'll then use an exterior sealer to seal it

[YellowK5]

Hi,
I plan to just seal the wood. The old wood looks to be the orig bed. It still had some of the blue paint on top and the lamp black on the bottom. This truck has spent most of its life in SoCal but near the beach a lot. Unfortunately which has put a lot of rust on the hardware and paint chips..It also had a camper in back which is why i think the bed is in such good shape..No big dents or bent walls..It will be a daily driver up to the point I get my Blazer done..One other odd thing is it has a next gen tail gate..the gate was painted at the same time as the truck and even had blue under the lite blue that is very close to the orig color...

['68OrangeSunshine]

I didn't know Squarebody tailgates fit 67-72s.

[YellowK5]

Same here..never would have tried it..I will post some photos of it

[68Gold/white]

I've made measurements of square body gates. I think they may be a tad taller???
The arms are close but not exact, same engineering for arms and latch parts...

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by Ricks1971

I am using sapele wood it weathers good and looks awesome

Where have you found sapele at a reasonable enough price to make a truck bed!?

[jumpsoffrock]

I had absolutely no clue the factory painted the bed wood body color. I figured the natural wood was what drove people to the wood beds...

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by jumpsoffrock

I had absolutely no clue the factory painted the bed wood body color. I figured the natural wood was what drove people to the wood beds...

Was a wood bed a cheaper option than steel? Is it lighter? Is it less likely to over heat in the sun? Never saw a stepside with a steel bed.

[YellowK5]

Other than the body line it fits pretty good..Most dont notice

['68OrangeSunshine]

Thanks Yellow K/5.
You could get away with it if there were no chrome trim, especially on a backwoods bomber Blazer.
I have an aluminum trim panel on the rear of the tailgate of my '71 GMC Jimmy. A PO put it on along with TV Set style Squarebody side mirrors. I was told his other truck was a Squarebody. I was gonna change 'em out for proper vintage Below-the-Eyeline mirrors when I first got it. [1995] But they grew on me and I'm used to them. And I never could find OEM D4-somethings. The repops suck and vibrate bad, I heard.
I have a '72 K/5 in the weeds. Tub-only parts truck, but I have collected a front tin doghouse, fenders hood, radiator bulkhead etc. Tailgate was missing when I got it.
Jimmy pix w/ Sq body parts.

[custom10nut]

Here’s a crazy thought.
Has anyone thought about using Everseal on their bed wood?
It a great product and will permanently seal the wood.
I’m having my house and decks done this summer and thought about asking them to do my new SYP boards that I have cut and ready to go in.

[Snake72]

That's a solid '71, good start to a survivor project. I used Epiphanes matte to seal my hackberry bed wood, it's used for wood boats and the finish is absolutely awesome.

[YellowK5]

Slow progress...Fitting the wood and marking for holes..then take them out and rout the edges and seal it up

[YellowK5]

Still hacking away at this..but very close to back on the road