Posted by Clint Dixon [172.70.131.124] on Wednesday, October 09, 2024 at 07:16:59 :
In Reply to: 1948 Dodge Power Wagon pick up bed posted by Sam D'Agostino [172.69.58.212] on Saturday, October 05, 2024 at 16:48:53 :
If your truck truly is a 1948, then the bed board layout will look like the image I am showing here.
Six boards make up the bed floor on both the "early" and "late" versions of the 1st series four-stake-pocket beds. The two outer boards are wider than the four center boards. The image also shows the layout of the hardware that attach the boards and skid strips to the crossmembers and side and front sheetmetal panels. Some of these details are also shared by the "early" version of the the 2nd series three-stake-pocket beds that came late inn 1951.
Todd has a good write-up on the bed wood on t137.com, as mentioned by Tom. Be careful though. His description, for the most part, covers the beds found on "late" version of the the 2nd series three-stake-pocket beds from the middle 1950's. They are a whole different animal.
The original wood boards of both the "early" and "late" 1st series beds were comprised of many narrow strips of wood, side glued together, with each succeeding strip flipped upside down to the ones next to it. This helped to prevent warping. Then the whole glued together panel was sawn into individual boards (each board consisting of two or more narrow strips). The saw cuts were not necessarily parallel to the glue joints. The individual thin strips of wood were not necessarily of the same species. This was not top tier quality lumber.
The original finish was black on both the wood and the skid strips. Personally, I think this looks best and is easy to touch up when the boards get all scratched and gouged up from use. I would use a black stain that will penetrate the wood followed up with a durable coat of black paint.
Board thickness seems to vary slightly. A search of this forum through t137.com will net you with reports of dimensions between 3/4" and 13/16".
Junior
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