Where the Magic Happens

Every episode of MTV Cribs is the same...the host always leads the camera to his/her bedroom, points to the bed and says "this is where the magic happens."  Well I'm here to tell you, when it comes to vintage pickup trucks...the bed IS where the magic happens.  Glance into the bed of any properly restored'40's or 50's era pickup, and your jaw will drop when you see the beautiful wooden bed contrasted against the bed's sleek metal walls.  Unlike late century pickups, these early and  mid-century models just ooze with character...and the wooden-slat bed is one of the main reasons.  If you ask me, that's true magic. Just look at some of these restoration projects:

As shown above, people use all different species of wood when restoring their pickups.  There are also multiple varieties of fastening methods (i.e. concealed fasteners, exposed fasteners, chromed strips, etc).  This is one area of pickup restoration that really lends itself well to the restorer's imagination and personal preference.  The wood used in the original GMC truck beds was a southern yellow pine that was treated at the factory with linseed oil and lampblack--giving it a dull, black color.  The boards were secured by metal strips called "wear strips" that were also painted black.  

As beautiful as these beds are, not once have I heard anyone acknowledge their impracticality.  I mean seriously, folks...what genius at GMC settled on wood as the material of choice for a truck's bed?  After all, when I think durability...I think wood--especially a soft wood like pine (are ya pickin' up my sarcasm here?  I hope so, because I'm layin' it down pretty thick).  Then again, if I was aiming for practicality I would have just bought a completely restored pickup and saved myself a TON of time and money.  Truth be told, I don't really care that a wooden bed is impractical...its beautiful and I'd be lying if I didn't say I can't wait for my '54 to have a beautiful wood bed like one of the above photos.  I often picture taking my daughter to the drive-in theater (we have two in our town), backing my '54 into a spot and throwing a sleeping bag down in the back for her and I so we can watch the movie in comfort and style.

To be honest, I'm not sure why the folks at GMC opted for wood as opposed to a more durable material like metal...I suppose it kept production costs low and allowed for easy repairs if damaged.  After all, they didn't have spray-in, scratch-resistant Rhino liners back in the 50's.  Considerations aside, you still have to admit it seems like a piss-poor material choice when you consider the opening paragraph of the truck's original owner's manual:

Check out the last 2 lines of the first paragraph "sold to you to provide economical, long-life hauling for your business."

"Long-life hauling?"  I guess...as long as you don't  live in a termite-friendly climate or expect your truck's bed to look show-room quality 6 months after you buy it.  I suspect this is why my truck's previous owner decided to put in a steel bed of his own:

As you can see, my truck's original bed was removed....or was it?

A peak from the underside revealed the original southern-pine bed and wear strips.  Okay, so the geniuses at GMC really are geniuses...this wood is over 55 years old!  I stand corrected.

My first order of business was to remove the "custom" steel bed the previous owner installed.  With angle grinder in-hand, I made quick work of this demo:

Just me and my angle grinder (note the green Michigan State ball cap...bought it in the 7th grade and it still fits like a charm!)

A couple of hours and a few cutting disks later, the steel was gone and the original glory was restored!

Okay...maybe there's not much glory there, but you can definitely see we are on the right track.  My next step will be to remove the wooden floor and wear strips, pull the entire bed off the truck's frame, and then figure out how to wrestle the cab off the frame.  When the time comes (which will probably be like 10 years from now) I will poll my readers (if there are any left) to see what species of wood I should use for the new bed.  Until then, this is where the magic will have to happen.