Installing an Aluminum Bed Floor Kit in a Chevy C10

(Austin)>> You know 50 percent of any truck build is the bed, and when it comes to that classic it's a huge focal point.

(LT)>> We've got our '65 C-10 in the shop today. We're gonna be making a few changes on it, and one of those like Austin says is the bed. Now our original wood, it's not like it's rotten. It's just in really poor shape and it just is boring to look at.

(Austin)>> Time to spice it up a bit. Still weathered, still worn, but nice, and fresh, and cleaned.

(LT)>> I really dig the look but I have one question for you. What are we going to do with all this wood? I feel like you're the type to put on an apron, get your wood working chisels out. Maybe make like a jewelry box, I don't know.

(Austin)>> You're crazy fool!

(LT)>> Yeah baby! Woo hoo, yeah!

It is a beautiful day outside. The sun is shining. We're in a great looking truck. The temperature is perfect, and it's a brand new season. It does not get any better than this.

(Austin)>> I'm so glad we're out of the shop not working. Just cruising around in this rig. It's an awesome ride and it will be a great season to come. I can't wait.

(LT)>> Now you guys might notice that this truck does look just a little bit different from the last time you saw it. Now that's just because we didn't show you every last step of the build.

(Austin)>> But not to worry. If you're just starting to watch let's get you caught up. Found what we were looking for in the '65 C-10 Fleetside, and it didn't take long tearing this truck apart to figure out that somebody patched it together for a quick sale.

(LT)>> Mechanically the truck was iffy at best. The engine was a later model 305, which was low on compression and smoked a bit, and just about every single bushing and joint in the suspension was shot, but that really wasn't a huge deal since all we were really after was some good solid sheet metal.

(Austin)>> We got right to work on the rebuild by getting the chassis powder coated, and we threw on a QA One suspension kit, which will lower the ride height and improve handling. Then I painted the roof pearl white for a popping color while LT fabed up the turbo kit for our 292 straight six.

(LT)>> With the cab undercoated we threw it back on the frame and Austin and Mac from Wyotech got busy creating a custom leather bench seat and some door panels. Well I've got to say the interior on this truck, it turned out just perfect honestly. I know I had my reservations at first when he said you wanted to paint it white and have brown leather, but honestly though it actually looks great.

(Austin)>> Is this a compliment coming from you?

(LT)>> Yeah okay, I'm sorry. I don't give all the compliments in the world but yes. I'll hand it to you here.

(Austin)>> It's an extremely weird feeling being the recipient of a compliment. I don't know what to do.

(LT)>> I guess I've got to reevaluate my life decisions huh?

(Austin)>> You're doing great.

(LT)>> The truck is riding great. You know the suspension, those coil overs, nice and tight, nice and low.

(Austin)>> The steering is tight. Hopefully the brakes work really well cause we're tailgating someone at the moment. I couldn't ask for more honestly.

(LT)>> I mean don't get too ahead of yourselves though because right now there's no gauges in it. It would be nice to know how fast we're going.

(Austin)>> Let's not get carried away. We've got to still have stuff to do in the future. I did forget to put the gauges in but they are at the shop. It'd be nice if even finish up the wiring, and by finish I mean start the wiring.

(LT)>> Well you know it'd be nice to have things like taillights and headlights I guess. Engine wise the turbo, that thing is all buttoned up. All the fab work is done, but engine wise Pat and Mike, they're still doing the machine work. So we probably need to throw that in.

(Austin)>> It'd be cool if we drop it in. A bed, well it's not a truck if you don't put a bed on it.

(LT)>> So what do you say we quit screwing around, and maybe head back to the shop and actually get to work?

(Austin)>> I hate to say you're right but I guess we've got to.

Could have a little more power in reverse but it does the job I guess.

(LT)>> This is really good for the calves I think. Why do I always get suckered into pushing?

(Austin)>> You've got longer lets. It's more efficient.

(LT)>> I don't think that has anything to do with it.

(Austin)>> Think about it.

(LT)>> Every now and then you get a project that just kinda surprises you with how well it turns out, and this '65 C-10 is a case of the sum of the parts being totally greater than them individually, or however that saying is supposed to go.

(Austin)>> For sure, unlike most of the projects we do that are thought out, renderings, concepts, this one was kind of a little off the cuff. I mean we knew we wanted a patina truck, and add a little flare to it but it's all the little things that come together that actually made this pretty cool.

(LT)>> I mean you kinda make it sound like an accident. I mean I want to take a little bit of credit for what we build here, but no honestly, there's just all the little things. Like you said, they just add up to make this incredible package. Everything from the paint on the roof, the interior, the power plant. I mean that's kind of my favorite just because of how cool and custom it is. So where are we at and what do we got to finish up?

(Austin)>> Well if we put a bed on the back it would actually make it a truck. I think it's time we maybe take care of it.

(LT)>> Yeah let's take a look at what we're working with cause if I remember right this was not in great shape.

(Austin)>> This is as low as she's gonna get huh?

(LT)>> You know those ballet classes are really starting to pay off.

(Austin)>> Yeah I almost fell through too.

(LT)>> This floor is pretty rough. You know it just kinda goes to show what condition this truck is or was in when we picked it up. Somebody really just pulled this out of the field and they slapped it together. These planks, they're actually pretty new. It's just something that they must have had kicking around, they milled it up, and they stuck it in, but it just doesn't match and it's just kind of plain.

(Austin)>> Not to mention the rails have seen better days. They're about rusted out, and the few new ones they did put in there, well they fake patina'ed them, which actually blends them in quite well.

(LT)>> Yeah you know we could also take the opportunity to put in a little bit wider wheel tub to fit maybe just a little bit more rubber in this thing for some traction when we launch it. Really this is more what we have in mind for the look on the floor of the bed. It still looks rustic. Maybe kind of that old barn wood, but just something with a little bit more difference in the color. So let me show you guys what we picked up to make this happen.

(Austin)>> It ain't wood and it won't rust. Find out next!

(LT)>> So about a year and a half ago I was at the C-10 Nationals down in Texas. It was a great show and I had a lot of time to walk through the manufacturer's midway and see some of the new products that people had come out with for these trucks, and there was a bed wood floor kit that caught my eye, and that's because there was a big giant graphic completely applied to the floor of the bed. Now that caught my attention because I first of all wondered how the heck do they get that in the bed cause wood is a tough material to work with. So I stopped and I realized it actually wasn't wood. It was an extruded aluminum bed floor kit from Smokey Roads Rod shop, and that's what we've ordered up here. Now first of all it has that nice bard wood texture that we're going for, but there's a couple of advantages to using aluminum. Number one, it's lightweight. This stuff is extruded and it weighs almost nothing. Most traditional bed wood floor kits, well they're made from hard wood and that's very heavy. So if you want a fast truck light weight is your friend, and the other advantage to this system is how clean it's going to look when it's installed. There are no exposed fasteners on these rails at all. There's a small groove on the back of the extrusion that the hardware's gonna go into that holds everything nice and tight and has a nice clean look, and on top of that we had our logo put in the bed, Project Lo 'n Slo. So this thing is gonna look great. Alright Romeo, let's get this thing lifted up.

(Austin)>> You think you can handle it?

(LT)>> I hope so. There we go. Don't let it go the other way. A couple of straps and some wrenches I guess.

(Austin)>> Yeah, keep it square.

(LT)>> So as soon as we take the bed floor out of this thing there's really gonna be nothing that holds it in place. Basically it could just flop over and all our bed sides would be sitting on the ground. So you take two straps and you run them at a diagonal, and they're gonna keep this thing nice and square so nothing falls apart. Alright let's get this thing unbolted.

(Austin)>> Zip her off. [ drill spinning ]

(LT)>> Let's get some boards following.

[ drill spinning ]

(LT)>> We can make some really nice old decorative furniture.

(Austin)>> Demolition always goes so much quicker.

(LT)>> Isn't this just fun? It's relaxing! [ banging noises ]

(Austin)>> There we go. That's all I wanted to do.

(LT)>> This is a very fragile piece of history we have here. Now originally this truck had the fuel tank behind the seat actually inside the cab. Not very safe. So we have already gone and mounted the fuel tank back here on the frame rails, but we're actually gonna be running a fuel injected engine, which means we need a little bit more pressure than the old school mechanical pumps that are bolted to the side of the block can provide. So we went to Summit Racing and we picked up this in tank electric fuel pump kit. Now basically you drill a hole in the top of the tank. This guy mounts down here. You trim it to the right length, and this has an internal regulator and it'll supply 60 p-s-i of fuel all the way up to the engine. Everything's great! The only thing we need to figure out is where exactly we're gonna put the hole in the top of the tank, and there's a few things that we have to kind of work around. Number one, the rear bed brace is going right across there. So we don't want to put it kind of in this area, and number two, there are two baffles that are inside the tank. They kinda keep the fuel from sloshing around. They sit right here and here. So our pump is gonna go right there. [ drill spinning ]

(LT)>> Now one mistake I see a lot of people make when they're using a hole saw is just rushing things, and twisting your wrist. Just like my old man used to tell me. He said, you get paid by the hour. So don't rush it. Let the teeth from the saw do the work. Don't use too much pressure and run the drill at a low speed. That way you don't burn up the teeth on the bit. With a little patience you'll be done in no time.

[ drill spinning ]

(LT)>> Included in the kit you get this yellow guy right here. Now it looks like a sponge for washing your car but it's not. It actually goes down inside the tank, and it has to do with the pickup of fuel. Now normally the pump sits maybe a quarter to half inch above the bottom of the tank but remember. Fuel is a liquid and it's constantly sloshing around as you're driving around corners, accelerating, and decelerating, and if this isn't constantly submerged you'd be running low on fuel pressure and your engine would probably die out. So this guy actually a fuel baffle of sorts. It's made from a fuel resistant foam and it has this plastic bucket that kinda sits down on the bottom. So no matter how low the tank is there'll always be a small reservoir of fuel that the pump is submerged in so you never run out of fuel pressure unless you run entirely out of fuel.

Next, Austin gets in the zone!

(LT)>> Austin you've got to check this bed floor out. It's looking great!

(Austin)>> I like it, I like it. Well dude I just got finished prepping these, scuffed them up with the d/a, but honestly I still don't know which route I'm taking as far as finish.

(LT)>> Well I guess you've got a couple of different options right? Number one you could do the whole fake patina thing. You know we've done that before. Basically you spray a little bit of red oxide primer on there, you put some color on top, and you sand through it in a couple of different areas, but the thing is it wouldn't match. It would almost stick out worse than it would blend in.

(Austin)>> For sure, and it's not the style of the truck right? We have the real patina and then some newly fresh painted stuff. We know black doesn't look right because they were E-coated in black and it was just a little off. If it was a rat rod I would just say hey, let's call it a day and bolt them up like it is.

(LT)>> Well we've just got to pick a color then to paint both the tubs and the strips and blend it all in.

(Austin)>> Yeah I've been thinking and I honestly think it would good if we carried that white over on the back cause it's a new part.

(LT)>> So still have the same pearl and the clear coat for a nice glossy look.

(Austin)>> Now do the same on the strips cause they're bare aluminum.

(LT)>> Hey I was cleaning out my tool box and I found one of those nice fine texture paint rollers. I can get busy if you want?

(Austin)>> No, absolutely not. I'm gonna spray this.

(LT)>> I offer my help, he won't accept it. It's like, I don't know. I help carry parts.

Alright I've got all the hard work done. They're sorta in alphabetical order.

(Austin)>> Do you even know how to say the alphabet?

(LT)>> Yeah, you start with "Z" right, for Zed? Alright my work's done.

(Austin)>> Get out of here.

(LT)>> If you spend any time around painters or a body shop you'll quickly realize that there are a lot of chemicals required to execute a flawless paint job, and the first, what Austin is doing now, is a primer. That's the base material that you lay down that'll bond to the bare metal and provides a nice even layer for the subsequent coats. Then depending on what type of finish you're looking to achieve you may have some sort of a sealer that goes down that just provides a nice even layer, and then on top of that you'll have a base coat.

(Austin)>> What are you talking about?

(LT)>> I'm just trying to make you look good man. I'm explaining all the steps to a basic paint job.

(Austin)>> In that case go ahead. I need all the help I can get.

(LT)>> Now clearly you don't have to be a rocket scientist to pull off a great paint job, but on top of the sealer you'll have a base coat. That's where your color is, and finally you have the clear. That's what provides the u/v protection and the gloss. [ spray gun hissing ]

(LT)>> Modern day pickup truck beds are made from large pieces of sheet metal that have been stamped together and spot welded as one major assembly. These older trucks, they're made from several small pieces that bolt together. Now our original cross seals have been thoroughly rusted out, and they're over 50 years old. So we went to Summit Racing and we picked up a bunch of replacements. Now the only modification that we had to do is because this is a hidden fastener bed system, well I had to spot weld a couple of half inch bolts to the middle three cross seals. That way we can tighten it up without have to fish a little wrench in between this small area and the bed. I guess all the painting is done right?

(Austin)>> Got it sorted.

(LT)>> That means it's time to start bolting this bed together.

(Austin)>> Yeah I don't know why you've got the rusty rails still there.

(LT)>> Just playing show and tell.

Really I guess the main objective here is get everything kinda located.

(Austin)>> Slide these dudes in temporary.

(LT)>> Which side you going on?

(Austin)>> I guess like this.

(LT)>> Alright, so the coolest thing about this bed system is the fact that it uses a hidden fastener. On the back side of these rails there's a very small channel and it holds a quarter inch bolt. Nothing on the top, looks nice and smooth, but it also doubles as a fun little game. You ready, race to the bottom?

(Austin)>> I feel like I was loading a b-b gun.

(LT)>> You get a head start. Three, two, one, go!

(Austin)>> All by gravity.

(LT)>> You've got to have all five at the bottom though.

(Austin)>> Oh winner.

(LT)>> Oh man, I got a dud.

(Austin)>> You owe me lunch.

(LT)>> Alright, let's put this in. The best part about this aluminum bed floor from Smokey Road Rod Shop is how easily it installs. You don't need any wood working tools, or even a paint brush. It all just bolts right into place.

(Austin)>> Next we'll get an update on our engine.

(LT)>> Where you going? The truck's this way.

(Austin)>> I don't know, you got it a little high for me don't you think? Just don't bang up my paint back there.

(LT)>> You're good, we're still like eight inches away. You've got to push frontwards majorly. There you go.

(Austin)>> Don't scratch the paint.

(LT)>> I know a guy who can fix it.

(Austin)>> Get this dangerous thing out of here. It's just paint. Okie doke, let's see what we're actually working with here.

(LT)>> Honestly I'm digging it. I mean the white just kinda flows from the roof, to the strips, to the tubs, and works with the wood grain. It just works.

(Austin)>> Dude I am too. When this was 12 foot over that way it was a bit much and it looks weird, but now that it's on the truck it flows. I like it.

(LT)>> I know what you mean. Just having it on the truck makes a huge difference but I guess all we've got to do is put a hole in the floor for the filler neck and we're done.

(Austin)>> For sure, that'll wrap up the rear and what do you say we go see where they're at with the motor.

(LT)>> I'm excited. I want to see that 292 done.

(Austin)>> Get that wrapped up. Fresh parts on the table, looks like we're getting close.

(Mike)>> What's up gentlemen?

(LT)>> Looks like progress to me.

(Mike)>> I just got done painting some of your parts, and that timing cover, can't find them.

(Austin)>> Those old parts hard to source man.

(LT)>> That's basically why we had to buy that backup motor. It's just cause you can't find any of that stuff.

(Mike)>> That was a great idea.

(LT)>> Turbo wise we kinda got everything finished up, fab work. We've got the crossover, feeds into the S-366 turbo. Got you a four inch down pipe there. Plenty of flow. It's probably honestly a bit overkill but it fits the chassis. The split manifolds, got the waste gate dumped. That'll kinda sound nice when it's under boost.

(Mike)>> It's gonna look cool.

(LT)>> It looks really cool. All that fabricated stainless piping when you pop the hood on that truck. You just don't expect it, but that's the outside taken care of but what do we have to do on the inside of an engine to make it withstand this much boost pressure that we're gonna plan on feeding into it?

(Pat)>> Well you have to remember this engine's not designed for a lot of boost, or this type of power, but there are some things that we can do. This has main studs in it now. If you're gonna align hone it anyway why not put studs in it? Is it necessary for this power level? No but why not do it while we can. Also this block has been setup for head studs, and for boost pressure I think that actually will help a little bit keeping the thing sealed up.

(Austin)>> And even though we're not running crazy boost head studs will always help right?

(Pat)>> Absolutely.

(LT)>> So it sounds like basically we're starting with a stock block but you're just making sure everything is exactly the size and dimension that you want it. You'll strengthen it where applicable. Mike what's up with the connecting rods? What'd you guys do there?

(Mike)>> Connecting rods just for a little extra strength in it down low. We decided to throw some ARP rod bolts in it, and we've got something going on with the pistons. So go ahead.

(Pat)>> Yeah we're changing to a hyper-eutectic piston from Just a Cast Piston. It has an increased amount of silicone content because we're generating extra heat that will keep the skirts away from scuffing a little bit. We also when we honed it we honed it on our SV 15. We increased the bore clearance and we increased the ring gaps for boosted applications.

(Austin)>> But even though we're not doing anything crazy to the bottom end this thing will handle north of 400 no problem huh?

(Pat)>> Absolutely, and for the power level that you're looking for I think we're right in the ballpark for what we need to do for the engine's specifications.

(Austin)>> It's gonna be fun baby.

(LT)>> So that's the short block handled. What are we putting on top of this?

(Pat)>> Well that's where we received a lot more attention. The cylinder head has been extensively modified as far as cylinder heads go.

(Mike)>> Now Pat in a situation like this a lot of guys would say just throw a couple more pounds of boost to it. What did we really do by opening it up?

(Pat)>> Well we increased the air flow capacity aside from boost. Basically treated this like a naturally aspirated engine about how it's getting air in. Boost is just going to augment that. It's gonna require less boost to make more power.

(Austin)>> All in all it'll increase the flow and help direct the air right?

(Pat)>> Right, less turbulence, more flow.

(LT)>> Well I can't wait to hear this thing run guys. Honestly, I'm really excited. It looks like we're making great progress.

(Pat)>> Have you ever heard a performance six banger run? I'm not talking all that what you're thinking.

(LT)>> Not a Cummins?

(Pat)>> That kerosene burner.

(Austin)>> I'm excited we get to hear both ways, N/A and turbo. So that'll be a cool comparison and just hear the sound difference.

(Mike)>> You guys will be pulling the levers on the dyno and everything. We'll have some fun with it. LT I've got to say this man. This engine doesn't take the yellow can it takes the red can.

(LT)>> Time out Mike. Everybody knows that if you add 10 percent diesel into any engine your torque number just goes way way up.

(Mike)>> That's keyboard jockeys.

(LT)>> Pat's mad because we're giving away all the racer secrets.

(Pat)>> Oh my god yes.

(Mike)>> Well another thing, added a little strength to the block with some paint.

(LT)>> Yeah I was gonna say sliver. That's a bold choice but I think I like it.

(Austin)>> It's aluminum!

(Mike)>> There you go.

(Pat)>> Well I think with what you're doing on the truck it kinda fits the color scheme.

(Austin)>> For sure, once we've got the black tins on there and we've still probably got to pick a coating for the turbo and manifold, but do something with that. I think it would be cool.

(Pat)>> I think it's gonna look great, and not only is gonna look great it's gonna run great.

(Mike)>> We're excited to do it. It's a fun one. Now here in the next month or so we're gonna be coming to you for some help on a project.

(LT)>> What did y'all start building trucks now or something?

(Mike)>> No it has nothing to do with a truck, nothing to do with a truck, but you know how it goes. One hand washes the other.

(LT)>> You need somebody to do some welding for you? I'm your guy.

(Pat)>> Oh my god that was awkward.

(Austin)>> That was awkward!