LUVTruck.com

I've wondered why trucks have the bed and cab completely disconnected. Has anyone ever tried securing the bed and cab together? I'd think this would be an easy way to stiffen the chassis.

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You went there in that?!?!

then you put a camper shell on the back and make something like a small bronco or blazer with a detachable back!

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-Old ride-82 Luv diesel 5spd with some upgrades
-Past rides-82 Sierra, 78 Coupe De'Ville, 91 2dr Blazer, 86 RX7, 86 Porsche 944T (rear-ended and totaled)
-Curr. rides- 1970 Ford LTD 4dr, 390 4Bbl, 2nd owner! With a few Extras 00' Civic beater...

Full-size Chevy:



Who would have to cut out some sheet metal to fill the gap and weld them together...[/img]

This guy made his Mazda pickup into an SUV... He shortened the bed and used the roof off of a Blazer...

this ones pretty trick.


i dont plan on going that far with my truck, but i do want to get a windoless shell and making my truck a walk-thru.


neil

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"but its that gut feeling of you're drawn to what feels right for yourself and what you're passionate about..."

The cab and box are seperated because there is usualy some flexing of the frame. If they were connected it could start to damage the body. If youve ever seen a unibody car such as the older Camaros or Trans Ams that had the paint cracking on the back pillar( between the side glass and rear glass, top of the quarter panel) its because the body is flexing. Thats why they have subframe connectors for unibody cars. However if you dont haul anything in your Luv or have a v8 your probably safe to skin the gap.

I know I am going to give a hint to my age by telling this but here goes. And I am not saying this to show my wisdom for or against this discussion. As far as the cab/bed being one complete body, Ford made one in 62. I owned one while living in New York. It was just a plain jane 3/4 ton 2wd truck. No cracks where the body/bed came together but there were plenty of holes elsewhere thanks to all the salt they put on the roads.

No offense, but the 62 Ford was DESIGNED to be a unibody, so of course it would should rigid enough to stand up to the stress, (but they did go back to seperated bed in 63), The el camino and ranchero are both that way but they were desinged that way. It would be pretty hard to convert a regular pick-up ainto a unibody and reinforce it enough to hold up to the twisting stress from the frame. You have to remember, pick-ups are made to be used for hauling, not always on flat paved roads. But of course I didnt by my pick-ups for those reasons!!!

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Click on C.M. logo to go to my webpage


RIP R.J.B.

Thanks for all the responses. I wasn't thinking of skinning it for appearance, although those trucks look good, particularly that red Datsun. I was thinking of doing it to increase the structural rigidity of the truck. Kind of using the body to re-inforce the frame.

I see your point about cracks. I guess if the frame can't flex, something has to take the stress. I just thought it might be a cheap way to reduce frame flex.

Since I 4 wheel sometimes, I think I'll pass on trying this one.

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You went there in that?!?!