*Updated - 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

Hello,
I am seeking some help regarding the steel bed floor for my '36 pickup. I am in the process of rebuilding the bed and looking at the new steel bed floors that are sold thru Macs. In their illustration of the bed floor it shows two bumps on each side of the panel (see picture). My original bed floor does not have these.

Can someone explain why this is? Is this the wrong bed floor for my pickup?

Thanks

*Bed floor tin did not have the bumps I was originally asking about, but there were some issues with the Mack Hils bed floor tin that I discovered, including misplaced bed mounting holes, and I show how I fixed those issues later in this post. I hope this helps anyone else who has encountered these same issues.

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

Here is a picture of my the original bed floor from my ‘36.

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

I hope you mean Macks in Missouri and not Mac's in New York/Florida. The former is the go-to manufacturing source for accurately-reproduced truck sheet metal. The latter is just a seller.

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

I take it you don’t like Macs. I have no experience with them. I have contacted Mack’s in MO buy haven’t heard anything. I just didn’t know if I ordered the panel if it would look like the rendered image or if it would be correct for my pickup. Even Mack’s shows a drawing and shows all years looking the same.

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

Mac Hils product is spot on. You'll be tickled pink. Try it, You'll like it. I have his repo bed for 35-36 and am extremely pleased with it. I believe I know my 35-36 pickups pretty well. Lawson

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

Thanks Lawson. That’s good to know. I bought this truck in pieces, and just trying to make it correct. The original bed is mostly salvageable with exception of the bed floor, front stake pockets and wood under the bed. It’s been hard finding good restoration info on these trucks. That being the reason why I joined this forum.

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

Nothing against Mac's per se, but they do not make what they sell. Mack Hils in Moberly, MO makes what they sell and it fits right and looks right (as original).

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

Thanks David

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

I will second that. Mac Hils has quality parts.

Nice to see you are doing the bed floor in the original steel. I cringe everytime I see a '35-'36 Ford pickup all dollied up with a pretty shiny WOOD bed floor. That takes away from the truck in my eye. It's not original. Looks out of place.

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

I agree completely.

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

Wood flooring to cover up a rusted-out or heavily-pitted steel floor is often seen in '32-'34 pickups as well.

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

I’ve seen that as well. Makes me wonder why people would choose the incorrect wood floor over the correct steel when cost is close enough to the same.

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

Where a huge difference in cost arises is in the finish. Sealing a wood floor is dirt cheap compared to a proper paint job on a steel bed floor. Overall, the early pickups without much in the way of interior paneling end up requiring more paint prep, paint, and finishing than their passenger car siblings.

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

Doesn’t the wood beneath the steel floor need sealed? Or did Ford not seal those boards?

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

Definitely.

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

Any suggestion on how best to seal those boards?

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

We had a '37 Ford Pickup for quite a few years, and the guy I bought it from had already turned the bed floor over to Marine Spar varnished wood. It did look nice, but of course not original. I covered it with a big rubber mat trimmed to fit.

Our '36 now has the steel bed floor and that is what I would have done if I had been restoring that '37.

People who don't know these old trucks don't know the difference anyway.

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

You got the bumps . I can see them

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

Sounds good to me. Thanks

Re: 1936 Pickup bed floor question
 

Nope, It’s an optical illusion. It’s the flange that’s bent outward into the bedside detail. My bed floor definitely does not have the bumps like in the illustration.