Bed Rail Caps

[390FE1972]

I found a website for truck bed rail caps that list the rail caps for a 1973 dent side with a 8 foot bed. When I tried to look up one for a 1972 truck it said they were not available for that year. My question is will the dent side rail caps work on a bump? I am looking at the Wilmore brand of stainless steel rail caps that don't have the stake holes. Any help on this is appreciated.

[basketcase0302]

"390FE1972"]I found a website for truck bed rail caps that list the rail caps for a 1973 dent side with a 8 foot bed. When I tried to look up one for a 1972 truck it said they were not available for that year. My question is will the dent side rail caps work on a bump? I am looking at the Wilmore brand of stainless steel rail caps that don't have the stake holes. Any help on this is appreciated.

The dentside bed is longer, (you'd have to cut about two inches off of them). I've owned both a few bump era styleside and three or four dent era styleside era with beds on them and I believe they should bolt on fine. A word of caution though as I owned a set of these on my 79' for four or five years. When I finally pulled them off there was light surface rust that had started forming due to moisture being trapped underneath them.
The below is from the body sheet metal interchange here on the site in reference to the length difference between the two:

However, the boxes were also several inches longer, and using them on a '67-'72 truck will not allow the rear wheel to be centered in the wheelwell.

[390FE1972]

Thanks basketcase0302 for the reply. I didn't realize that the bed was longer. I will save my money for some other project.

[cep62]

A good sheet metal shop should be able to make up a set.
Spray the bed with rust proofing before installation ,
you can clean it off if you ever need to, but it will protect the surface.

[farmallmta]

A period correct way to handle the cap is to put 8' long cedar fence rail, 2"x3" dimension, available at Lowe's or Home Depot on top of the bed rail. you'll need 4 of them, 1 for each side, 1 along the front, 1 for the tailgate. These can be painted, stained, linseed oiled or left natural. They make a quick, inexpensive, easy, and attractive sacrificial protector for the top of the bedsides and tailgate. You can elect to put a mold edge like O.G. or some other decorative attractive edge profile (like the edge of wood table tops) or just leave them as purchased from the store.

Put pallet stake sections in the stake pockets, cut flush with the bed rail (or you can leave an extra inch protruding from the pocket so that the boards are elevated above the bed with an inch gap, then lay the fence rail flat on top of the stake ends. Screw the boards to the stake stubs in the stake pockets together with deck screws. The one across the front of the bed behind the cab can be attached to the bed with sheet metal screws or to the wood side rails with small angle brackets, also available at home improvement stores. The tailgate piece attaches to the inside of the tailgate, sticking up above the top edge of the tailgate. If you have a circular saw, you can cut a 1"x 2" section of one corner along the length of the board, making a notch that fits over the tailgate edge. Fasten with sheet metal screws to the inside of the tailgate.

This was a very common way tradesmen used to inexpensively and attractively protect the finish on the bed rails back in the day. Another way was to put sideboards on made of white oak, painted or stained or linseed oiled. They usually stood up about 4-6" high and looked very nice. Tradesmen often put their information on them with hand lettering. I clearly remember one I saw as a kid that went something like, "Smitty's Pool Service" Phone WAtson 4-3565 and ask for the lazy good-for-nothing... she'll know who you mean". Made me laugh every time I saw that truck around town.