Here's some pics of us converting my truck from long bed to short bed. Has anyone else done this or know anyone else who has? It seems like something that would be done fairly often and I'm just curious. Click the link to check out pics of the process and let me know what you think. (also, please let me know if the link does not work) https://picasaweb.google.com/110406141309357098559/83Chevy?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCNGYzqvUnqf10AE&feat=directlink
Yeah it seems to be a pretty common practice especially with crew cabs since people want to make them like a newer non working truck, just to haul people around and get groceries. I prefer long beds though. I see you did a straight cut/weld, a Z cut would have been much stronger. Did you add any plating to the inside of the frame?
I'll have to see if I can find any of those crew cabs you're talking about. We figured that the straight cut would be easier and quicker to do than a Z cut, plus we did add plating to the inside of the frame. We took the cut-out section of the frame (14") and reduced the height by cutting it down the middle so that it would fit right inside the frame rail with the cut. With the double thickness along the joint, we figured it's probably just as strong, if not stronger, than the original. It did help that we started with a southern truck with minimum rust!
