Can a short box side step from a mid 90's silverado fit on a '53s frame? If so do you have to do a lot of mods, if not is there a bed from another truck that would?
Doggone it, your trucks one year too old. Starting in 54 chevy went to a bed that can be interchanged for a number of years with not a lot of hassle. Of course, the fender design changed several times but the basic bed stayed similar. If you have a hoist that you can lower the bed into position you can make mounts by measuring the gap from the bed crossmembers to the frame rails--not much problem. What IS a problem is to have the running boards fit. The easiest way is to bob the rear of the running board to where it no longer bolts to the rear fender and the put a brace from the front of the fender to the frame since the running board used to serve this function. Personally, I think this looks funky but aftermarket beds are really getting pricey so it's something we're going to see more often.
I'm having problems finding a descent bed for my truck and I'm not paying the price for a new bed, so I'm going to buy sheets of sheet metal and make my own. I have a bed that is in pretty bad shape but the bracing in all four corners are good. So I thought I could weld the corners onto flat sheet metal and build a custom bed. When I get that far I'll post pictures.
Build Yer Own ! Cool ! Careful attention to detail and good solid welding will result in a nice bed for your truck , this was common back in the day when you could $ave a goodly bit of $ by ordering a cab & chassis and building your own bed to your needs... Sadly , they all seem gone now , I remember lots of really interesting one off beds when I were a laddie . All worked to death then scrapped is my guess . Don't forget to weld on some rope hooks along the side , under the edges so you can tarp down loads or tie down big stuff you need to haul like Motos and refridgerators , console TV's and so on...
