bed time

[frederick]

Picked up this beefy little trailer to restore and hook to the cub,
a $75 craigslist find. Wire rims from a '33 chevy were quietly
rusting in an elderly uncle's yard until I electrified them in tsp.
(My first attempt and amazing to see the results.)

I am curious if anybody recognizes the make of the bed...
inside measures 34" wide x 56" long x 9"deep. Maybe Cushman
truckster? Last plate tag is 1963 so 40-50 yrs old? who knows.

['Country' Elliott]

Hey Frederick...Very nice find & a solid buy too From what I can see, it looks like a Cushman Truckster bed from the late 50's or early 60's Have fun with it & don't forget the photos as you go ...'Country'

[ricky racer]

That should make an awesome trailer. Make sure you post pictures when it's done!!

[Buzzard Wing]

Nice project!

[Bus Driver]

Those 33 Chevy wheels are probably 18". While 18" tires are back on the scene, most of them are much too wide for those wheels. And low-profile tires are not the best for hauling heavy loads. Coker tire will have the correct tire but they are not low cost. Regarding the bed, it is possible that the original tailgate was lost or damaged and the one you have is a shop-made replacement.

I posted 18" because that is what was on the 33 that I had. Most of the body was gone and and sat on a wooden crate- a blast to drive. The only ones concerned about my safety were myself and my family. Before the days of mandatory inspections and mandatory insurance. Coker shows the Master with 18" and the Standard with 17".

[frederick]

thanks all

got it sandblasted and first coat of rattlecan last week. funny, it had two slightly different 5x4.5 hubs on it...one had lug nuts, the other lug bolts...so this is a real junkyard dog. since the rescued rims are 6x5.5 (x 17"), a machinist friend is turning down and welding to both hubs steel disks tapped for 6 lug bolts. there'll be a 3/8" difference in offset but no one will ever know or care.

after i did the electrolysis number on the rims I discovered one inner edge on both rims (where 60+ years of rainwater had collected between rim and tire) needed serious attention...so jb weld was troweled into the divots and filed down. with tubes they'll be just fine at the subsonic speeds reachable by the cub.

narrow 17" tires are a bit tough to find, but I found a source in southern california (and springfield oh) who has recreated the 525/550 x 17 tires for less money than coker: http://lucasclassictires.com/NEWTIRES.html

once it has its new feet, plan is to recreate a full width buckboard seat above the front lip of the bed with a footrest on the tongue. I promise to show pics as I progress.

[OliverFarmall]

Nice project !

[frederick]

finished!
found some near unobtainium 17" vintage tires new and had a friend fab
the bench frame. after sandblasting, rattlecan paint and some oldgrowth
leftover redwood I ended up with this.

[Bill Hudson]

Well done!!

Bill

[RaymondDurban]

That turned out real nice!

[Buzzard Wing]

Wow, very well done! The seat is a great touch.

Sweet to have a 'stretch Cub' hauling it too.

[rohrski]

Turned out real nice, I love using the old stuff.

[Yogie]

Very sharp, any chance of finding the hub caps or maybe some after market baby moons.

[Rudi]

frederick:

Very nicely done, I love the seat

[dgrapes59]

Good looking trailer, it turned out real nice!

Thanks for sharing,