1973-87 C10 Short Bed Conversion Kit for Chevy LWB-to-SWB Frame

• Shortens 2WD C10, C15, and C20 long bed trucks to short bed wheelbase
• Precision laser cut brackets and reinforcement plates eliminates fabrication needs
• Laser etched templates provide easy to follow drill/cut lines for conversion
• Replacement crossmember is fully welded and powder coated
• All brackets, C-channel reinforcements, and fish plates are bare steel finish
• Kit requires extensive welding to complete (dual shield flux core preferred)
• Short bed fuel tank, brake line, and parking brake cables required for conversion
• Shortened driveshaft not included (recommend converting to a one-piece driveshaft)
• Shortening of long bed or replacement short bed sheetmetal necessary

Convert Your Squarebody C10 To the Much-Desired Short Bed Look

The standard cab long bed pickup has been the workhorse of a generation (or two!). There’s no denying the usability of an 8-foot bed for construction, farm use, or other professions that need to haul a lot of varied materials. However, you have no doubt noted that most modern pickup sales are crew cab/short bed configurations. This allows you to maximize passenger room for the family or work crew while still having a usable bed size for most needs. The shorter bed provides a better ride quality, easier maneuverability, and for many the ability to park their truck inside a standard two-car garage.

The Squarebody C10 (that’s 1973-1987 for you new C10 enthusiasts) and its sister models, the C15 and C20, are growing in appreciation at a rapid pace due to their availability and much lower entry point when compared to the extremely popular 2nd generation C10 pickup. The majority of the Squarebody C10s on the market today are your typical work trucks with standard cabs, long beds, and a whole lot of miles on them. Sure, you can hold out for a short bed model, and pay more, or you can snag that 2WD long bed with a zillion miles on it (because you’ve got an LS in the corner of the shop for it anyway, right?) and simply do a C10 short bed conversion using Speedway Motors’ C10 long wheelbase to short wheelbase conversion kit!

A Complete Weld-In Frame Conversion Ready for Your Short Bed Sheetmetal

To convert a long wheelbase (LWB) C10 to a short wheelbase (SWB) configuration used to entail junkyard hunting for a SWB frame to swap (and hopefully the entire bed assembly as well). Often time, enthusiasts would just “have at it” and start cutting frame sections out with some careful measuring to get the SWB spec needed, as there was no such thing as a C10 short bed kit back then. This C10 short bed conversion path required lots of fabrication work and understanding proper materials and metal thickness to ensure the C10 short bed conversion was done safely. We’ve taken all this guesswork and major fabrication need out of the equation and created an easy-to-follow LWB to SWB conversion kit for 73-87 two-wheel-drive Squarebody C10s. We’ve created all the C10 short bed conversion kit pieces out of the proper materials and thicknesses, provided bolt on cutting and drilling guides, and more to make the conversion to a short bed C10 model as easy as possible in your home garage or shop. Some hand and power tools and a knowledgeable welder are really all that is required to complete this conversion using our C10 short bed conversion kit.

The C10 long bed to short bed conversion starts with the most critical pieces of this adaptation, the C-channels and crossmember reinforcements, and cut them from 7-gauge hot rolled steel sheet for maximum strength. The crossmember bracket itself and the included leaf spring spacer plates are cut from the same high-quality steel, but in 10-gauge thickness. Finally, the bolt on cutting and drilling templates are cut from standard 14-gauge steel for easy handling and fitment over your stock frame rails. While there is a lot of cutting, grinding, and drilling involved, it can all be accomplished with basic hand tools to get the various kit pieces bolted into place and your frame rails shortened properly to accept a 73-87 C10 short bed assembly. Full welding of the two modified frame sections and the kit fish plates is required to regain proper frame strength. We highly recommend a certified welder complete all welding operations using American Welding Society (AWS) specifications for material type and thickness. All steel that requires welding comes bare, while the bolt-in crossmember is powder coated black. All mounting hardware is included as well.

Items Required to Finish Your Squarebody C10 Short Bed Conversion

Once your frame is properly modified from a C10 long bed to short bed configuration using our 73-87 C10 short bed conversion kit, you will need to source a short bed truck box. If finding a complete good used short bed box proves difficult many opt to either cut down and modify the existing long box or reuse the long box inner structure and floor with modifications and skin the outside with new bed side panels. The frame and truck box modifications are your two big aspects to the entire project and once completed there are just a few additional pieces required to produce a running vehicle.

These additional items include a short bed parking brake cable (or route a new universal parking brake setup), the short bed front to rear brake line, modify or update your exhaust system, and replace or shorten your driveshaft, as it needs to be 14 inches shorter to match how much you’ve removed from your frame. Due to the length of the factory side saddle gas tank, you’ll also need to convert to a short bed side saddle fuel tank or one of our aluminum underbed fuel tanks.

This 73-87 C10 short bed conversion kit provides everything you need structurally to take your 73-87 Square Body C10 from a long bed to a short bed frame dimension. This kit is designed to greatly simplify your LWB to SWB frame conversion and will save you time and frustration once you’ve made the decision to go short bed on your C10. Your C10’s frame shortening can easily be accomplished in a weekend, providing that classic short bed appearance at a fraction of the cost of starting your project with finding and purchasing a decent complete short bed C10.