GMC Factory Option Bed Rails
 

Hello, I would like to know when and if GMC made bed rails available for their pickup trucks. The 1963 Chevrolet Option catalogue had a part number 988257, which was a bed rail kit for the pickup trucks. Did GMC have the same kit available at any time? The 1959 El Camino also had a factory option bed rail set, and they may be the same stancheons for the fullsize trucks, with shorter tubes. If anyone has any insight into the early bed rails, please let me know. I would love to find a set of used bed rails from this era to put on my long wheel base Wideside truck. It would help it to look less long, literally. The El Camino set was marketed as "Holly Wood Set". Were these the same ones that were available after-market? How late were they produced? Any help greatly appreciated, Greg Mead

Re: GMC Factory Option Bed Rails
 

Hello Greg. My compliments on the best looking 60 out there!

The GMC Accessories Catalog for 1962 does not show any bed rails, but I'm sure that didn't stop people from using whatever was available at that time.
I don't have any other catalogs to go by.

My grandfather's name was Robert E. Lee Williams and he was born in Georgia.
No doubt a popular name for many years after the conflict.

For a short time in 1964 I worked as an apprentice mechanic for Potter Harley-Davidson in Albany GA. I stayed in an ancient boarding house there. Great memories!

Rolland

Re: GMC Factory Option Bed Rails
 

Hey Rolland, Thanks. Do you remember the Polar Bear Ice Cream Parlor. It was on the main drag in Albany. Stopped in there as a kid a lot, going to Marianna, Florida. Albany is a neat old town, and it is my pick as the hottest place other than Macon I have ever been. How did they take it without fans and AC? And I too have uncles named Jefferson, Robert E. and John Bell Gordon, Heck my dawgs name is Jeb, and the cats named Jackson. On the subject of the rails, I have only seen them in the 1963 Chevy Accessories Catalog. But I do not have enough catalogs to know for sure if 1963 was the first, or only time rails were an option. I know the 1959 El Camino had similar rails. But the bullet ends look much sharper than the ones seen on the blue Chevy truck pictures I added. The stancheons look very much the same. The 1963 Macon Phone Book has a picture of my truck. It shows a set of bed rails. If I know Mr. Grover, he went and got them as soon as they came out. I want to add a set to help my Long Wheel Base look a little taller, and not so long. There is PerryCraft now that makes a bullet end stainless set up, but the stancheons are way to short. They are two screw type, and not strong at all. The Chevy stancheons had three screws for triangulated strength, and were much taller. I think about 4 inches tall. Those are the style stancheons I need. The pipes will be the easy part. If anyone has a line on the taller, old style shancheons, please let me know. Thanks, Greg Mead

Re: GMC Factory Option Bed Rails
 

Hello Greg,

If you contact marine supply companies such as:

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Hamilton Marine
Rt. 1
Searsport, ME 04974

Phone:
800-639-2715

http://www.hamiltonmarine.com/

---
Jamestown Distributors
17 Peckham Drive
Bristol, RI 02809

Phone:
800-497-0010
401-253-3840

http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/

---
and search or ask for boat hand rails, they might offer what you are looking for or be able to refer you to some other company that does.

Regards and Hope this helps,

Culver Adams
Minneapolis, MN
1961 GMC K1500
(plus some very small boats: this is the land of 10,000 lakes, after all--mostly frozen as I write, however) :=)

Re: GMC Factory Option Bed Rails
 

Greg,
No I don't remember the ice cream parlor, but that was 50 years ago now that I think about it. Albany sure is a nice town and I enjoyed my stay there. Eating at that long boarding house table is one of my best memories. Anyone could come in off the street and have all the fried chicken, biscuits and gravy they could eat for $1.50 as I recall. My room and board was $70 a month.

The South is a great place with gracious people and my roots are there even though I grew up in Eastern New Mexico.

Like many here, I have the highest respect and admiration for men like Mr. Grover Sasaman. It is a real loss as we see that greatest generation fading away. It's great to see that you have preserved his truck so well and that you became friends. Few of us will ever have that honor and privilege.

I'll be on the lookout for the bed rails and 1960 Owner Protection Plan.

Rolland