willysmjeeps.com

In looking at Idiocrates body shots I consider myself really lucky (sorry Idio). His discussion brought up questions for me though. When replacing channels that currently have wood installed should I put wood back?

My body tub is in really good shape comparitively but the ribbed floor in the rear is sagged where it looks as though people would sit with the tailgate down. No dents really just sagging ribs and all. Is there a 'trick' to straighten this section? If I could press this area between to plates I would think it would flatten but how to press it? It appears the same as an old truck that had stuff set in the back in the same place causing a sag. I would think those would be fixed by the same sort of trick if possible.

That sag and one small area of hat channel and floor are all that is bad on my M170.

That sag is a serious problem on all old pickup, jeep and trailer beds. It comes form loading beyond the floors strength limits. There are only two ways to sort it out. Put a new one in or cut the old one out and try to flatten it. The metal is already stretched between it's supported areas so it will be tough and if it were flat you could roll it back on a roller or if you built some fancy high dollar dies for the roller that matched the panel profile it may work. Of course if you do get her straight again you will have to trim off a little meat from an end since it will have grown with the metal working process.

I would not put the wood back in the channels. Where any bolts pass thru you just enlarge the hole to accommodate a steel bushing with an ID that's the same as the bolts being used. This will prevent you from crushing the channel when you tighten the tub mounting bolts.