Hey All,
Quick couple questions, might be dumb but sorry. I just had my elky painted the original forest green (GM code 48) after somebody did a quick cheap ugly blue. However, I left the bed the old blue until I fix a little rot under the main bed panel. That should be fixed in a week so I'm gearing up to finish the bed. Question 1: How did the beds in El Caminos come out of the factory? Same color as car? Spatter paint? or different color? etc. etc. And Question 2: Is Line-X or Rhino Liner a bad idea? Any input on what you have done or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Link below of what I'm talking about:

http://img29.imageshack.us/i/img0504u.jpg/]http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/6856/img0504u.th.jpg[/URL]

Normally the beds were the same color as the rest of the Elky. I don't think Rhino liner is a bad idea and if I remeber right it can be tinted to match your color. The only problem I could see is you do use a liner either weld the smugglers box shut or mask it off so you can get in there in the future if you need to.

Answer #1: The beds came from factory painted the same color as the rest of the body.

Answer #2: It's totally up to you...If you're looking to do a restoration and plan to show the vehicle and not use the bed, I'd paint it...
If your intention is to use the vehicle as a daily driver and the bed for the same thing, I'd Rhino-line it (I'm painting mine, but first there are A LOT of dings, dents, and gouges to repair !).

Good knowledge... Thanks for the info, quick replies, and suggestions you guys. Now that hard part is choosing which one. I have a few dings but its pretty clean, I like the idea of restoring, however I want to be able to put things back there without worrying about scratching and banging around. I do like the idea of the tinting the liner as well...

The poll below was taken a couple of weeks ago, and was on about the exact subject. I'm not knowledgeable enough about how to post the poll direct for you, but you can search on this title. Hope this helps..............Ken :beer:

"To use Line-x or not to Line-x... help me decide!"

Even better, I have to check that out. I tried some basic searches and got nowhere with the results so decided to finally join the NECOA and get direct responses, cheers and appreciate the reply.
UPDATE
So I just did the search and found it helpful... if anybody else has the same question they should check that thread!

First, welcome to NECOA! There are a great many people here that can help with a variety of questions.

Second, I don't think that the bed liner should even start to detract from show quality, but that's just me. I think if you do the bed liner nice enough it could be show worthy. that's just my opinion though. I'm still trying to decide about my bed because it sounds like yours is in a similar condition. So we will see, but for now it's really up to you.

Got it back from the shop and they seam sealed around the panel area, filled and primed the holes from the tonneau cover and cargo hooks, cut and patched some of the tub floor, and then put an underbody/chassis coating in the tub to rustproof it.
http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/3386/img0631ahf.jpg
http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/5843/img0632u.jpg
http://img131.imageshack.us/img131/5372/img0633.jpg
http://img266.imageshack.us/img266/9624/img0649v.jpg

Glad you could use the poll results, RDz1970. Sorry that I couldn't give you the direct connection. That knowledge is WAY above my pay scale.............Ken :beer: