bed cover

Hey Shortbed454.  I have an '87 S-10 with a supercharged 455 Olds, Lenco, 4-link, Dana, tubbed, gutted bed, removed fenderwells, and no cab interior...all for lightweight purposes.  Im just thinking we may be on the same page.  As you know, trucks have a little more of a traction problem than cars do.  I made my bed cover with 3/4 Inch square metal tubing and steet metal for weight addition reasons, even though it didnt really add ALOT of weight altogether, but it helped with my front to back bias.  So, I made my square tube box that fit inside the bed so it would be flush with the top of the bed.  Made a "X" member that makes a simple cross support.  The bed is a little smaller than the 4x8 sheet of steel, so I had to cut it down just a little.  Blasted it, glazed it, primed, painted, no additional BS.  Fabricated some front brackets for a hinge plate at the cab end and as a mounting plate for my 2 gas struts that are made to raise a hefty rear hatch of a '97 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport.  I welded a seat belt clip onto each side of the tailgate area and the seatbelt latch on the bed cover, DONE.  Now all I gotta do is drop my tailgate, push in on both seatbelt buttons of each bed side, and the solid bed cover nicely goes up with a ssssshhhhhhhhh and stops at the gas strut's height....uh, that I forgot to mention you should plan for.