hello, i am restoring a lil red express, and am now working one the bed. i would like to make my own boards. does anyone have the dimensions?  

You will need seven (7) boards. 74 1/4" long, 7 5/16" wide,and 3/4" thick. Those measurements are the size that the boards are milled at from Home Depot lumber department. I picked white/yellow Oak for the bed, they ran $4.19 plus tax a foot. I looked though 30 boards that were 10' in length. Out of that, I bought eight (one extra for any problems, ie;my bad end cut) boards to get seven that were strait with no knots and had similar grain runs. Home Depot will cut them to length. I wanted the length to be 7' or 84". I cut them off at my home to the 74 1/4. I used the extra length (about 10") to experiment on what coating works the best.
My Home Depot now has oil based "Varathane Spar Urethane". UPC code 2674800924. Be sure to coat both sides, ends and edges. I put three coats on and used 200 grit sand paper after the first and second coat.
The mill work for the top side of the boards was done with a router. The hold down strips need about 5/8" wide X 1/8" deep routing. I also bought unpolished stainless hold down strips and bolts for the "Dodge Connection" ( http://www.dodgeconnection.com/page/page/2821437.htm )
I eleminated the lock washers and stainless nuts and installed "Nylock" nuts. One other milling done at my house was running a 1/8" deep circular saw blade down the inside of the 5/8" router groove of each board, so the stainless strip would almost be level with the top of the board. The toughest accurate cut to two of the boards was the side boards that go into/under the fender. I did not have a good pattern, so I had to use the eighth board to experiment on cutting for the best fit. You can save about $300.00 by doing the board work yourself. If I was to do it again(life's short) I would buy the kit from "The Dodge Connection". There are other bed suppliers out there, but I found the Dodge Connection to be cheaper.