Ok all, I just spent a few hour out in the garage today, and had a brainstorm for a bed for my 1952 F-3 extended cab project and wanted to bounce the idea off you guys.

Heres my thought, has anyone tried making a standard fleetside bed for one of these trucks. I know I have seen a few that have had more modern boxes put on them, and I kinda like the look.. but I think in some cases they look too new. What I was thinking I could do was to make something very similar to the standard F-1 6.5 ft box and make side skins to mount on it... grafting a set of stock rear fenders into the sides... making something similar to the newer double wall stepside boxes.

I think all I'd need as far as parts might be a stock tailgate (and hardware) and a set of rear fenders that weren't in the best of shape (but not junk either)... and I could fab up the rest of the parts myself... as far as what I would model the side skins from, I think I could easily pull a contour off the cab, just behind the doors.. and use that for the contour down the side... I also have an idea for a means of creating a pretty decent looking setup for the tail light unit...

Any ideas on all this.. yall know I love to hear to hear comments or critisicms.. or suppost for my insanity. thanks

Jon

 

What I always wanted to do was to was cast a set of Panel quarter panels and build skins for the original bed ala the Chevy Cameo pickup. I tried to pitch the idea to Gibbons and Fairlane and they did not seem to be too interested.

I have seen a crewcab 56 with a Powerstroke that used a Ranger bed with fender flares made from stock 56 style fenders.

 

Sounds like a "do-able" project. In a related note: I had to replace the bed of my truck. I used steel diamond plate with reinforcement cross-bars (3) underneath so the plate wouldn't sag with loads. Covered it over with roll-on Rhino lining and badda-bing, badda-boom....a bed! Stout and rust free... yippie-ki-aye!!!

Daryl

 

I always thought that using a Ranger "Splash" stepside on a 48-52 would be very do-able. The bodylines are pretty close. I know a guy that used that bed on a 40 Ford and it looks pretty cool. The panel truck quarters idea I have seen used on 47-55 C%^&y trucks. It looks like a factory fleetside. Very slick! Note, a buddy has a 53 C brand panel stored at my house that would make a good candidate for this install on a Brand X truck