Hello all,
It has been quite a while since I have been on here. I bought the truck and ripped out the rear axle which was were the problem was and not good news... The axle has suffered enough damage that I will have to replace the housing. The worst thing is after I bought the truck I got a job and relocated to Virgina, and the truck still sits at my buddy's farm in North Dakota. His wife isn't to fond of the lawn decoration so I have to get it moving and out of there. So I have found a replacement dana 60 rear axle in a junkyard in town and they said it would cost $250. Now everything on my is good minus the one side that separated at the hub an ruined the bearings. So I am HOPING that it will not be too hard to make one good rear end out of the 2. I decided not to go with the 9in or 8.8 because my rims and tires are good and to switch would cost a little more money than I want not knowing if I am going to keep the truck or not. If I can get it running I can drive it down to by brother in-laws farm for the time being and work on it during the Holidays!! The truck ran and was used for a daily driver before the axle problem, so I hope that the engine will not need much work. Any advice of what I need to do to get the motor running will be appreciated just the basics of what should be done prior to running it. I am set to go up in August and see what I can do. as of now this is how she sits. I will keep you guys posted on how the adventure goes!! Also if I do keep it I will be looking for ideas for a new bed. Flat bed is not what I want.

 

Well some good news and some bad... I went to go put a new rear end in my truck last week and get it running and neither happened. I went to the salvage yard to get a new rear axle and they wanted $600.00 for one!! So I had to decline that offer. So I put the old rear end back in it so I could trailer it out. Then I was going to try to get it running just for the heck of it, and opened the hood to find wasp nests everywhere!!! So needless to say neither worked out very well. However it did get it moved to it's new home at my father in-laws place. He has already found me a new rear axle from an old dodge that will work! Now the question remains what to do with the bed? The flat bed is quite rusted and not worth repairing so what bed should I put on my custom cab? Any thought would be appreciate.

 

Hey,welcome back.What kind of rust damage are you talking about?Is the bed floor wood?If the damage is only cosmetic,you could refurbish the metal with little money and lots of elbow grease, perhaps re-do the wood if not too far gone.Add stake-pockets and side-boards.This might be a stop-gap measure allowing you to save money and look for a good bed.

The Styleside long bed for 57-60,which is what you'll need,I believe,was also carried forward into the next generation of trucks,for a few years,not sure what years,though,maybe through 64?.They're going to be fairly difficult to find in good condition,especially in the snow/rust belt states.You might need to buy a whole truck just to get a decent bed,and by that time you'd have been better-off not pumping money into your current ride.

Steve

 

A guy on the HAMB has one for sale: 1957-F100 short bed(bed) - THE H.A.M.B.

 

HEY...nice truck ..I think a step side would look good..for now .. vacuum out the wasp's and get her running ..if you can play with her ,,you are gonna figger out what you want..and you can drag home all kind's of neet stuff on a flat deck..what are you gonna do with her ? work ..transport ...resto -mod?? what do YOU want..oh and just between you and me ...ether ..works great.. scare's the crap out the safety group...and a short blast in the air cleaner and crank her over ..if she flashes and dies ..try again .or see if you have any gas ..it worked on my 54 ..an' she had been resting 10 years..outside...your truck looks great..