Hey, new to the forum. Just bought a 1955 f100 that my husband and I are going to restore. He does body work so the mechanical is going slowly... Anyway was looking to replace the smooth tailgate that is currently on it, had been looking for the original type with FORD stamped into it. Thought I had found it for a good deal, but alas it is too long!!! It's just short of 55 inches long, what did I buy????

 

You bought a tailgate for an 8 foot bed, commonly found on the heavier trucks.

 

Great! Thanks for the info. Guess I will have to see if I can sell it now and then look for the RIGHT one!

 

One last quick question. Is that for a flare side bed? And do you know what years?

 

No such thing as a flare side bed in 55, all were step side. Now you may have other issues with that tailgate but without a photo it would be hard to say. Here's a link to the Midfifty site where you can see what a proper tailgate should look like.
Tailgate F-o-r-d Letters, Exact Of Orig. - Ford F-100 Parts

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Charlie, just a friendly correction here. Ford did call the trucks with the running boards flaresides because the bed sides flared out at the top. Chevy and GMC used the term stepside. Perhaps you were thinking of the term fleetside, fenders on the inside of the bed, which were first made in 57...

 

Yes, as Charlie said, you got a tailgate from an F250 or F350 pickup. Its always good to get measurements when at a flea market or on ebay. If that tailgate is in good shape I am sure you could sell it to an owner of an F250/350.

 

Thanks Abe...Ford does seem to have a number of names for bed styles, always thought that the "bumpside" was an intersesting name.

 

Bumpside is a nickname for the series of trucks, F100 up to F800, built from 1967 to 1972, regardless if it is a flareside bed, a fleetside, or a flatbed. I don't think that term originated from FORD. The nickname for trucks from 1973 to 79 were called dentsides, by the way.

And I must correct myself! Ford called their pickups with the fenders inside the bed Stylesides. Fleetside is a Chevy truck term! It is easy to do if you are not careful.

 

where are you at. I might be in need of a good tailgate for a 55 f250...