Well as I'm waiting on my cab wing mount I decided to move on to building my flatbed. I'm using pressure treated 4x4's as the base and 2X8 redwood for the deck. Part of the reason for this build is the PO cut the frame because he liked the look of short beds and welded up his own bed. I now have the substructure bolted to the frame and mocked it up this evening. I'm taking tomorrow off work to assemble and as I know you all like pics I'll document the design. I'm expecting this to cost around $400 overall. I'd bet you could knock off $150 or so using different materials. Here is a pic of the mock up. The 4x4 laying across the top of the deck is approximately where the bed will end.

 

I tell you, I think I need to go to bed. I read the title and thought it said flathead. I said to myself, wait he's got a Y-block, what is this about! Then I opened the thread and realized I can't real.

Take lots of pictures. I plan on doing the same thing when the time comes. There are several other wood flatbed threads that have great info.
Here is a thread with pictures of Edith she is a beauty:
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-question.html

 

thanks Joe. This will be something less spectacular than Edith.

 

Yeah, Edith is in a class by herself. I'm going the cheap route when the time comes, but I still want it to look nice.

One thing I was thinking would be cool would be to put a box under the bed in front of the rear wheels. Maybe a toolbox on one side and a cooler on the other.

 

So I still have a few stake holes to cut but the basic bed is done. I plan to assemble the rest tomorrow and get it all stained this weekend while it is still nice. First the sub-frame.


the deck cross members are secured to the sub-frame with 1/4 inch lag screws and L-brackets.

 

and some pics of the deck assembly. Kind of an interesting looking profile.

 

And a frosty beverage to cap off a hard days work. More pics tomorrow evening...cheers.

 

Nice progress. I can't wait to see your continued work.

 

Tuning in for the next update! Looking good so far!

 

Still have to decide what I'm doing for the aft end but the rest of it is built.



Kind of reminds me of a Tonka truck.

 

Looks good! Have you considered swapping the two sides so the long boards are on the outside?

 

I initially planned to build it that way and changed my mind. It would take some shaving on the verticals to swap side to side as they are pretty tight tolerance. I looked at a lot of stakebed pics and the majority are outboard. I may play around with it as I'm not 100% satisfied with the look. Awfully beefy for this stubby bed.

 

Very nice looking. Great work.
Funny thing is, I was driving home from a trip to visit my daughter in college and got behind a newer flatbed truck. That got me wondering what you were going to do with the back end. That always seems to be a tricky part.

 

Finished a similar project on my 49 Merc M68. The original bed was in rough shape and will be a winter project but I thought a flatbed would be a good short-term option so I could get the truck on the road now. Construction is primarily PT lumber other than the side racks which are cedar. I didn't want to modify the original running boards but wanted some way to hide the curved end where it would normally attach to the rear fender so I incorporated some built in tool boxes.
DSCF4026.jpg Photo by jandjparker | Photobucket
DSCF4024.jpg Photo by jandjparker | Photobucket
DSCF4022.jpg Photo by jandjparker | Photobucket
DSCF4021.jpg Photo by jandjparker | Photobucket
dscf3056.jpg Photo by jandjparker | Photobucket
dscf3053.jpg Photo by jandjparker | Photobucket
dscf3052.jpg Photo by jandjparker | Photobucket
DSCF2278-Copy.jpg Photo by jandjparker | Photobucket
DSCF2274-Copy.jpg Photo by jandjparker | Photobucket

 

49'er, your truck made an amazing transformation. She's a beauty.
Your boxes underneath are what I'm looking at doing. Do you have any more pictures of those as well as some of how you attach your bed to the frame?

Here are some pictures of a 56 F350 that made a wood flatbed. I'm not quite as fond of how he did his taillights though.
1956F350WoodBed Photos by harrier1351 | Photobucket