How did Ford do this back in the 50s?

 

I'm not sure....but I will subscribe to see who chimes in.

I have seen guys fix a bent up side roll by cutting off the old side roll and welding in a piece of steel tubing of the right size. It does close in the gap, but most of us wouldn't notice.

You could call the guys at Northern Classics...they make those parts at their factory in Michigan. I visited the shop there a few years ago. They weren't making bed sides on that day.

Dan

 

With big multimillion dollar machines.

I used black pipe and beveled the open ends to make it less noticeable.

 

Bob, do u have pics of your bed? So the companies that make repo's use the same multi million dollar machines?

 

waiting to see!

 

I also picked up some steel tubing and welded it in place.



Since I was going the custom route, I teardropped the end leaving the end of the tube open for led lights.

 

LOL, that's somewhat of an exaggeration; it's a machine none of us is going to have in the shop. But it's possible a local sheet metal fab shop would have one. With 6.5' working length, not real likely.

 

Yeah, and even less likely if you've got a REAL truck ( ) with an 8, or even a 9 foot bed.
All jokes aside, you half tonners have it so much easier on some things.

 

Read an article where a guy used electrical conduit. Looked fine.

 

I don't think its too much of an exaggeration. Ford would have probably used a machine that would have stamped the part in some kind of progressive punch that would have taken a matter of few minutes. The system probably pump out a couple hundred parts an hour, I don't know for sure, I wasn't there.

I wouldn't use electric conduit, welding galvanized metal is a mess, way better off using thin wall steel tube. I used black water pipe because I didn't want it ti get dinged up like the original thin metal.

 

Drew, where did you find your LED lights to insert into the tube? I've looked high and low with no luck so far

 

Midfifty has some lights that go into the bed side rolls. I'd try there first. Found a pair, led, for $135. Part #0244-25 or regular bulb #0228-RN

 

I'm thinking that roll was made by feeding the steel sheet through rollers much the same way they make continuous rain gutters. Slip forming?

 

Most affordable rolling machines won't make a tube smaller than about 4" It would be difficult and expensive to make a small diameter roller >6.5' that would not flex from the metal pressure and handle the thickness of a bed side. When you are forming thousands it is cost effective to build a task specific forming machine. maybe something like this (?):


A blank sheet would be place in notch of tool, a clamp raised to hold it. A roller follower would bend the metal around the form.

 

That's why I think it would have been progressively done through rollers.