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Be cautious with the box. The supplier Mid-Fifty had has passed away, and they are currently not available. The front panel, tailgate, bed strips, and bed wood are available. I too have a '55 F-350 Express. My dad bought it from the original owners when I was 7 months old. The front and rear spring bushings are available. There is not a worm gear available for the steering shaft. The drag link is not available either. NAPA had a listing for the stock water pump, with high mounted fan. The front fenders are not available, but any 350-600 (350 single wheel, not dually, as the dually uses a smaller fender) fenders are the same. The 100/250 rear fenders are the same.
Be cautious with the box. The supplier Mid-Fifty had has passed away, and they are currently not available. The front panel, tailgate, bed strips, and bed wood are available. I too have a '55 F-350 Express. My dad bought it from the original owners when I was 7 months old. The front and rear spring bushings are available. There is not a worm gear available for the steering shaft. The drag link is not available either. NAPA had a listing for the stock water pump, with high mounted fan. The front fenders are not available, but any 350-600 (350 single wheel, not dually, as the dually uses a smaller fender) fenders are the same. The 100/250 rear fenders are the same.
Hey, Joe, good to see you here. Long time no see post!
Hey, Joe, good to see you here. Long time no see post!
How are things going?
It's going Abe. Been working lots. Moved a couple times in the last few years. Had to get rid of my '53 Big Job, but at least I got to drive it first. Still have my '55 F-350, but it's in a storage unit for now. All my tools and shop equipment got robbed from a previous storage unit, so I'm in the snails pace rebuilding phase. Focusing more on a 4100 acre piece of land I'm looking at for now. Been avoiding the forums, as the number of "experts," and poor site operations was getting ridiculous. Just might see more of me in the near future though.
Mid Fifty has shut down? Or am I misunderstanding something? I just bought a '56 and there's a few things I might want to get from them the next time I'm out in Arizona.
Mid Fifty has shut down? Or am I misunderstanding something? I just bought a '56 and there's a few things I might want to get from them the next time I'm out in Arizona.
They're not shut down. They don't have 3/4 or 1 ton bed sides because their supplier died.
Focusing more on a 4100 acre piece of land I'm looking at for now.
Wow Joe, are you a Land Baron? Thanks for the information on the bed parts. I think my sides are in pretty good shape. Straps, wood and several of the cross members will need to be replaced. Are they looking for a new supplier? Do you have any pictures of your truck? Would sure love to see them.
Wow Joe, are you a Land Baron? Thanks for the information on the bed parts. I think my sides are in pretty good shape. Straps, wood and several of the cross members will need to be replaced. Are they looking for a new supplier? Do you have any pictures of your truck? Would sure love to see them.
No, not a land baron, just a man with a master plan. They have the crossmembers, front panel, strips, bolts, lower bedside panels, stake pockets, and basically everything else, except the actual bedsides. They are looking for new, reliable sources that can meet quality demand. At least that is what I was told when I called them.
Made some progress today. Wanting to free up some shop space I tore into the Bed. After some good advise from other members, I fired up the angle grinder and made quick work of tearing my bed down (3 hours).. The good news, the side beds are in really good shape. The 4 middle cross members rusted with the front and rear ones totally rusted through. Now to evaluate and calculate how deep I want to reach in my pockets! I accept all comments, advise, and $$$! Hee Hee
Express bed flipped upside down.
Made a vertical cut through bolt and nut with angle grinder. Hit with hammer/chisel and fell right out.
Keep the bed sides. Repair their bottom edges. The front panel, and the cross members are available through Mid-Fifty, and others. Replace the strips, and wood. Too easy Drill Sergeant, too easy! (actually, that's pretty much your only option, unless you want to fab everything yourself).
So before I pulled the Engine I thought I would give it one last shot to come to life. I had tried last fall with no luck and I figured since I was going to have it rebuilt it anyway it was no big deal. Well the old girl had other plans. SHE STARTED UP for the first time in over 20 years. It was and is music to my ears. Now I'm in a dilemma. I want to drive it but the clutch is not working, the brakes are dried out, and the tires are in bad shape. I think I'll sleep on it and dream of this special day!
Got a few thing accomplished the last couple of days. Thought I would tackle the cab interior since I hope to lift it soon. Pulled the seat out and removed the tranny cover. Scraped out about a coffee can of old oil and dirt. I'm sure my dad always had a few cans of oil under the seat for back-up! I did manage to get all the tranny cover screws out with a little encouragement and a day of WD-40. Still trying to decide whether I am going to take on recovering the seat myself or take it to an upholstery shop. I at least plan to get a couple of estimate from local shops. I'm off work for a few days so hope to post more updates soon.
A couple of questions for ya all! What are the letters on the floor mat and the smaller set of numbers on the tranny?
Been moving forward the last couple of days. So since I got the ole girl running my direction has changed a little bit. I still want to get it on the road so these are the steps I am headed.
- Clutch adjustment done (was seized but got it loose)
- Rear Brakes
- Rear Seals
- Rear end oil (new)
- Tanny Oil (new)
- Front Brakes
- Front Seals
- Tires (still deciding whether or not to keep the WM's)
Removed the Rear Tires and learned something about the lug nuts. The drivers side is reversing threads. I'm sure most of you knew this, but hay, I'm a rookie. Got to the Hubs, started spraying and beating on them to get them loose. No movement what so ever. Put a puller on it. No movement what so ever. So off to FTE's Fourms. With a little help from my friends I found out I will have to pull the axle. With that said, I know what I will be doing today.
Rookie mistake! Boy was I wrong!
Rear End filler cap.
Rear wheels and tires. I like the look, so leaning towards keeping them.
You can keep the look but also have safety. Some members have had their centers pulled and remounted into tubeless 17" outer rims. One company that has done this is Stockton Wheel. This is not your bolt pattern, but the same 17" center diameter. Stu
04-17-2016, 10:59 PM
Thanks for the information on the bed parts. I think my sides are in pretty good shape. Straps, wood and several of the cross members will need to be replaced. Are they looking for a new supplier? Do you have any pictures of your truck? Would sure love to see them. 
I accept all comments, advise, and $$$! Hee Hee
