As I am disassembling my 49 F3, I'm finding that there is too much repair required and not a big enough wallet. Need plans for a wooden bed so that as I get the nose, engine and cab completed I will be able to put on a temporary bed and drive it. Since the F3 has the longer wheelbase, bed parts are not readily available. I need to accumulate more cash to get the rear fenders, box and tailgate done.
Thanks,
Newt in NH

 

Just put back the original wood (or what is left of it). Then get a pice of plywood to match...overlay it over and Viola! Instant temporary bed that keeps the box in line....I would like to get the original metal liner on top of my bed. But it is expensive $500 or there abouts. Wow! Send me some pictures of your truck...
http://www.48f-1.com

 

hi,
last fall ,i finally replaced the entire box of my 49 F2 from a donor truck(52 F3). I thought swapping boxes would be a cake walk--not! These boxes other than the wooded beds, has wooden cross braces and spacers.(at least mine had) Since these boxes are wider and longer than the F1, you will have to order the longer bed strips and maybe fabricate the cross members( as those new metal crossmembers for the F1 will be short). I too opted to put on a temporary bed floor out of plywood while restoring, but i had to fashion/cut wood cross braces out of 2X4.(specially in the areas where i had bed to frame bolts.) Cut out the 1 inch plywood(8 foot plyboard to an 8 foot bed made it easier) in the shape of the bed floor and use some of the bed bolt holes to bolt it down. hey, it works. I'm looking into the idea of using the metal crossmembers out of a 67 F250 stepside-as the box dimensions are the same, and these later boxes came with metal cross braces-but that will come later" as finances allow!" haha!

louie

 

Thanks for the hints. I finished taking the box off this week and next and final is the cab. Got to find out how to pull the steering wheel as there are no threaded holes to put a puller on it. Then it is on to the dirty job of sand blasting the chassis. Eventually I will get some pictures on my daughters Digital Camera and get them into a gallery.
From NH,

 

You may be correct about not finding threaded holes in the steering wheel, but double check. I pulled a steering wheel at the junk yard off of a 51, for my 49 and had come to the same conclusion. I wasted a good bit of time trying to get the wheel off without a puller. When I double checked, I finally found the threaded holes. They were filled and packed with dust/dirt that had the consistency of concrete. Even scratching around with a screw driver, I had missed them the first time. The stuff was next to impossible to get out but the holes were there.

 

Gotta agree with DonF. I did exactly the same thing he did until I finally noticed just a little of the edge of one threaded hole peeking out. I had to use a Dremel to get the center stuff out and then grit blast the threads to clean them up enough for a tap. I'm sure I would have broken the steering wheel if I hadn't found the puller holes. It was on there really tight.

George