I'm looking at getting a 96 F150. I dunno what size bed it has its like a "medium box"
its got a gas lid before and after the wheel arch. So its kinda weird to me, its like short box but not a looong box. Anyway. Its got a bit of rust on the arches, and some dings and such. So I was considering getting some LMC panels and getting a couple friends and I rounded up and fix it up and paint it, so I can learn bodywork, or would I be better off just trying to find a rust free bed?

 

I don't know what a medium bed is, i'm pretty sure that you have an 8ft bed if you have two gas holes. If you just have minor rust on the wheel arches and some dings, you could fix it. What you really need to do is to get underneath the bed and look at the inner wheel well, look above it and run your hand in there. There is probably more rust than you think and you will need to know if the inner's need replaced as well.

You can get panels where ever you like, watch out for LMC stuff. It's cheap and the catalog looks good but the panels are not that great, the metal is thin, soft, and doesn't always fit very well. www.tabco.com try them. There are other places aswell so look around on the net. The best place for you to go is to your local junk yard, with an anglegrinder in hand. There are plenty of these trucks out there, if you can find one, chop the arches out of it, the best fit will come from a scrap truck. Good luck.

 

This is one of those posts where it would be VERY helpful if you posted your location. If you are paranoid about someone finding you in your town or county, then at least post your general location such as: NorthEast Texas.

If you are in Salt Country, your best bet might be to get a rust free bed from the South. There is someone who goes through the South buying them up and hauling them up North. To find out who these suppliers are, look up and Call Pierce Sales in Henrietta, Texas. They put flat beds on LOTS of trucks and sell the rust free beds to a guy who markets them up North. Call them and ask who that someone is.

 

I think you answered your own question in your post!
Learn body work and make it rust free yourself
have fun, I've been doing this for over 40 plus years
little bit more to it than it looks
And you should post your location

 

I'm in northern Alberta, Canada.
They don't use salt here I don't think. The rest of the truck has no rust from what I can tell, but just the rear arches. and its kinda hard here to find a good bed in a scrapyard. Most trucks have came from other provinces and they too are rusty.

 

If you plan on keeping the truck for a long time, you would probably be better off replacing the whole bed with a rust-free one. If you are only going to keep the truck for a couple of years or so, you could get by with patch panels. From what I've seen, no matter how good the body work, patch panels only last for a couple of years before the rust comes back.

 

Well I was gunna take the bed off, and weld in patch panels and coat the underside of it with heavy coats of marine paint, I figured it'll last a good bit then, or am I wrong.

 

No matter how well you coat the underside, eventually moisture will work its' way into the weld seems, causing small rust bubbles. If replacing the bed isn't an option, then your next best bet would be to replace the entire bed sides.

 

Thats what I was gunna do yea.

 

im not trying to call you a liar or anything...but ive used many and i mean MANY parts and panels from LMC. Ive bought atleast 12 panels from LMC for my 57 Ford and i was extremelly happy with them. They fit very well, and Ive never thought the metal was thin or soft. In fact i was so happy with them i just ordered 2 patch panels for my 1993 Ford from LMC. Ive also talked to many people around here that use LMC and they all seem happy with them aswell. But everybody has their own opinion.

 

57F100,
It says on there site that it may have dings and stuff in the panels when you get them, have any of yours had dings or slight damage to them?

 

No maybe i just got lucky because none of my panels have had any dings in them. The panels i got for my 57 were just sheetmetal and they looked to be hand made as the orders came in because im sure they dont sell enough of them to stamp them with a machine. But the panels i just bought for my 93 were painted black and were stamped from a machine. and the only damage to the 93 panels were some of the black paint was scratched in places. but im going to remove some of the paint to weld...and im going to primer it after they are welded in.

I wouldnt hesitate to recommend LMC to anyone....and no i dont work for LMC.

 

I had this much picked out.. Wanted a rollpan but there a bit pricey, might see if I cant make one.

The top two are the bed sides, they don't roll round to the back with the tailgate, its just the flat sides with the fender..
Planning on shaving the tailgate handle, and puttin it inside, shaving the tail lights and puttin in the rollpan..
Was shipping expensive 57F100? I see your in BC. Are the pannels any thinner than the stock fenders? I've never bought patch panels before..

 

Check to make sure you don't need the inner wheel arches as well. That is where the rust starts. Where the inner and outer panels come together. You get dirt and moisture in there and that is where the rust begins.

 

It kind of depends on what your expectations are , & your level of experience is


A good body man , could weld in a turd & make it perfect...

The problem is...most don't know what good is.......