I think "homely" is being generous personally...

 

The fenders are 53-56. Not sure on the bed though. Can you post a picture of the entire side of the bed, as well as the rear with the tailgate?

It's possible that the 53-56 rear fenders were put on the 51 bed.

I have a complete 51/52 F1 bed, as well as a set of very good fenders that I need to get rid of.

Let's do a little detective work and figure out what you need.

 

Nice score.

 

looks to be in real descent shape and def a good deal for 400 bucks

 

Investigate away;





Front of fender at bottom

 

Appears to be a 53-56 bed. The tailgate and fenders are 53-56. However, I'm not too knowledgeable about the differences, if any, between 51/52 vs. 53/56 beds. It's possible that you have a 51/52 bed with 53/56 fenders and tailgate, but why would someone change only those parts and not the entire bed?

That's why I'm leaning towards you having a 53-56 bed.

Still not a bad deal at $400.

 

I think you might be right, check out the difference in the tailgate between my truck and this '51 I looked up.

 

Ok, here's my initial thought. Why couldn't I sell the fenders and tailgate, use that money to buy a carb and whatever else it needs to get it running and then buy the right fenders/gate down the road?

It looks like those fenders/tailgate fit from '53-'79 so they'd probably sell pretty well.

Also, it looks to me (you tell me) like if the fenders/gate were correct, the bed is the same between '51 and '53+ trucks.

 

Yup, it looks to me like you've got a '53 to '56 bed. If the fender slips onto the mounting studs, then there's your proof. The mounting studs are in different locations between '48-'52 and '53-'56. If memory serves, that's the only difference. I think the sheet metal itself is the same.

 

Here's something to entice you. It needs to find a good home.

 

It slips right over the studs and fits like a glove. Everyone on here keeps saying '53-'56, but all the fenders on eBay say '53-'79, what's going on there?

By San Jose CA do you mean San Jose WY? lol. I wish you were closer. But like I said a couple of posts ago, i'll probably use my current bed and move the studs to work with the right fender if need be. So i'll just need a tailgate and some fenders, but that's down the road. I can drive it without fenders, but I can't afford to fix the engine if I fix the fenders.

 

You're right. Fenders are 53-79. The location of the fender mounting on the bed changed later on in model years. I believe that the 70s Ford stepsides had the fenders mounted slightly higher than their predecessors.

 

Ok, awesome, that widens my customer base quite a bit. Any clue on the tailgate? I don't know where the stripes came from, but i'm sure they make it harder to identify by picture...

 

Tailgate should be the same, 53-79.

 

great buy on what looks like a solid project.

mike