1962 f100 replacment bed sheet metal
 

I've done a search on Google and can not find anyone that has the center corigated section for the unibody trucks. Does anyone have a source for replacement panels?:-huh

another unibody i suspect...is yours a long or shortbed ???


- cs65

Mines a long bed, most of the metal is good but up close to the cab it has some cancer. I just cant believe that someone would not carry or make this panel.

My 63 unibody longbed is in the same shape as yours and I too cant find any replacement panels, if i remember correctly, I believe I have heard of some people cutting pieces out of chevy beds so you might try asking around about that.

Bookmarked couple links w/ pic's of members bed repairs. Unfortunately I did not note the members name so if recognize would appreciated posting FTE name so I can give credit where credit is due.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...&albumid=30574

https://www.ford-trucks.com/user_gal...10&albumid=206

Believe the bottom bed panels are available for the later model trucks but the patterns are different. Also, FTE member posted pic's where he took an entire later model bed and swapped the side panel skins with his 66. Anyhow, food for thought!!

Thats a thought, replaceing with a new truck replacement panel, didn't think about that.

No one makes the correct stamping for a uni. there are things out there that are close but not identical.

No one tooled up for replacement floor panels for a truck that was considered at the time as a complete failure.

The unis floor is also a structural element and is not easily replace as it has multiple underlying components such as the torque box.

Garbz

So what are you saying we own the edsel for trucks?

Yes. A failure greater than the Edsel...But the most collectible ford truck next to the 53 to 56 fords.

Garbz

I have to disagree Dave.

The Edsel was an abject failure, the worst the US auto industry has ever seen...before or since.

Ford went public for the first time in 1956 to raise the money needed to engineer, design and build the Edsel, which was introduced in September 1957 as a 1958 model.

Ford had studied the market since 1948, felt they needed a car priced to fit between Ford and Mercury, as GM had Buick, Olds, Pontiac, while ChryCo had Chrysler, Dodge, DeSoto (Imperial was a separate model then).

Ford expected to sell 200,000 Edsels in 1958, but only 63,100 were made.

This was due to several factor, the worst was the "Eisenhower Recession" of 1957/58. 1958 US automakers advertising slogan: "You auto buy now."

The Edsel was cancelled on November 19, 1959. Only 2,846 1960 models were assembled.

Total 1958/60 Edsel production: 110,847.

Ford lost over ONE BILLION DOLLARS on the Edsel, and that was when a buck was worth a buck.

Ford made a profit on every Uni they sold. F100/250 Uni production figures: 1961: 72,418. / 1962: 79,686 / 1963: 45,991.

btw: More "victims" of the Eisenhower Recession were DeSoto. Sales dropped like a stone after 1957. DeSoto was cancelled November 1960, after 3,030 1961's were assembled.

Nash & Hudson were cancelled at the end of the 1957 model run.

Packard went out of business in March 1956, the Detroit factory was shuttered.

Only "Packabakers" were made (in South Bend, IN) in 1957, early 1958, and only to fulfill dealer franchise agreements.

Was the drop in the Unibody sales because of the overloading/door problem?

Because of the integral cab/bed design, when the frame flexed, the doors popped open.

Lap seat belts were an option, no shoulder harnesses were available.

When the doors popped open, people FELL OUT of the cabs.

Now you know why Ford cancelled the Uni midyear 1963.

Has someone ever thought about making a fix for the unibody structural defect so the doors will not open?

Unfortunately it is inherent in the engineering of the unitized body and not able to be engineered out. They actually did continue the body style after 63 in South America with a non integral bed.

I would like to get a cargo container of those up here.....

Garbz

On the last bed floor I had to fix I cut a section out of the center of another bed to get the right style ridges. It was off a long bed and I was able to cut a 23 1/2" x 48" section that I used in the front of my bed. Something to look into maybe.

You know with the number of suppliers out there and the number of these trucks still around you figure that you guys would get together and share the cost of having a set of molds made for stamping out new metal. The other way would have your chinese suppliers make the molds and stamp them like the rest of the parts.

I'm not trying to get on you guys, just a suggestion.:)

I just purchased a 65 F100 but its not a unibody. The front of the bed and the floor of the bed are completely rusted out about three inches up the back and 3 inches from in the bottom of the bed. I like the fact that its a steel bed but it seems like someone would have made patch panels for such a problem area. I have looked for them but without sucsess. It seems that there are a lot of replacement panels for the stepsides but not for the Styleside beds. Good luck with your project.
JRB65

In the truck parts business sharing the cost of anything with other dealers just don't happen. Because then you also have to evenly share the profits and it takes many years to get your original investment back.
In Sept. 2007 I got quotes on the tooling costs to make a corragated floor section because I know they are needed, but at a cost of $92,000.00 for tooling and what you would have to sell them for to come out it's just not in our budget. Sorry.

Is that done in the United States or done overseas. Most of the World War II military Jeep replacement sheet metal is made over seas in the Phillipines. MD Juan makes then and manages to give a good product. Of course they had problems in the beginning but the consumer spoke and the errors were fixed.

Uni's were made 1961/62 and thru midyear 1963.

The short & long Styleside bed floors have been obsolete since grandma was a girl.

No Ford dealer or obsolete parts vendor has any.

It's been 10 1/2 years. Has the situation changed? Is anyone making replacement bed floors for the 1962 long bed unibed?

Interesting thread. Looked at a 61' Uni yesterday and the bed was toast. Open to ground in the center. Body was better tho. My 52' has a solid sheet of metal and has since owned. Not pretty but it is functional. Perhaps that would work as an interim for some. Not familiar with the unique components of a Uni bed though.

I replaced the bed floor and 3 out 4 corner panels on my Uni project. For the bed floor section I used the Canadian made Pros' Pick, it was not a drop in replacement, ribs are different spacing and height and no taper at the rear to meet the end brace. I had to weld in pockets for the carriage bolts the connect it to the frame, they all went through a ribbed area of the bed. I used my skill saw with an abrasive blade and cut a 45 degree bevel through the ribs at the end and welded them in to create the taper at the end. The corner panels were made by a local sheet metal shop, laser cut and bent. I designed those in 3D cad and they were very close in fit to the original. I had the shop make 2 of everything but they made about 8 extra of the front left panel that I need to sell.
I have seen posts where the bed floor was replace with later model Ford truck sheet metal. Either way will be lots of hours and $.

I have a 63 uni lwb and the PO did this.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...9474601ff4.jpg
Note the small latch for the passenger safety.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...4ce4400884.jpg
The driver settled for a little more grip on the wheel.

WOW. I like the SPDT switch for the turn signals, too. Creative....

I don't know what SPDT stands for. Reminds me of SDPD, or San Diego Police department, of whom I am not a fan. But yeah, the PO of this truck was a can do guy that "fixed" lots of things with what was handy. The three on the tree was moved to a floor shifter, secured with baling wire, there was a rag tied around the driveshaft in an attempt to keep the oil in it, the 223 had a rod and piston missing. I really don't think you can get those out through the bottom so it seems they pulled the head off to remove them and put it back with plans to drive it on five..
Needless to say the truck worked hard and was in rough shape mechanically, but it's a fairly rust free California truck, that has issues with the front of the bed.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...30fabd38b6.jpg
Going to keep the patina, but the non yellow parts are just about ready for paint.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...208a904286.jpg
A rather ambitious project...

I got a bed floor last summer from a 2009 Dodge longbox. It has the same ribs as the unibody floor. I have measured them, as 1 1/2 by 1 1/2 I think, and I'd bet if you cut it, that it wouldn't exactly line up with the original unibody floor, but I plan on using the whole thing front to back. The ribs have a nice taper on the back end. It measures up really really close lengthwise, can't remember right now, and its cold and dark outside, with snow. I plan on cutting it along each side, and bending the flange down so it is exactly the same width as the unibody bed floor, and can be assembled the same way.
This Dodge bed floor isn't like most of them, in that it has nice ribs full length, not those ugly wide ribs with breaks in the middle and weird shapes to them. BUT, the hat sections underneath will need to be notched wherever they go over the unibody frame. Not a problem for me, as I'm not doing a points restoration.

The front panel from this Dodge truck is built very similarly to the box front panel on my 65 F100 style side short box. I plan on using it to fix mine. Only thing is, there are twice as many vertical ribs on the front panel, and the panel height is approx. 1/2 higher than the style side box front panel. I just plan on sectioning the top, which would make that part almost indistinguishable from the original Ford part also. I've measured this stuff up, and have it in my possession, but I just don't have time to get at that particular project right now. Someone else please grab the torch and do this.
This probably doesn't make any sense to anybody, but if you find a 2009 Dodge truck, take a good look at the bed floor and front panel. I'm pretty sure I can get the bed floor to work on my unibody truck and nobody would ever know the difference, till they look underneath and saw the difference in the crossmembers. I would have to build a new torque box from scratch also, but that's no big deal.
I don't have any current pics of the bed. Might be able to take some tomorrow to post.

Damn, its cold outside, but I took a few pics, and got a few new measurements to jog my memory. This 2009 Dodge floor is very very close to the same as Ford's floors of the 60's. Someone needs to take this project under their wing, cause I don't have time to do it yet, and I'd like to have someone else work the bugs out of it. If not, I'll do this in a year or two, when I get around to working on this project. (Still collecting parts) The total length of the floor is just shy of 98 inches. Very close to original.
I can't remember exactly what the width of the floor is, but I have measured it in the past, and there is enough material in the Dodge bed floor in the lower, or "flat" of the ribs, to cut and bend about a 3/4 or 1 inch flange down, on each side so as to be able to punch holes in the flange and plug weld it to the four corner pieces of the bed floor, and along the inside edge of the inner wheel tubs. Hope that makes sense. That is how the original bed floor is on Ford trucks.
I currently have two trucks. A 65 F100, with a 63 cab on it. Yeah, the previous owner butchered the cab mounts, but didn't do too bad. I can fix all that. Its my daily driver, and the PO really made a mess of the front of the box by welding in a large patch, 6 inches from the front of the box, and 6 inches up the front panel, over top of the rusted out original floor. It hurts my pride to see it, and I haven't had time to cut it out. I don't want people to think I did that repair, but oh well, it is what it is for now.
IF I were to use this Dodge floor to fix my short box style side, I could cut the front of the long box floor blunt like Ford did so dirt and water can get under the front edge and cause future problems. The Dodge floor has tapered ribs on the front as well as the back end of the box.
My other truck is a 61 Merc unibody with big back window. This Dodge floor will eventually be put into the Merc unibody truck. I got lucky in that the box was from a front end collision and the box floor was in really nice shape. I wouldn't use the front panel on the unibody truck, so I'd have to drill out the spot welds to separate the front panel from the floor. I will probably use the Dodge crossmembers under the floor as I have no desire to drill out 10,000 spot welds just to use the Ford crossmembers to keep it original. But I could always change my mind when the time comes. The Dodge crossmembers are taller top to bottom than the Ford's, so I'll notch the crossmembers where they go over the top of the Ford truck frame. That's the plan between my ears at this point in time.



https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...3f79c2b327.jpg
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...396d4d278a.jpg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...c7008df4ba.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...beb1568b10.jpg
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...5750558a89.jpg
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...a3dc3f6834.jpg

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...6bcd71bef1.jpg
The front panel for the Dodge box has quite a few more ribs in it than the Ford, but other than that, it looks quite similar. The overall height is about 5/8 inch taller on the Dodge than the Ford front panel. But the top area on the Ford panel is very close to 5/8 inch shorter than the Dodge. I figure on cutting that area across the width, remove the required amount to make it the same height to fit the Ford box, and weld it back up again. Its a 6 foot weld, but doing so would make it fit, and it would look pretty much like the Ford original, except for the fact the panel has quite a few more ribs. I'm not 100% sure I'll use the front panel, but it surely could be used if you like the appearance of it.
All of that will require drilling out all the spot welds on the ends, and cutting and shaping to fit the Ford box. Just time, and not a big expense if you can find one of these at your local pic a part like I did. I paid 100 bucks for this particular floor and its in pretty nice shape.
I forgot to add the front panel for the Dodge is 19 3/4 overall high. Remove the 5/8 from the top of the Dodge panel across the width, and it comes down to 19 1/8, which is the same as the Ford panel and that particular part would look very similar to the Ford panel. OR, cut the top of the Ford panel and attach it to the Dodge panel, depending on how bad your particular front panel might be. I'd love to get into this, but I just can't at this particular point in time. Hope someone else takes up this challenge.
https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...260678b63e.jpg
Floor to top of style side box 19 1/8 or so. Ignore the PO's "repair" to the front of my box.
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...4bf612c1b1.jpg
This is the top of the front panel on the style side box. 1 1/2 high in this area. Dodge box is 2 1/8 high in this area. If I were to use the Dodge front panel, I would cut it to this size.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.for...30b26d74e0.jpg

Don't look in this subforum as often, but that stands for Single Pole Double Throw. Just means a single rocker that can toggle in two directions. Perfect for a turn signal! LOL