Well ya'll keep saying you like pics, so here is what I worked on today.

 

Three at a time!

 

I got way more work on this to do, but in just a a couple hours this is what I got out of it. I bought a spot weld cutter and i guess they need oil and slow spin, I ate the first set of teeth up after the fifth cut! $26 bucks ! ouch.
Gonna sandblast the whole piece and patch it up. I also got patching there on the bedside to do.

 

Are you sure you don't want to leave those well pipe and "C" channel braces on there Jeff? They're plenty strong!! Probably you're right, though, it'll look better without them. Glad you're tackling the sins on that old North Dakota bed. Stu

 

Hi Stu! I wondered if you would catch a glimpse! I wish I had some pictures of that mess, before I cut that off! Wow that was really time consuming, trying to avoid killing the stake pockets, but that stuff is long gone, probably already in a "smart car" by now. So back to original, at least as close as I can get it.

 

I'll have to go back through the old 35 mm pics to see if I have a good shot of how that looked. It was a mess, no question. Here's the only computer pic I have of it on the original MH. Stu

 

Wow, it's strange seeing that bed on the MH and now having it on my truck.
I didn't know you had the truck that it came on, do you still have some of it?
parts truck? gone bye-bye now? oh...I just save that pic to my collection!

 

Here's a pic of what it looked like. I used a lot torch gas getting the well pipe off, and you no doubt used up some grinder wheels getting the "C" channel away from those stake pockets. The truck itself still exists on paper, in boxes, cab, and drive train pieces. The frame had been fractured and ranch welded in probably a dozen places, and had had a new section from some modern truck grafted in from the rear spring hangers back. The frame is now the Kia sitting in your neighbor's driveway. So the goal is to one day find a good straight 2wd '52 F-3 donor with clean paper and a VIN from one of the known M-H production plants (HM, CH, LU). Since all M-Hs were conversions when new, doing a conversion to a donor 60 years later is no problem. Stu

 

Hey Jeff,
We had a similar problem with the stake pockets on our '50 F1 - We went the replacement route as I couldn't figure out how to undo all the previous fixes & the rust was extensive. The replacements are actually pretty reasonable & they actually fit.

Ben in Austin

 

They don't fit an 8' Express bed. The F-2/3 bed stake pockets are taller and IIRC wider than on F-1s. Nobody is repop'ing the Express bed pockets. Stu

 

I am at work getting paid to be on FTE this morning.
So it's safe to say that the MH was not really a grocery getter, it got used as it was meant to be used! Sounds like the frame, and the bed have the damage to show it! I wish we could know what the old girl went through in 60 plus years. I would think that would be a great story. Sounds like it probably kept the pain to itself, shook it off, and looked forward to the next round of punishment! Unlike the KIA you mentioned, it is probably whining right now sitting in it's warm little garage, wondering why there is a voice in it's computer saying," QUIT WHINING YOU LITTLE TURD!" It's that old Ford Steel kicking it in the butt!

Well at least thats the way my mind works!

I still have the North Dakota plate and I am gonna keep it, not sure what I will do with it, but I will figure something out. If for no other reason it will hang on the wall for display. A tribute to the punishment! I will back the truck in so it can remember those days! Ok maybe thats a little too much? Heck I think that old MH is poking at my mind!

 

Don't forget to get that broken bolt out of the tailgate pivot mount while you have it off there.

 

All in all, the nice thing about that bed is the lack of rust. North Dakota ranchers don't use much salt I guess. Like you said she's got scars, and a stretched out headboard like they all do, but no structural rust to my recall. The green bed you didn't take, straighter but with bad MN rust, will go on the '51 M-H I just hauled home from Idaho (via Oregon). So I'll have my own challenges with it. I've got all the old plates mounted on the wall too. Arizona, Minnesota, Idaho, and the other North Dakota plate all hanging proud. Stu

 

What years of plates do you have... I'm looking for old Arizona plates late 40's to early 70's... I have a YOM on my '49 f1... Also I like the older plates and want to practice restoring them...

 

My AZ plate was issued in '73 with a sticker showing last registered in 1980. Don't really want to let it go.

I too have YOM plates for my '52 F-3 M-H. Interesting because in Illinois the truck plates are coded for the size of the truck. My set are the correct "B" coding for a light duty pickup. Illinois also back then had "Front" and "Rear" stamped vertically into the margin of each plate. It's easy to find individual car plates, but finding a matched set of "B" truck plates took me a while. Plus they're nice enough that I don't have to restore them. Now I'm on the lookout for a similar set, or two, for '51. Stu