Another thought that I have is, aren't there separate pieces making up the bed. Instead of replacing the whole bed you could piece it together:

LMC Truck Parts - Page 26

 

Just looked thru your album. That truck has LSD rear diff for sure (H6 = 3.50 LS).
Also looks to have been a two tone. Paint code 2K.
It's an early 81. Does it have the "swiss cheese" frame?

 

Hmmm, sway bars, quad shocks, 3.50LS axles, skid plates. I'm thinking it came with the "Snow plow" package........

 

The frame is certainly swiss cheesed. So, let's see: When I restore it I'll change out the frame to the '82 I have, change the cab and bed to the same '82, change the engine to the other 351M and the tranny to a ZF5. And, I have later door panels to fix the slide locks, although maybe it would be easier to change out the doors since I have them as well. The windshield should be replaced as well as it has chips and scratches, and I need to paint in its recess anyway. And, the front bumper has holes drilled for those "fog lights", so........

Reminds me of the joke about the guy talking about his grandfather's axe. Yes, he had replaced the head once and the handle three times, but it was still his grandfather's axe.

But, seriously, it drives very well and I made a good trade yesterday. However, I do want to fix the many issues it has. So keep the ideas coming.

 

Not wanting to sound like a negative party-pooper or anything, but this is what I see on first glance:

Yes, the frame is cheesy, you can see the holes in the frame:




The gap in the door between the sheet metal & door lock cylinder as well as the spiderwebbing of the paint on the door makes me wonder if the door itself hasn't been tweaked.

The cracked paint on the wheel lip resembles cracked Bondo™.
.
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Were it me, which it isn't, I would swap beds & repair cab, rebuild engine as a 400 (mild cam, 9.0-9.5 CR 4bbl intake and carb) replace dash pad/ seat/ and carpet (if needed) and drive it. Paint would need done, obviously.
I wouldn't even be surprised to find a factory aux trans cooler. As I said, I suspect it was optioned with the snow plow package, which was just a fancy name for a good mix of towing/hualing/off-road stuff combined together.
Engine rebuild may or may not really be needed. A good tune up could return it to as good as it ever was. However, if it does need freshened up, I'd do the 400 conversion as previously mentioned.

 

A lot of unflattering things have been said about the holey frame. I suspect it wasn't discontinued due to safety concerns, more for cost cutting. It takes extra time and tooling, along with added manpower, to punch out those holes. I bet the added cost of doing this, was nowhere near worth the overall weight savings gained from doing it.

 

It doesn't look too rusty. I wouldn't replace the frame if you don't need to. You may WANT to... Some people are just weird like that. :P I don't know how that kind of frame matches up to a solid one for towing capacity and load...

 

It won't bend or break under any normal conditions. They were even used under the F350 in 80 and early 81.
Crash into something solid, and they will fold over themselves at one of the holes. However, that same impact would wad up the solid frame, so this is a bit of a moot point.
Rust is another issue. These aren't any more/less prone to rust. They are however, a bit easier to wash, since the holes allow for water to pass thru.....

 

Chris - I hate to spoil your thinking, but the spider web rubbed off as it really was a spider web. The lock is out at the bottom, and I'm wondering if it is in correctly, maybe from the repaint.

RW - I'm leaning to the way you are thinking. I might be interested in pulling it completely down and painting the frame, but think I'd be better served working on my Bee. So, may be better off replacing the bed, doing the body work on the cab and fenders as need be, etc.

As for the engine, a lot will be determined when I get to look into it. The leak-down test will tell quite a bit on both engines, and I may take the easy (er) way out and swap engines. But, the tranny question still looms.

Lavatan - No, I'm not thinking about replacing the frame. It has made it this far and I see no reason it won't go lots further. The real question is whether or not to tear everything down and paint the frame - or maybe powder coat it. I see many of the bushings are cracked, swollen, etc. So, something needs to be done - in time.

Keep those cards and letters coming in, friends.

 

Gary, it looks like we're havin' an affair with the same lover...Mopar...

Any mopar truck from 1993 and prior, I like....Cars....1974 and down....

I'd give my left boy for a MINT 1970 Plymouth GTX...440/6 pack, 4 speed manual.....MMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

Nothing prettier than a fully restored undercarriage... The tranny would be a matter of what you want to do with the truck (daily driver, tower, toy hauler, etc.). If it has the "snow plow" package it is already setup with the beefy suspension. I would definitely suggest you keep that. Seems like it gives a better ride too. I don't have the space to tear my truck completely down to get the frame to a painter so I have to live vicariously through you... LOL

 

My first car was 1967 Plymouth Satelite. It had the 383 Magnum and 4 spd Hurst shifter. It looked just like the GTX's did in that same yr. I used to like Mopar stuff. I still do , but , the only problem is the hard to find stuff was hard to find back in the 80's. I would imagine it hasnt gotten any easier to get or cheaper. I do have a Dodge p/u thats my DD. I would have bought a Ford except they were running the worst diesel they ever put in a p/u the yr I was looking for a new one. I have a couple of old Ford's though. I have a 1996 F-250 EC 4x4 and a 97 HD EC 4x4 as well as a 95 F-Superduty. All of them have the 7.3 PSD or what International calls the 444E.

 

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Gary I like the way dad's truck looks. It has a nice aggressive looking stance to it. The wheels and tires look good too. I am interested in seeing how the build goes. I am going to take a look in a few places to see if there are any used aftermarket heads going around for the 351 M on some of the sites I frequent. I was also thinking that since you ported and worked over the 351W heads. Why not try your hand at these? They may even be more simple than the others to do.

Still kicking around the ZF5 swap also in my head. I think it will be an interesting project. We may also want to explore a couple of other salvages in order to get the best deal on all the stuff needed. I have a ZF5 with a busted case out in my shop, but , I just found the case half needed to put it back together. I got a deal on it for $30.00. It is a diesel ZF5 and they are a little different than the gassers. I believe they have a wider ratio in the gearing and the input shafts are quite a bit bigger. I dont know anything about the tranny in my shop other than it came with the F-Superduty when I bought it. It was on the flat bed laying there broken. The story I heard was that it was a fresh rebuild and the parking brake locked up and broke the bell housing while it was running down the highway. Anyways I looked into a bearing and seal kit $350.00 and a synchro set which was $275.00. The more I look at those prices the more inclined I am to run the old bearings and synchros.


Looking forward to the "Dad's truck" build Gary. Good luck! I need to get back out to the shop soon. I had a busy day today and I volunteered to work at a church on the west side of town tomorrow. It will help me and my buddy who goes to services there. I need him to get his end of the work done so that I can get to my paying portion. I like this guy and it is a church . This makes doing some volunteer work an easy decision.