Hello Thanks for any help you might be able to give to me. Family Memeber has an old F100 reg cab pickup its either a 77 or 79 cant remember which that i would like to see about getting going again but the bed is getting bad and My Question is. What Year Beds can i swap out. besides the same year bed. Thanks for any Help.

 

Should be able to use most 73-79 beds as long as they are not from a highboy. The highboy beds have different mounting hole locations as the frame is narrower.

 

'73-'76 fuel filler cap is exposed, '77-'79 fuel filler is hidden behind a door.
From a purley techincal standpoint, any bed, except the "highboy", from '73-'96 will "bolt" on...but looking right is another matter.
I doubt you'll run into one but there is also the "Super Camper Special" which has an 8' bed but instead of the regular 133" wheelbase it has a 140" These beds will only fit the Super Campers.

 

I have seen later beds on Dents, seen them painted and recall one that the guy had added some stripes that followed from the dent to the '90s style bed and while something looked "odd" at second glance, at first glance it looked like a striped Dent all the way. The stripes were in a bright yellow on a dark truck, sortof hid the fact that there was no Dent on the bed. Looked OK for a DD.

Back in 1986, my '77s bed was rusted across the front seam from sitting long time with water. I cleaned it, wire brushed with angle grinder mounted brush, and primed and painted with some left over paint, then I too a 5' X 10' piece of 11 gage steel plate and cut length to same length as bed floor.

Then, it being 5 feet wide and the center of the bed being 4 feet wide, I carefully plotted and marked aenough points on the steel too enable me to trim "cuttouts" for the two fender wells. I undercoated this steel, got it in the bed, and userd 5/16" short carriage bolts in 3/8 holes so I tapped them in, and large washers under bed sides to secure along sides in a few places.

Then I took that 2' X 5' piece I cut off the end, s[plit it into two 2' x 2-1/2' pieces. Tok them to the place I bought the plate and had a lip 2" wide bent in one long side of each on a brake. Brought them home and scribed a line to matcch the ends of my bed's front wall at each end so the two pieces would "butt" each other along the center line, using the same edges to "butt" as I had cut. I could not do it as one 5 foot piece due to bed side top rails overhang and I wanted a good fit back behind the stake pocket bulges.

Then I put in place, bolted a few places along front at top, and welded the bottom lip to the floor piece as well.

Very solid.

Then I took a piece of 4" wide 1/4" thick steel and went across the rear of the bed behind the tailgate hinge area making this very very strong vertically, then use 1-1/4 x 1-1/4 x 3/16 steel angle and fabbed supports for the tow rear stake pockets that extend dpown and tie into this cross piece and braced with gussets that are cut from 3/16" steel. I notched the side of the angle starting at the bed floor.

There is no movement in my bed sides.

I just need to now replace the outer "bedsides" .... have them on hand with the doors and new tailgate and other stuiff accumulated for a refurbish in the years since her lastr refurbish in 1989.