So I text the guy in Little Rock and ask him if he's still got the bed. It's kinda late, but he texts right back and says yeah. So I tell him I'll be through tomorrow to get it. He says he'll get it off for me. I think great, this will be a cluster. I'm already overweight, this bed isn't off yet, I'm on a tight schedule, DOT 72 hour thing going on...so I got a few beers in the truck stop and went to bed.

The next morning I was off with the sun and got the bypass in Tennessee and West Memphis. Good so far. I stop at the TA at Earle to top off my tanks, I can shoot every scale from here to the house on back roads...

I get a text: "how do I get this bed off?"

F ing seriously?

There's nuts on the bottom, hose clamps on the fuel filler, etc...

By the time I get to Little Rock, he says they're working on the last bolt. After I wind through a residential neighborhood with an overweight load, they are still working on the "last" bolt. We give it a tug (3 of us), and nothing. I crawl under and they got 4 of 8. At least somebody already got the gas tank.

The real last nut was a bitch. Somebody had the foresight to weld 7 of the carriage bolts to the bed floor, but they missed one. After an hour fighting with the spinning bolt with primitive tools, the sellers girlfriend went a got the neighbor. He brought not only real tools, but his teenage son as well.

After a few minutes, the 5 of us were able to lift off the bed and (barely) hoist it up onto my trailer. With the load secured, I parted with more money than the rusty, bondoed, bullet holed hunk of tin was worth, and headed to Dallas.





With my load delivered, I was able to lay the bed upside down on my own (it made the first part of it's journey on it's side for spacial concerns). I headed home where I was able to get it unloaded with the help of family and friends. We got it set on the framerails of my junker, and now it really looks lime a truck!

 

Cant wait to see the pics!

 

kinda late now, but a guy down the street from me has a shortbed with an 80's step on it. It actually looks pretty good. He's parted out just about all of the truck, after he sells the bed he's going to scrap whats left unless I can talk him out of it.

 

I'd have gone for an 80's step myself if I coulda found one. I actually kinda wanted an old dodge step. Oh well, I got a ragged wide bed now!

 

I hunted for a decent SWB (price/condition) for 7 year's before I picked up a "workable" box. and once I did get it I couldnt get the step side box off fast enough! I put the rusty crusty wide box on the day I got it home.
If your ever in the Omaha/Lincoln (NE) area drop by I have random dent side part's laying around. LOL

 

I may just do that. I get through there occasionally.

 

Here's some shots with the bed on...





And a reminder of where it all started...

 

I got a little home time on the 4th (Tuesday night and most of Wednesday) so I thought I'd work on the old Ford. I met up with member Alan in Missouri and got a steering column (to replace my irreparibly wobbly tilt unit) seems like months ago. I tried to put it in, but it had a different end than my column, so it wouldn't fit.

The new column had a rag joint on the end, I assume that splined to a 2wd steering box. My existing column had a spline that mated to the u-joint on a steering shaft going to the steering box. I was considering building a new shaft, but those u-joints and "double-D" shaft are expensive! I had disassembled the new column's rag joint, and it looked like the flange was made onto the shaft.

Some weeks later, on the "Bronco Graveyard" site, I was admiring their custom made adapter shafts, I came across an interesting tidbit. That rag joint flange is pressed onto a splined shaft! You'd have never known looking at all that rust! I decided to re-examine the situation.

I thought I was going to ruin my Snap-On balancer breaking that press fit! I broke some junk bolts I had laying around the shop, so I took the pulley and other side of the rag joint flange to town and got some grade-8 bolts, nuts, and washers to try again. With lots of lube on the pulled threads, driving it with an impact wrench, and pounding on the side of the sleeve with the biggest ball-peen suitable for the purpose, the flange finally gave way with an enthusiastic "BANG!"

I knew for sure that Matco impact had laid waste to the puller at first! It put the fireworks the neighbor kid was popping to shame. Well there it was, a splined end on my new column. Hmmm...kinda looks like that old intermediate shaft would fit that. A quick check revealed they shared a common diameter and spline count. If this one just had a flat spot and a notch for that pinch bolt...

So after a few minutes with the grinder, here we go! Let's put it in!

Not so fast! The new column is some inches longer than the old one. Well, that's a collapsing safety shaft, right? Well after using a propane torch to burn out the Teflon retainers and liberal use of several punches and drifts (eventually a blunted cold chisel) and the BFH, the shaft separated. After shortening the inner (solid) shaft the appropriate length the new column finally fit. For the first time since I've had it, the old Ford seems like it might make a useable truck!

 

I know it's been a long time, but here's an update on this project...

First a little background:

Around the time all of this was going on, I got divorced. May have already been divorced when I got the truck. I was living on the road, and the truck was between my wife's (who moved three or four times) and my brother-in-law's (my long-time best friend). Finding time to work on it was hard, and moving it when I had to was a pain. My worst alchohol-fueled decision of the project was swapping the truck for an old Champion bass boat (I wanted the Black Max for another project, but that's another story).

I guess it all worked out in the end, I remarried my wife, bought a house, just had a beautiful baby girl, and I got a Bronco (My '78 Bronco Build Thread).

The guy I swapped the truck to is my father-in-law's cousin. Now that I have a place of my own I think I'll try to get it back. In that case, this thread may continue one day. If not, rest assured it didn't go to the crusher (at least not at my hand)!

In the mean time, stop by the FSB forum and check out the bronco build. Also, please check my WTB thread (now shamelessly pimped in my sig). I got a lot of good parts from you guys and the big Bronc' is still a Dent!

I'm stuck in El Salvador for a week or so, I have a few more pics of the "mutt" I'll add when I get home. Sorry to leave you guys hanging so long, I know a lot of you were following this thread. Life just got in the way!

 

Congrats Nitro on the family and addition of your baby girl! Welcome back to your FTE family. Looking forward to your Bronco build.

 

Here is the last photo I have of the old "Mutt." Loaded up behind my old '97 Dodge. That one is another story in itself.

Haven't heard anything about the old truck in a few years, I'm going to try to find out where it is over the Christmas holidays. I think I'll try to get it back. I swapped a '94 Chevy I picked up cheap for a '78 F-150 2wd. It's a pretty clean truck but it could give the old Mutt everything it needs to roll again...

 

I've been following your bronco build, have you gotten the Mutt back yet? What does the 78 F150 look like?

 

Well, it's been a while. The '78 has come and gone (much like the original photos from this post).



The wife is gone for good now too.

I just picked up this '04 Excursion 4x4 V-10 rig for a stupid cheap price. I guess I'll be hanging out over in the "King of SUV's" forum...