57-60 Styleside mounting blocks?
While trying to get rid of some of the rattles in my 59 styleside I noticed that some of the wood mounting blocks/pads that fit between the bed crossmembers and the truck's frame are rotting and/or missing. I need to cut new ones and have some questions.
1.) What kind of wood should I cut them out of? Pressure treated? Oak?
2.) How much do these blocks lift the bed above the frame when compressed? 1/4"?
3.) Is there any sort of pad that goes between the bed and frame at the most rearward mount (end of frame)?
Thanks for any tips.
Brett
PS. Can I buy these reproduction?
With regard to your first question only -
Don't use oak, it's a very open grain wood that can suck up and hold moisture very easily. (Dip a short piece in dishwashing soap and you can blow bubbles through it).
Use something like maple/cherry or elm. All good dense hardwoods. You likely won't find elm as dutch elm desease (sp?) has pretty well wiped out commercial harvesting of it but the others are quite easy to find. Too bad cause elm would perfect...
Later,
Folks,
While trying to get rid of some of the rattles in my 59 styleside I noticed that some of the wood mounting blocks/pads that fit between the bed crossmembers and the truck's frame are rotting and/or missing. I need to cut new ones and have some questions.
1.) What kind of wood should I cut them out of? Pressure treated? Oak?
2.) How much do these blocks lift the bed above the frame when compressed? 1/4"?
3.) Is there any sort of pad that goes between the bed and frame at the most rearward mount (end of frame)?
Thanks for any tips.
Brett
PS. Can I buy these reproduction?
Daryl
Sacramento Vintage Ford (pg. 397) also has a "tailgate to bed bumper" that fits between the tailgate flange and bed side to prevent tailgate "rattle". It's their part # 8419 ($3.00/pr) and fits '53-'72. This won't solve your original problem, but it may solve yet another rattle you find!
Daryl
Does your truck still have these blocks? Your truck is probably the most original 57-60 in the forum.
Ferguson, Dutch elm came through the midwest while I was still there and just decimated the American Elm. Had a good friend who ran a small saw mill. I could probably still come up with some.
Daryl, Thanks! Every little bit helps.
Adios,
Brett

Though my truck is original, the fire department which originally owned it had removed the bed, and converted it into a "light truck" (flatbed with a huge light mounted on it to shine on fires at night).
Before they sold the truck, they removed the flatbed, light, and put the original styleside bed back on. To be honest, I don't know if the blocks are even still there. I will take a look for you tomorrow morning.

I did look them up in the Ford parts and accessories catalog. They have their own part number, but theres no description or dimensions listed. It just says "cut as needed". It's kind of funny when you think about it, a small block of wood has a Ford part number.

I finally got a chance to crawl under the truck and check it out. To my surprise, the blocks were still there and in good condition.

My blocks lift the bed aproximately 1/8" above the frame. I took some measurements for you. I hope they help!
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Thank you George! I hope it turns out to be of some help.

Yep, these measurements are from my '59 F-250 4x4. It just turned 19,975 (original) miles today.

They appear to be the original oak blocks, and still even had some of the black paint on them. I guess maybe when they took the body off, the blocks must have remained wedged in the body's cross members. Doesn't appear as though they were ever removed.
My truck doesn't have other kind of pad, just the wood blocks.
Hey Jonathan,
I printed out the picture back a couple months ago. It is at home and I'm now at work so it won't be until tomorrow that I can scan it in and email it to you.
Maybe someone else will jump in with the info yet today. Hope you're not in a rush.
Nick




