I've got a 76 F150 that was straight and beautiful until I got into an accident a few weeks back...

The passenger side of my bed has a massive crater in it that isn't worth trying to repair.
I've looked into buying just the replacement panels... but I don't have that kind of cash.

What I do have is myself, some tools, and some handy friends who are willing to help me out so I figured I'd be better off financially to just replace the entire bed.

The body style is the F150 custom with the styleside LONGbed.

So this is where I need some help...

How many of the f-series trucks used the same sized bed?
I think i'm looking from the years '73-'79 if i'm not mistaken... so does that mean if I stumble on a long bed truck from that year range, it'll fit my truck?

Does the size of the bed vary from the size of the truck? (f150, f250, 350 etc...)

If my measurements need to be super specific, where should I be taking measurements?


I know i'm probably fretting this way more than I should since I've heard replacing beds is a relatively common and easy task... I just want to know what I'm getting into and what I need to be looking for before I set out on a junkyard hunt.

So, Anyone got any advice for me? Thanks SO much in advance...

 

They'll all fit, 73 to 79, other than the obvious deviants, i.e. short beds and super camper specials (with elongated wheelbase), beds from a highboy will also fit but will require re-drilling of the mounting holes (because of the narrower frame).

 

Also, starting in '77 the trucks had the fuel filler behind a door rather than exposed. The beds will fit fine, just have a different look.

 

Are you sure its not worth trying to repair? If it has no rust then it might be worth trying to repair. Even if you pull it out roughly and bondo it all up so its tidy. You will keep your costs low until you can either get it repaired professionally or till you can find another good bed. Maybe you should post up some pictures and ppl might be able to advise you how to repair it.

 

Unless the truck is black , you will have to blend both sides to match the color . Not to mention three times as much paint Time , & material costs to replace it ..

On top of that , the replacement box most likely will need some work to be as good as what you had ...

 

It's worth trying to save. My passenger side bed side was totaled, ...TWICE. It turned out ok, considering.





Here it is before I fixed it the second time.

 

I've been wanting to paint the truck since I bought it. just never had alot of motivation seeing as the trucks been in arizona all it's life and the paint was in great shape for its age, No rust, just some scratches from its work truck years.

The damage is just so deep into the side of the bed it would be almost impossible to get it looking the way it did before the accident.
I mean this isn't just a small dent that i could pound out and bondo up... I'm talking about the passenger side of my bed being completely smashed in from where it meets the cab, to the wheel well. the support arm was bent in half, and the styleside is completely warped.

My local pick n pull sells the entire bed for about 189 plus tax... and since I'm in AZ... there's always a plentiful bounty of 70's Fords in great shape to snag parts from.
AND they've got a memorial day sale going on where I can get half off anything I pull from the yard.
Gonna go down there and hope the junkyard gods are smiling down on me, might get lucky and find one dirt cheap...

and worst case scenario... I drive a beat up looking truck for a while until I figure something out. thankfully all the damage was just cosmetic... and the collision just ever so slightly grazed the cab, so it buffed right out.

 

Oh heck, you didn't mention all that! Yeah, Go get a new bed! Pick me up one while your at it. Can you ship it to Missouri? That's a screamin' deal for a nice bed.

 

Haha.. well I'm not very proud of it seeing as the accident was my fault to begin with. guess that's why it's called an accident though, right?

But yeah I don't think I could have picked a better state to live in when I decided to buy an old pickup... they are everywhere out here.
I'm from michigan, so to find a truck out there like mine without any rust/salt corrosion... not easy.