OK, a few more, just to clarify what needed to be done, and what I did..

 

That was a good score on the winch. 1970 I wasn't even sperm in my dads sack yet haha. You won't ever exceed the weight limit of it being mounted to your truck. What all do you use it for? Nice bumper like how you notched it to clear and wrap back around the bed sides.

 

1970? I was in 7th grade. Were you towing Camaros and Novas back then Baja?
Nice "clearance" job on the Bumper Baja.

 

Thanks on the notch job... took awhile, but I am mostly retired, so have time to dink with stuff... when not fishing..

As to the winch, I used it almost every day, when I lived in N. Cal... to collect drift wood off the beach, and for split redwood fence posts.. Put myself through college with that winch.. I also did off-road towing, for adventurous 4 wheelers, who exceeded their limit of good sense.
I brought the old truck, with winch & boom, to Baja, to launch & retrieve boats out of the surf. This before we had a marina & boat ramp... The marina is still touch & go as far as a success, so there is a chance that we will be launching over the beach and into the surf once again...?? Quien sabe?

Baja

 

Well gracias amigos, your comments encourage me to do good work, and "Pimp my Ride", as the saying goes. One side almost done, the other maybe half way... tomorrow is another day, in Paradise with a view...

Paint soon, but think I will wait for a stretch of clear warm days. Edgar's shop does not have heat, nor humidity control.. Next Wed. looks better..

Back to the bumper...

Baja

 

Sólo el padre.

 

OK, a little update amigos,

The paint booth at Edgar's paint & body finally came open... so I took the old rig over about noon. It was not much of a problem to remove the modified bed, and with the help of 4 guys, and two come-alongs, we hoisted it up, and over the winch gantry.

Does anyone know what one of these old beds weigh from the factory? I am guessing about 300 lbs, mas o menos. Anyway, Edgar is going to weld in all the angle floor supports, as well as the angle support for the edge of the cut out for the winch. He's going to clean up the rust first, then etch & prep with phosphoric acid, the bare metal, to try and stop any further rust.. Next comes a primer, some rust inhibitor paint, and then undercoat the entire bottom side... I took a few photos, but don't have good lighting, nor a wonder camera, so they are what they are... you will get the idea anyway...

Baja

 

That's Edgar, checking out the underside of the bed for my truck.. The shots of the angle iron, show the 1.25x1.25 inch angle, cut & welded to form an edge for the cut out area... which will go entirely around the edge, and will form a lip, for the fiberglass cover to meet... more photos later to try and show what we are planning...

Baja

 

Hey Baja. Any big pics of the finished product?

 

I think that I put some on this computer... will try them now..

 

Hope these do it Jeff. When I return South, I will post some of the finished product, at least, showing the bed install, and the tailgate with the diamond plate on the inside. Still working on the bending of the tabs, over the top of the tailgate framework. I think that the aluminum is T-4, which is going to be very hard to bend without a break. The 1.25" square tubing does not have much of a radius to work with. I will experiment with some scrap and see what can be done.

Another option, is to trim off the tabs, cut a strip just over 1.25" wide, and have it welded to the flat plate, so I have a 'clean' edge to work with.

The next issue I'm working on, is the tailgate support cables. I did not allow enough space on the ends, for the stock support bars to fit between the body & tailgate. Oops.. I am working out the design, for cable support, which will have 3/16" plastic coated cable, crimps & washers on the cable ends, and holes in the bed & tailgate uprights, for the cable to pass through. If my idea works out right, then the cable will slide into the bed upright corner & the tailgate frame, and disappear from sight when the tailgate is latched. Photos in June, when I return.

Baja

 

Better than nothing Buddy. I see by the little picture next to your name you got the bed on and painted. I really like your color scheme on that truck. Man, it looks so good going all the way down the side now there's bedsides there.

 

Thanks Jeff, I like it too.. My wife actually picked the color, from the Ford original color charts, and Edgar, my paint & body guy, matched it as close as his eye could. The paint is DuPont Imron, which I understand is no longer legal in the USA... I know, or heard, that DuPont developed it for aircraft. I just know that Edgar uses an air fed respirator/hood, when painting with that paint. Not sure what it is, but mostly if its good, it gets outlawed.. or discontinued..

We also like the full-bed look, way better than the flatbed & cage. It was a lot more work, than just putting a stock bed back on, due to the winch & gantry sub-frame. We used a plasma arc, to cut the hole in the floor, which was way quicker & way way less noisy than a sawsall. Of course, 'Murphy' had to get involved in the project, and threw us a curve with the rear bumper. When the three of us got to that point, and discovered that the bumper interfered by about 1/2 inch, a few minutes of head scratching went on, until my amigo Enrique suggested cutting the ends of the bumper off, and welding them back on later, with a few mods of course... After scribing a line, the plasma torch made quick work of Murphy's hold up.

Later, I used a porta-band to cut out part of the end pieces, invert the cut out part, and weld it back in. Made for a clean mod, and the bed fit with no moving the bumper. Its just a small detail, but most times, attention to details is important.

BTW, I can still put the booms back on any time I need them.

baja