I'm still waiting for VIN verification before I claim my '52 F3 (that is sadly currently sitting in a snow field now until spring thaw ).

So in the meantime, I'd love to see photos of all the platform trucks of this era with DRW to give me some ideas about how to proceed with "mine" (assuming I can in fact get it legally titled and registered).

BTW, what's the difference—if any—between a "flatbed" and a "platform" bed (or "stakebed" for that matter)?

Thanks.

 

A flatbed doesn't have stakes, but a stake bed does. I've never heard them called platform before.

Well, my stakebed doesn't have stakes yet... so it's a flatbed.

 

Here's a good old thread. Stu

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/9...s-that-is.html

 

Platform and Stake were Ford's terms for flatbeds. Here's one of their sales flyers from '49.

 

Essentially, the platform and stake beds were the same except the platform did not come from the factory with the stake sides or racks. Both platform and, of course, stake side came with the stake pockets in the side of the bed.

 

Pictures of my F4 Ford script stake bed in the flat bed mode. The front board is stock dimension.

 

i found your build thread last night (great looking truck, btw)... was thumbing through it 'til 1:am and still didn't get thru all 147 pages!

 

thanks!

 

wow, love that color combo!

so i know i've seen flatbeds that are one-piece (opposed to slats, or the boards w/ skid runners) -- was that a factory option ever? steel or plywood sheet?

 

No, the factory setup was just like Ray's, above, with the planks and metal slats except everything was painted body color, not so nicely detailed. If you look close in the pic, you can see the painted stake racks strapped to the beds.

 

 

My 1949 f-4 ....... One owner kept in the barn 22,500miles on it,I was told it was to heavy for light work and too light for heavy work! So it just kind of sat around, I'm getting ready to redo it in the spring

 

Here's mine. Not a Ford script bed though...

 

Here are some newer flatbeds:

My 1970 F350:


Another 67-72 flatbed with the original stakes


a 1965 promotional literature


A newer shot of my flatbed:


A 1956 flatbed with solid sides:


from a 1966 catalog:

 

nice!
i do a lot of "window shopping" on craigslist and it seems like all the cool old trucks are always in MT...

(actually, come to think of it, the '52 F3 i'm waiting on was originally from a dealership in MT).