Bed question
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Senior User
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From: Spokane, WA
Bed question
Seems like after I bought my '62, I've seen a lot more of our trucks lately. One thing I've noticed is, on the stylesides, some of the back of the beds are flat with round tail lights, and some are not so flat and have long tail lights. Is that just a difference in production years?
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Joined: Aug 2003
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Bed question
The styleside "mismatched" bed from the '58-60 models was only used on the factory 4x4 '61-'64 models (this is the "flat-sided" bed with the round taillights you were referromg to). If you notice, the bodywork on this bed doesn't match the more curved '61-'64 cab body styling.
Prior to '61, Ford contracted an outside company for 4x4 conversions. Don't know why the "mismatched" bed was used on 4 wheel drive models...maybe some sort of driveline/wheel clearance issue? Anyone know the full story?
Also, if memory serves correctly, you could get a "unibody" '61-'63 F-100. This particular body style pretty much matched the 4x2 styleside, however the bed and the cab were one continuous piece, instead of having the more normal two-piece construction of a regular pickup. It wasn't a true unibody, as the truck's frame and body structure weren't one piece (as it is when we say a car is of unibody construction).
Clear as mud? :-)
Prior to '61, Ford contracted an outside company for 4x4 conversions. Don't know why the "mismatched" bed was used on 4 wheel drive models...maybe some sort of driveline/wheel clearance issue? Anyone know the full story?
Also, if memory serves correctly, you could get a "unibody" '61-'63 F-100. This particular body style pretty much matched the 4x2 styleside, however the bed and the cab were one continuous piece, instead of having the more normal two-piece construction of a regular pickup. It wasn't a true unibody, as the truck's frame and body structure weren't one piece (as it is when we say a car is of unibody construction).
Clear as mud? :-)
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Spokane, WA
Bed question
Yeah, real clear - thanks, I think. Actually it's good stuff to know. I'll just read your posts a couple more times to let it sink in. Up until I started with this group I thought unibodies were one piece, and I kinda remember meeting a guy who had a long bed who was helping a friend move his refrigerator. I couldn't believe the truck didn't warp itself into a pretzel after half a zillion miles and at least 30 years on it at the time.
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Joined: Nov 2000
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From: Illinois
Bed question
This is what I was told by a retired Ford engineer.....
Ford put all their eggs in the Unibody basket. Truck buyers at the time likened the one piece bodies to the light duty Rancheros and stayed away from the Fords. So Ford had to offer a styleside bed to go with the Uni and the stepsides. The only thing they had to offer was the 57-60 bed as they had not planned for a new styleside besides the Unibody. They had to get their dies back from South America to produce more of the 57-60 beds. By 64, they had the new beds designed to match the body lines.
What he told me about why the Unibody trucks have different doors was interesting. The "angled" bodyline was supposed to be the design they wanted. Only after they put some together with a flatbed did they notice the the truck appeared to be sagging in the middle. The optical illusion made the trucks look like the frames were bent. So, according to him, this is why the rest of the trucks have the "dog-leg" bodyline.
The reason 61-66 4x4's (except 66 F100 4x4's) recieved the old bed was because the wheelbase was different than the 2x4 trucks.
Ford put all their eggs in the Unibody basket. Truck buyers at the time likened the one piece bodies to the light duty Rancheros and stayed away from the Fords. So Ford had to offer a styleside bed to go with the Uni and the stepsides. The only thing they had to offer was the 57-60 bed as they had not planned for a new styleside besides the Unibody. They had to get their dies back from South America to produce more of the 57-60 beds. By 64, they had the new beds designed to match the body lines.
What he told me about why the Unibody trucks have different doors was interesting. The "angled" bodyline was supposed to be the design they wanted. Only after they put some together with a flatbed did they notice the the truck appeared to be sagging in the middle. The optical illusion made the trucks look like the frames were bent. So, according to him, this is why the rest of the trucks have the "dog-leg" bodyline.
The reason 61-66 4x4's (except 66 F100 4x4's) recieved the old bed was because the wheelbase was different than the 2x4 trucks.
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Randy Jack
1948 - 1956 F1, F100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
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Feb 5, 2005 08:11 PM
