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I bet any of the early flareside beds would generally be the same overall dimensions as the later ones. But there are many minor differences. Some cosmetic like how the bedside is rolled at the top and how the rear fender is shaped, to major differences like the fuel filler door locations
The pre-1980 Flareside trucks had beds that did not match the cab/front fender body style so that's not a concern. I want to know if the fenders/bed of a 1978 flareside for example would fit. Would the bed length fit; the fenders line up with the rear wheels, etc..
The rear fenders are the same 1953/79, 1980/86 are different.
The tailgates are different and there's two different lengths of 1953/79's, depending on if it's a 6 1/2' bed (49 13/16" long) or an 8' bed (54 13/16" lone), same as 1953/72 9' bed tailgate.
They did cancel for the 1987 model year, but you could special order one (I think Ford wanted to deplete the existing Flareside material inventory)
Yesterday I went to the American Truck historical society Truck show.
I was the ONLY 80's series Flareside on the grounds. cheby stepside were as common as cow droppings on a farm, and lots of 40's to 60's Flaresides
