Hello Forum,
I'm hoping to get a bit of advice on the installation of my 1985 Ford's wood bed.

I have a kit from Mar K and have hit it with some cherry stain and multiple coats of marine grade polyurethane. My friend who's a woodworker has had a good look and has told me the wood should outlast the truck.

The kits from MAR K are not pre-drilled on the outermost wood pieces, so I planned to slide them in there and use a sharpie, mark where the original bolt-holes were, drill them out, install the first wood pieces.

Come to find out that the railing that holds the original square holes is rusty, has a few small pin-holes and is really chewed up on the bottom surface, the surface that would have direct contact with the TOP surface of the wood.

The first piece that I tried to line up got badly chewed up and will now have to have fresh polyurethane applied.

I've searched for those body panels and cannot seem to find them online. Does anyone know of a retailer that sells those side bed panels?

OR, any advice on being able to get the wood in there without destroying it? I put a ton of work into the wood and would hate to see it get all chewed up when it's finally installed.

Thanks in advance...JT

(In the below pic you'll see where I laid a few of the boards in just to see how it looks. I didn't try to cram the left board in at this point. You may also notice a new front bed panel and new front and rear cross-beams)

 

First off, that color does not seem to go well with your truck. Send me those planks and get yourself another set.....

In all seriousness, you are going to have to smooth down that metal to remove all of the rust and possibly replace any pieces that are too far gone. Then prime and paint before proceeding. I have a ‘77 and my bed is in good shape, but have looked and looked and cannot find anyone remaking anything for a Ford after 1972.

 

There are no replacements available......You must re-make them..
Then you need a set for diamond plate bedrail and tailgate protectors....

 

You are right...maybe just send me your address and I'll ship these ugly things your way?

That's sort of what I was afraid of, I looked at the major aftermarket retailers and haven't found anything...

Thanks for the info...

 

Do you have a pic of the tailgate protector? I'll think about it, assuming it's something you make and sell?

 

Ford used Marine-grade plywood, finished 1-side, that's what I used and painted to match.
Cost under $100.
Ford did this in 3 sections, so did I....

 

Where were you a few months ago?
I have a Mar K oak kit already...yours looks a lot more durable than I'm sure mine will turn out to be

 

Been here since 2001

 

I’ll PM you the address and see if I can find a use for them.

 

i cannot find the picture, but someone (on here I think) replaced that entire flange with thin diamond plate "L" stock. I have extra bedsides but my beds are both chewed up there worse than yours. I will have to do something similar, but I don't think I'm going with high-dollar wood planks.

 

I looked into the marine grade 3/4" plywood and they were about $80.00 each as I recall. To do a flareside bed, I thought we would need 2 pieces. So, I'd be at $160.00 just for the wood. Mostly everything else of mine was shot including the decorative strips. So, I bit the bullet and bought an oak kit.

I'm SURE that if you had even moderate woodworking skills you could get some nice plywood, cut it to size, stain it, seal it, install it and have a beautiful looking bed. I didn't have the time or skills for all of that...AND, I'm not even finished with mine yet!

 

Yep. The bedside panels on our trucks are unobtanium, no replicas out there. Junkyards are your best bet, but it looks like your sides are in pretty good shape.


On mine, there were some sections of the flange that were very bad, they had to be cut out and replaced. Yours do look pretty good.


I would attack the underside of the flanges with a sander, smooth them out and then paint the bottoms. It would not only smooth the surface but help to arrest any rust issues.


Even so it could gum up the wood - you could put the wood in place and then drill it without removing again. It would mean possibly a small pilot hole down from the top - then full size holes up from the bottom so that the drill can sit square. Remember to Poly inside the holes also.


Nice work!

 

Also is that Oak? Looks great with the Cherry stain

 

I wonder if there are any differences between these beds and the ones from an 80-92 beds other than the fenders? If not, I have a complete, rust free 82 bed I will sell. And as luck would have it, it needs new bed wood!

 

Is this the truck bed you're thinking of linked below?

Vehicle Photo

The flanges on my sides are pretty bad too...much worse than the original poster's pic above. I plan on welding on a new flange/lip...something like a 14 ga 1"x1" angle. According to my measurements, the flareside bedsides are 14ga steel.

The problem is the damn inner fender hump. You can buy new flange/lips for the trucks that have a flat/straight sides.