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1967 - 1972 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks Discuss the Bumpsides Ford Truck

Shortening a long bed

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Old May 19, 2019 | 05:29 PM
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Shortening a long bed

Hey guys, anything wrong with this plan?






I know the commonly quoted figures are 16" in front and 4" in the rear but looking at chassis diagrams is looks like 16.25" and 3.75" roughly?

Getting ready to section this bed and these spots I picked are where it won't interfere with bracing underneath. A crossmember gets eliminated up front but I believe that is normal.
 
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Old May 19, 2019 | 08:58 PM
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Check this one out...
 
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Old May 20, 2019 | 11:11 AM
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Thanks man I forgot about go fast garage. Not much info on the bed chop though. I'm one of the few keeping leaf springs at least for now.

My rear cut line is so far back because I need to keep the rear crossmember with leaf spring clearance where it is.

A shortbed might not even have that crossmember, I dont know. Anyone have some underside pics of a shortbed?
 
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Old May 20, 2019 | 06:59 PM
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Not sure if this is what you want, but here's a view from just behind the rear left tire on my 70 F100 shortbed.


 
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Old May 20, 2019 | 10:50 PM
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Awesome thanks! You dont have that other crossmember at all. Long bed has one right above the spring perch which is notched for clearance.
 
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Old May 22, 2019 | 06:47 AM
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Does anybody have more shots of the underside of a shortbed and the crossmembers?
 
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Old May 22, 2019 | 08:03 AM
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I plan to be under my truck this weekend (replacing brake lines), so I'll try to get some good pics of the underside while I've got Ole Blue up on Jack stands (sadly, no garage with a lift available to me... Not even a usable garage, I'll be using my driveway).

If no one else has posted what you need before then, I'll try to post some good pics for you. If you have specific areas you need to see, let me know. I'm guessing you mainly want to see what things look like near where your cuts will be?
 
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Old May 22, 2019 | 12:22 PM
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Yes! You are the man. I believe long bed and short bed are identical in the area near the fender wells. I'm mainly looking for the areas outside of that where I'll be chopping.

I'll take a lot of pics and video next week when I chop, hopefully we can make this a helpful thread for others doing the same. Shortbed bumps are like hen's teeth around here
 
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Old May 22, 2019 | 08:06 PM
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I have a '69 with a factory short bed. Here are some pix from underneath:









Hope that helps!
 
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Old May 23, 2019 | 01:57 AM
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That underneath is in really good shape!
 
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Old May 23, 2019 | 05:56 PM
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Ok so this is plan B now..






 
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Old May 23, 2019 | 06:03 PM
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Ignore the horizontal line above, my son wanted to make it an "h". It appears the shortbed only has two crossmembers at either end of the fender well so I will make my cuts to eliminate the two extra longbed crossmembers. The tape is just roughly laid out for now. I plan on chopping it tomorrow or next week






 
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Old May 24, 2019 | 01:16 AM
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Looks like a plan.
 
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Old May 24, 2019 | 03:07 PM
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Did some thread digging and found this on fordification :




I understand if it gets taken down. Confirms my measurements : 16.2" front and 3.8" rear
 
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Old May 30, 2019 | 06:59 AM
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Did you cut it? By doing 16 3/4" and 3 .25" did you miss the cross member or could you have done 16 & 4
 
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