I need to look into those battery cables. I currently have some pretty sketch but very functional welding lead battery cables I snagged from my old work.

 

Next up was finishing up the rearend, I bought new axle seals, new bearings, new studs, new rotors, new motorcraft super duty pads, new centric calipers, new rubber and steel brake lines, and everything has been painted or STEEL-IT'd.

 

Alright now we're at 3 months ago, the actual manufacturing of the flatbed, so this I'll get into a little more detail, because I know I've skimmed over SO many things, and left out a lot of little stuff, including A LOT of the problems I've had along the way too lol.


Completed, completely assembled.

The deck hidden an the perimeter/holding rack hidden. Here you can see the frame, very stripped, and lightweight while still being very strong.

Started making swiss cheese.

A little assembly, I tried to design this entire bed to Lock and "Tab" together, so it was entirely self-jigging. No need for the truck to assemble it.


This bed I really stressed fitment as well, so after hundreds of hours of designing, scraping, starting over, I finally found a design that works well and looks good. No big gaps, very easy to assemble/weld/sand.

All the side rails, and the inner frame/ribs welded together

You can see the tabbing done here for every rib, to keep the frame inline and square.

Another Fitment shot, very tight and easy to weld.

Set on the truck just to see how it looks.

 

Then up next was the gas tank. Last time I made a 30 gallon tank out of 14ga (.075") Steel, and MIG welded it all together. This time I made it out of 1/8" Aluminum, it holds about 42-44 gallons, and is still lighter than my last one. I needed this part done next to get the truck driving again.


All the pieces cut out

Formed up, ready for assembly

Inner view of the simple baffling to prevent too much fuel sloshing.

Assembled together, ready for welding

I formed over all of the inside edges, making extra material underneath to weld to, this makes for a SUPER easy weld, and typically does not require any filler rod when welding.

The rear mount, that attaches to the frame crossmember right behind the tank.

The front mounts, attaches to the flatbed itself


Gusseting for the rear mount.

All welded up, ready for install to get the truck moving again!

 

Next up were the little accessories to make the bed road-worthy.



Formed up the tailight housings, these were some pretty deep channels that make for some interesting press-brake work, but I got it figured out in the end.

Installed the tailight housings and the license plate mount

Gas tank installed and filler neck installed. Straight 2" tube, no bends and no restrictions. Hopefully able to fill the tank with the big-truck pumps on full blast. Also utilizes the stock pickup/sending unit. This is only used for the gas gauge and a fuel return, you can also see on the far side, a -8 AN fuel rollover valve for a vent, should allow me to fill at an extremely fast rate.

Filler neck/gas cap is hidden behind a door on a hinge, also attaches with a little push button magnet.

Formed airbag mounts, should be stout enough haha.


Gas tank installed, with the fuel sump.


Tailights, license plate, and license plate light installed

 

Some press brake work, bending up some 3/8" thick Steel for the gooseneck mount.

Our press brake is capable of 350 tons, and with the correct tooling, is capable of bending 10ft of 3/8" steel, or 8ft of 1/2" steel. So this 3ft was a walk in the park.


Installed. I found out the gooseneck ***** are the same shape and design as the bumper hitch *****, so I designed it so that a threaded 2 5/16" ball with 1 1/2" shank (rated at 30,000 lbs) will just drop in and then sinch down the nut on the bottom. I hardly ever have the need for a gooseneck, so I dont mind the added time of screwing on a ball. Should be rated for some serious weight, and is located directly above a frame mounting hole, distributing stress into the truck frame as well as the bed frame.


In CAD I was able to simulate a 102" wide trailer and position the hitch as far forward as I could, then designed some key-ways to make it locate the hitch without having to do anything, just drop it in and weld it.

This is for the bumper hitch. 3/8" thick main plate, with 1/4" ribs, housing a 2.5", Class V receiver tube, so it should be ready for some work!

This part also features tab and slots to make for quick and easy assembly.


Headache rack all cut and formed, I made it out of 3 pieces for simplicity of handling/forming and material savings (not wasting material because of nesting)

 

Then installed the headache rack, still need to finish weld it.

Installed


Receiver hitch welded up

Lower fascia installed and welded on

Action shots


Front hook plate welded on, with the reducer sleeve installed

My drop distribution hitch installed, perfect fit.

Deck installed. 1/8" thick diamond plate, but I did not weld it on, instead, its completely bolt on with counter sink bolts. Did you notice the small tabs formed 90* on the ribs underneath in the earlier pictures? This makes for easy access to the gas tank, or if the deck ever gets damaged I can replace it fairly easily.

 

Dan, I cant even imagine that bed getting damaged. It would have to be a tree or a really hard hit. I like the fuel tank design ALOT. Did you do away with dual tanks altogether?

 

Yes I got rid of the rear tank with the old bed. It was just too small and the factory selector valve is too prone for issues, so I did away with it all. I am thinking about making a tank that fits in the rear tanks location, with a transfer pump to the front tank, but it also seems like more work than its worth.

 

That is a sweet flatbed! You have some mad fab. skills! On the gooseneck hitch, did you consider a B&W style turnover ball? It would have had to be mounted under the bed surface, with a door/flap to cover it.

 

I did consider a B&W hitch, but it was costly and I was too cheap, plus I would have to modify it to fit my bed right. They sell a universal flatbed version, but I didnt like it that much.

 

Wow man! that is a beautiful ford! Id imagine its rust free too since its got cali plates, Personally don't prefer the flatbed but hey its your truck not mine after all! id personally would put some tow mirrors on it, kinda looks weird with the small mirrors in my opinion. Love the wheels though! are they actual beadlocks too?

Keep us posted on your progress!

 

I'd be pretty happy with overall fit and finish after all the work. Where are you at with it now? Meaning, are you satisfied or d o you still have a to-do list?

 

Hey there Byron he still has to do my truck next, dont give him crazy ideas lol.

 

Yeah it has very very little rust. I had the windshield replaced because it leaked into the cab when raining, and when the guy replaced it, he said the trim was a little rusted, so he scuffed it up, primered it, and installed the new windshield. Thankfully because I live in california, A LOT of my work is still raw steel under the truck, and has been that way for almost 2 years now, I just go down there with some WD-40 and its good for another year lol.

The flat bed originally wasnt my first choice, but my boss offered to pay for it, given we could use it for the shop. So I essentially got the bed for free, powdercoat costs and all. The wheels are not beadlocks unfortunately, I wish!
The tow mirror idea I would love, but there is NO mirror that I think really "fits" the truck, other than the OG bar-plate mirrors, and those are hard to find that are in good shape, sturdy, dont rattle, etc. so I'm holding out until I find something that works well.
I'm no where near finished, like I said earlier, I still have to finish my 4wd conversion, and then i get to dive into the motor and really start making some power. I want to be in the 500-550whp range, so we'll see.
Dont fight over me yet boys! hahaha