Hello all,

I have a 1975 Ford F100 that I am currently rehabbing. It was in great shape 25 years ago but then....sat for almost 20 years outside a few blocks from the ocean. There are some rusty areas that need some attention now.

I am going to tackle the bed first. Overall it is in decent shape. Someone had applied an undercoating to it many years ago. It had chipped away in some areas and rust developed. Particularly around a few of the carriage bolt mounts. I need to do some reworking of the sheet metal in these locations and blast away the old coating and apply a new one.

I have already removed all the carriage bolts and the fuel filler neck. I am going to disconnect the wiring to the taillights here soon. Then I will use a shop crane to lift the bed off the frame.

I need to get access to the underside of the bed. I do not have a lift.

My question is....has anyone tried rolling a bed over and letting it sit upside down on the ground? Will this likely damaged the body? Assume that rust has not weakened the overall rigidity of my bed.

I'm thinking I could throw a moving blanket over the side of the bed to provide some protection for the roll over.

Thanks guys.

Anthony

 

I wouldn't let it sit directly on the ground. You need several people to do this so you don't just let it flop to the ground, or pin you down or worse.

 

A bed that is "stood up" on the headboard (cab end) is a lot easier to work on than stretching out over one on the ground. Two people can easily pick a bed up to stand on end. All the crap you scrape ,sand ,cut off falls at your feet.That's how I have dun 'em.

 

Agreed. Stand the bed on end. If you must work with it flat on the ground, it's easy for two people to gently tip it over and lay it flat.
Just so you know, a long bed weighs 397 lbs.

 

X2 on just stand it on its header panel (front) end. Be mindful of the fwd bottom edges when you go to rotate it. At least set it on 2 good sturdy pallets, so it is off the ground.

 

good idea. I didn’t even think of that.