Hi gents, does anyone have any measurements, diagrams or pics of the wood base for an F3 bed, I’m starting from scratch. My box has no wood or brackets left so I don’t no what thickness the wood is or placement. Appreciate any help

 

Here is a previous thread with dimensions;

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...imensions.html

Tom

 

Bruce Horkey is the guy to talk to and he has everything that is required
Ed
near Philadelphia

 

Ed is right - Horkey's is a great source to get as much of the part you will need. I was happy with the quality and availability from them.
Mar-K is another source.

Be prepared - The prices will be an eye-opener but we are talking about pickup trucks. The wood bed is a major part of what makes it what it is. And when it is all stained, finished and assembled they are awesome to look at and raise the value of the truck up by more than what it cost to buy and ship all the parts.

 

Thx guys, what I’m looking for is the specs of the wood supports, as I understand the express bed had wood beams horizontally which attach to the frame. I’m wondering if anyone knows the thickness of these supports, I’m assuming the thickness varies for each support to match the frame height.

 

I thought of another thing - On the express beds there are some offset stamped semi-flat steel bars about 7 inches (??) long that go between *some* of the wooden cross-supports and the frame. They are about 1/4" thick. Those bars have to be considered when calculating dimensions if you are making a bed from scratch and want it to sit level on the frame. I no longer have an express bed but perhaps someone here with an original or restored bed can help you see where they go and what they do. I ended up using hard plastic shims to take up that missing space and got my bed to sit perfectly level with the bottom height of the cab. Using those shims actually was better than the stock plates because the factory sometimes didn't match the lower height of the bed and cab. I drilled holes in the shims and put the hold-down bolts through them. Added and subtracted shims until I liked the bed height front and rear and in relation to the cab. A pack of shims was cheap and not visible except if you stuck your head under the bed and looked closely at the frame. Do the shimming work before you lay down the final long boards and divider strips. The bed will be much lighter to shift around.
Tom

 

Hello, I have a 52 f3 at the shop getting some work done. I made my floor supports out of clear ash I bought at the sawmill for $25.00. Two and a half inches high. The width isn't critical. I made mine two inches wide. I believe the bed is 54" wide, so I knocked off 1/4".
the two supports at the rear axle hump are notched to 7/8" or 1" if memory serves me correctly. The steel flatbar Tom is talking about is to give the two thin supports some additional strength at the hump. I used 10 gage metal. The ends of all the 53 3/4" supports need to be notched the thickness of the angle iron bed frame so your bed wood lays flat on the supports. The f2, f3 bed wood is a full 1" thick. When I made my supports, I believe stu "truck dog" had a few good diagrams on the two "hump supports" you'll need. If you have a circular saw, Sawzall, hammer and wood chisel, you can make these in a couple of afternoons and still have time for a nap.make sure the sawmill lumber is dry or it will warp. The store bought ones are nice, and as always, I boils down to what you have more of, time or money. It's been 6 or 7 years, but I think these dimensions are correct. Good luck with your.project. larry