i need a little insight... i have a 66 longbed with a 300 6 (not original) that i want to fix up. my friend has a 66 shortbed with a 352 original though tranny was changed out some time back. he has offered it to me as a parts car. though niether of them run, i was wondering if the shortbed would be a better project than my longbed because of value of body type and engine type, or would the longbed be better. can anyone give me some insight as to value of body types? also can anyone tell me if there is a way to tell if by the casting numbers on an engine, you can get an idea as to age or type of vehicle it was originally installed in? i really want to learn about this stuff.

thanks
pigdaddy1

 

wow id say witch truck is in better shape and witch do you like the look of better? i like the long bed better! as to value its been said that fewer short beds were produced so its probably worth a little more if its a unibody its worth a lot more. id look at withch would take the least work body wise motors can aways be changed and upgraded.
just my2c

 

I would say that if its a fleetside shortbed, it is definitly more rare and worth more to collectors. If you want a work truck then the longbed holds more and may be a better choice. I love my shortbed and looked for a good one for a long time, passing up cheaper longbeds in the search. Plus if its a 352 truck, then its even harder to find! But it comes down to which one you like better and which one is in salvageable condition. If the shortie is a rustbucket and the longbed is solid, then the longbed would be a better choice. you can always swap the motors back and forth without much difficulty. Better yet, fix them both up! Good luck

Mark

 

Mark, What's to worry, take both. The short bed is more sought after, but engines and trannys are bolted in. Make one your sunday truck and the other everyday.

John

 

COLOR=Navy]Blub Gurgle Gasp Gasp blup.... cough! What A Hurricane![/COLOR]

One of the Greek Philosophers, probably Socrates once said;"There is no accounting for Human tastes", meaning there's a butt made for every seat.

The worth of Long Bed over Short Bed is academic. It is strictly up to whoever wants which one. . . . The Good News is they're both worth plenty. Some prefer SWB while others prefer LWB. It's all in their individual tastes & beliefs. My personal taste is with the SWB, and Styleside Bed Type, but I know guys who believe their SWB Flareside is the catsazz so it's a never ending debate. I know guys who wouldn't own a SWB & drive some righteous LWB Styleside "Slicks" instead. However it is easier to sell a SWB than LWB generally speaking. Both will bring a good price when correctly & well done.

Worth & Value IMHO is not which style Slick one drives, but what one does with their slick. How one "tweaks" it to suit those same personal tastes no one can account for.

Again, these geat trucks, 61 thru 66 F Series, are all over the board as to how they're prepared, set up, bulit and/or restored by owners. Having said all this, I'll throw in DO NOT"Do" your truck based on what it may be worth when you're finished. I say this because:

1, They're never finished. They're always a work in progress we drive, in-between tinkering, tweaking, working on, changing/ improving & whatever.

2, When done correctly, there is [B]ALWAYS MORE INVESTED IN TIME, EFFORT, $$ RESOURCES & GENERAL OUTLAY, THAN WE CAN EVER GET BACK.[B] Building and owning a special interest vehicle is not what "Wall Street" ever considers to be a great investment.

On the positive side, I've a lot more to show for all I put into my slick, than my buddies have from spending endless dollars & hours playing golf, fishing & hunting, boating etc. I'm not getting down on Golf, Fishing, Hunting & Boating, I'm just using them as examples of even less return for what's layed out than messing with special interest vehicles.

So I agree with TremecGTs' statement "Fix 'em Both up!".
Tho' I doubt I'd re-do them both to the same degree. BUT, I'd use one to offset costs of the other. I've had my "Slick" since 73. It is on a 3rd & final chassis this time. It's gone through several major metamorphisis over 30 odd years I owned it. Last time I mounted it on a 79, F150, Trailer Special Chassis with everything I've always wanted, and more for performance, handling, ride, safety etc.

I'm going to mention this again while I've got the soap box, Fleetside and Stepside are both "Blow Tie" terms. FoMoCo calls their Pick Up model beds Styleside & Flare Side, which is why Blow Tie had to go & choose Fleetside & Stepside instead. Blow Tie also had Fleetline & Fleet Master models of cars, "back in the day".

And that's my $.02 on which FoMoCo F Series Slick is worth more. . . .

FBp

 

I agree with fordboy pete. My personal favorite is the shortbed flareside which is on my truck. I know the flaresides are more rare and they make your head turn when you see one. Ill have to change my signaure from stepside to flareside, dont want to be caught with a bowtie term! My truck is completley orginal excpet for a few modifications under the hood. Its got the orginal 352 engine, orginal Borg-Waner Transmssion, orignal everything except for the rear bumper which is a 300 pound beast. I read in a magazine somewhere that the 66 Ford Truck is the 3rd most collectible Ford Truck.

 

god i love this sight!!
every answer is corect and full of help

 

Hey Pete glad to see ya head poked in again. Yall be battling them canes pretty hard this year, now ya got Bush-Kerry in tonight to add more to the fray.

I think ya left off the first [ in your post.


John

 

John,
Thanx Man! I 'preciate it from ya.
It's good to be able to be back on line, and in the A/C again. Also cathardic & very theraputic to get my mind away from & off our situation here, for a while, atleast.

Those 130 Mph Storms rolling off the Atlantic are not something to be taken Lightly, let me tell ya, fo' sho'! You'd not believe the utter and catastrophic destruction this last "Bad Boy" dealt out here abouts. The others were no slouch, but this Jeanne was a Honest to God killer Storm.

Eight people in FL died. 1700 died in Haiti too, more in Cayman Is. It leveled buildings, tore roofs off "Hard Built" structures, flat exploded mobile homes spreading wreckage over miles & miles of country side. We lost Daytona Beach. The ocean has swallowed up swimming pools from Motels, Hotels, Resorts & Condos along beachside. Waves are lapping at foundations of some buildings there. More than 4 feet of beach sand, in a ribbon 150 to 200 feet wide & the whole length of the beach has vanished, all 22 miles of it. The problem now is inland rivers are rising, exceeding 100 year Flood planes. Records are falling fast as new ones are being set almost daily. Sub Divisions are under water. Hundreds of homes have as much as 3 feet of water in them. They look like they're in a lake.

No matter how bad all that seems, let me tell ya, by far, WORST thing of all to come along was FEMA & their Bottom Feeding "Fema Carnies" that follow FEMA & Disasters around. These Vagabonds are carion, predators with a "Gold Rush" mentality. They,ll show up, check out what's needed then go around stealing what they need so they can do work for FEMA Money. There's no regulation, accountability, or any way to ID these characters in their broken down, unsafe, often unregistered & uninsured trucks that aren't fit to be on the road.

One of these gypsies cut a slot thru a 6 ft chain link fence with barb wire & security camera, went inside, painted a camera lens, threw Aircraft parts on my 18ft Flat Bed trailer on the ground, cut my landing gear lock & ball latch lock, cut a 5/16ths chain on a front gate, and stole my trailer so they could haul "Storm Debris", which Fema was Paying $6 per cu/yd to haul. With 8ft plywood sides, my trailer has 30 cu/yd capacity. It gets them $180 a Load. They all avg 8 to 10 loads a day, so thieves can earn up to $1800/ day with my stolen trailer! That's $18,000 potential in 10 days! I counted 100 trailers at a landfill. 13 had tags, the other 87 did not. 1/2 the trucks didn't have tags or visible ID either. . . . I didn't see my trailer.
The Law will not do anything because they're "Looking The Other Way" since the Fema Carnies are all helping us out, or so they claim. They aren't doing anybody any favors. They're all get overpaid for what they're doing. Over 50 flatbed trailers, same type as mine, disappeared in this county alone, in the last month, or let me say were reported stolen in the last month. How is that helping anybody out? I'm out $3,000 since my trailer was rated @ 10K# capacity & is/was 18 footer with electronic brakes. So, bad as storms & floods were, aftermath seems to be much worse, to me. I can't get anybody to pay attention, after an initial police report on the incident.

Then there's Mamma, she's an upper level Administrator in a State Agency with Major Incident Management System training. All MIMS response team personnel were sent to various disaster areas throughout the State. She's in South Florida where Hurricane Jeanne made landfall. She'll be there another 10 days. They sleep on cots in a minor league Base Ball Stadium, for now. No Power, No Restaurants, No Motels/ Hotels, Hot meals from a "puke & choke wagon" 3 times a day, and use fiberglass Porta Potties in 90 degree heat. I gotta ask myself how rough is that? And Isn't she helping "Us" out more than those *X%$<>~#@ imported FEMA Carnies?

I'm not complaining mind y'all, I'm just letting y'all know how our lives have gone to HELL in a croaker sack in a matter of 6 weeks time. It'll get better over time. It has to, it sure can't get much worse. Oh Yeah, power has been off for some folks so very long, that when it comes back on their houses catch fire. A few have actually burned to the water line because Fire Fighters can't drive through a lake, on roads they can't see under several feet of water, to get to them.

So Thanx for the Flowers John, It's sure nice to know y'all care. Hey, Didja Move to Creedmore or something recently? When did I miss that event?

Compared to everything else, the "debate" has little consequence to most of us right now, 'round these parts atleast. Like it's just another TV SHOW for now, Ya Know?

Take Care Buddy & GOD Speed, John

FBp. . . .

 

Sorry to hear what you and many other Floridians are going through John. It's pretty sad that natural disasters bring not only the good in people, but also the bad as well.

Wishing this all becomes a fading memory as quickly as possible,
dagger

 

Hey dagger,
Thanx MAn! I can use the good thoughts,to be certain. BTW I'm Pete, John, [aka JO Wilker] is up there with y'all in the Tarheel.

Ya NC Boys best watch out, I heard some FEMA Carion Creeps are headed your way to "Help Out [yeah right]" with flooding in the Western Tarheel, VA, MD, PA & such.

I got Kin in Cashiers NC. He told me part of NC Hiway 64 went down the mountain in a mud slide as Ivan, or Jeanne went by last week. I guess they got hammered big time with Flash Floods & all that stuff. His chunk is safe & sound, but they've lost bridges & road sections etc.

Oh Get Ready Guys. . . the Lava Dome in Mt St Helens has begun groaning & moving down in the crater bowl itself. I'm no geologist fo' sho', but I do know when lava dome wakes up, & gets "squirlley", A Pyroclastic Blast is soon to follow. It would seem that's gonna be sooner than later. I'd avoid that part of the Country for a time if I were y'all.

FBp

 

Brain fart - I knew that Pete, sorry for name mix. Must be the anticipation waiting for my Slick to get here. And as far as FEMA Carion, I believe they're legal to shoot in NC

dagger

 

Hey It's Okay with me dagger, I don't mind being confused with John, I'm just worried he may not feel the same way 'bout being confused w/ me, doncha see.

When is your "Slick" supposed to roll in Man? I just hope it gets beyond the range of Mount St. Helens before it 'splodes again, huh?

I don't want to tell ya how to run your life Man, but I will tell ya to drive & use your new "Slick" for a while before you start doing any Mods or changes to it. As you drive and operate it, and get the feel of it, make notes and write stuff down so ya can do a prospectus and recipe or plan of what you really want to do with it.

Otherwise it can get away from ya & turn into a real Monkey Goat Rope. If ya ever tried to pull a Goat, you can imagine what it would be like if the rope's a bunch of monkeys holding hands.

It's far easier to make changes and corrections on paper than after you've spent $$$ and made changes/ modifications of the Slick itself. Catch my drift with that concept? Besides a Plan/ Recipe can become a "Build Document" or a journal for/ of what you did. that's always worth something when you go to sellin' it later, or rememberin' what you did with/ to what, ya know what I mean?

FBp

 

No Problems here mon, Don't care what ya call me as long as ya call me three times a day and don't call me late.

Pete, Times are a changing, used to be someone that stole something wouldn't use it to work with. They probably stole the truck pulling it to.

I long for my youth again, when you could drive up to my shop, go inside, get something, and be back in an hour or so putting it back where ya found it. I stopped buying good wrenches for the theiving buggers to come take.

John FBJ aka fat boy John

 

No problem with the advice Pete/all - you guys are the ones with experience which I'm trying to learn from. I'm not a complete novice as I use to restore '65 Mustangs, but these trucks are new beasts to me. What I'm doing now is trying to absorb what has been/can be done with the '66 Slicks. Rusting truck beds seems to be a very high incidence problem and one that causes alot of grief - so I'm trying to determine is this is one area I should plan to do something about, and 2) it should be high (or not) on the priority list. So yes, I will be doing the approach you suggest and making a list of things I'd like to do (or should do) first while I drive it a while, then start the upgrading. I hope you'll tolerate my excitement about getting this truck as reading the past threads and asking questions now are just prepping me to know what to plan for.

OK, will assess the condition of the bed when I get it. I like the idea of drain holes (I assumed it had some from factory) so will consider adding a couple, and will consider a bed liner once I put a project plan together for the truck.

Thanks again all,
dagger