I need some help guys. I have a 77 short bed stepside and was thinking on buying a regular shortbed to put in its place while i restore the stepside bed. Will this be a direct bolt on. I think the stepside wheelbase is 117" not sure about the regular shortbed. Thanks for your help.

 

I've never done it myself, and I'm a dinosaur from the past, but it's general knowledge that there are two bed lengths -- 6½ ft. and 8 ft. for full sized pickups (unless we get weird and include International Harvesters and some OLD one ton pickups).

I'd expect that you could pull the 6½ ft. stepside box from a '77 pickup, and install a 6½ ft. wide or "styleside" box with no problems. If there's any doubt -- perhaps you want to temporarily install a bed from a different year or even different model of truck -- measure the cab-to-axle dimension. If the distance from cab to rear axle is correct for the fender placement of your intended bed, I think the job would be feasible.

The only difference that comes to mind right now is fuel tanks. Do the tanks attack to the bed in any way? On my 1977 F250, there are two tank fillers behind doors on the left side of the bed. It occurs to me that a stepside might have a different arrangement for filler necks, if not tank locations and mountings. I don't think you'll encounter any insoluble problems, but take a careful look and take along a tape measure.

That's my hyperinflated two cents worth. Now let's find someone who has actually done the swap.

Lane

 

I helped a friend of mine do this same swap back in the 80's on his 78 shorty and it was all a simple bolt in exchange. I seem to recall that you should use the filler hose from the regular bed for the swap and it should work fine.

Those stepside bed's are getting very rare and hard to find, might want to keep it around for a while unless it is completely junk.

On edit, Lane the filler tank on a stepside was mounted on the rear of the driver's side fender, same as a regular box. The gas tank is still mounted in the same spot on both.

 

Live and learn. Thanks.

What about dual tank setups? Do they have dual tanks on the stepsides? The Aux. tank is the forward filler door on my wide box '77 F250. Putting that on a narrow box might be a challenge.

Mostly useless stepside trivia: I have an old '58 or '59 eight foot Chevy stepside bed. The wood floor is gone, and one running board is missing, but the rest isn't bad. I also have a 1956 International S-120 4x4 with 134" WB that came from the factory with a nine foot stepside. I've been thinking of putting the old Chevy box on the Cornbinder (which is in desperate need of a bed). I've been worrrying about cab-to-axle dimensions and such until I remembered that fenders can go anywhere on the side of a true narrow box. I can stick the box on my old truck, then bolt on the fenders in the correct location to match the wheels.

Lane

 

No dual tank's on a stepside that I am aware of.

56 binder! My father in law has a 47? KB-1 model that he just had restored!! Crank out windshield, 3 on the tree, and a big ole six cylinder! Not looking forward to his passing or anything but he already told me he would leave that 1 for me in the will, probably on account of me being the only one to fix it when it break's!

 

Yeah, I have a '56 S-120 4x4, original owner the Atomic Energy Commission, and it came with those 9.00-16 split rims that you see on the old Dodge Power Wagons -- except these are the 6 on 7½ pattern that you see on Cornbinders. I also have a 1966 1300 series 4x4, originally Navy. That one has 7.50-17 split rims, and its 6 on 7½ wheels don't swap with the other one, because it has bigger lug studs. Believe me, it's easier to find parts for a Ford!

Actually, because the '56 is a long wheelbase, came from the factory with a 9 ft. stepside (and currently has a terribly ratty 8x10 flatbed that's too big for it), I've been wanting to measure one of the Ford pickup beds from a 70's Super Camper Special. Their wheelbase was longer, but it's the cab-to-axle dimension that determines fit.

I don't think very many of today's "stepsides" are really "true" stepsides, in the sense that they are a straight box with fenders bolted on. Even my '66 International has a slight bulge inward at the fenders, that mars the lines of the 4½ x 8½ stepside box. If you have a nice looking stepside, hang onto it.

From a practical standpoint, service bodies are nice. In the days of "real" stepsides, we used to see service boxes that went onto full sized stepside pickups and did not extend above the sides of the box. One removed the stock fenders from the stepside, then installed the service boxes, which included fenders. I think it's a nice compromise for a working pickup. Not pretty, though.

Lane