Anyone have any ideas for a replacement floor for my F100, mine is completly gone, and was replaced with plywood before I got the truck, anyone have any Ideas or plans for a replacement floor, I'd like to go with a wooden floor that will look like it came in the truck, as 2 sheets of plywood butted against each other in the middle of the box doesn't look very good.
Evan MacDonald

 

I have an '87 Flareside that needs a new floor too, and I found a place that specializes in the woodwork. Go to the local convenience store and get a copy of Old Car Trader. In the yellow pages in the back is an ad for a place in Minnesota that sells all the stuff you need. I lost the number or I would give it to you. No idea about the pricing, but hopefully it isn't too bad. I wore mine out carrying my worthless broken Jap motorcycles home. Wish those HD's were cheaper.

 

check out Bruce Horkey cabinetry (507-831-5625), and MAR-K (405-721-7945). Both companies make wooden floor kits for pickups and the quality is
excellent.

Ken

 

I was hoping that someone had done this themselves, 'cause I have some nice juniper that has been drying for the last 2 months, and it would make the perfect bed floor, I just need some ideas for the supports, as all that is holding it up now is the plywood and ½" aluminum angle iron on top of wooden crossmembers, and it isn't just ugly, but the left side of the box is 3" ahead of the right, and the right rear corner is down quite a bit, as you might be able to see on my page.
<a href="http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/mtflemm.mac/fordpage/trucks.html">http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/mtflemm.mac/fordpage/trucks.html</a>
Guess I'll design as I go along, if I have any luck, I'll post the plans.
Evan MacDonald

 

Hey man, I was in your shoes last summer! The way I did it, was I got 3 pieces of the highest quality plywood I could find. It originally came from FoMoCo with three pieces. You should have 5 steel strips in the back of your bed, when I make references to them in this paragraph be sure to count from left to right, as if you were looking at the bed from the back. The way it came in my truck was the middle board was the largest, and the two outer boards were the same size, and smaller than the middle. This is the way that I measured it, the second, and fourth strip will fall in the seam between the three pieces, hope you're following me, it's confusing! You can figure out where the strips go, by just running a pin at each end of the strip through the steel at the front, and back of the bed. Your next step is to Measure the middle board, by cutting approx. parts off of it, leaving enough to trim. Now you have all three of your boards. The next step is to put the two outer boards in place, then with a pencil trace the small indentation where the bed sinks in, for the tire clearance.
When you're done with that you can start preparing for the holes.

The first step in doing the holes is to align the bed first, on your chassis, then run some pins, or bolts through it, but don't tighten them down, they don't even need nuts on the end. Next step, put in the cross beams, or cross members. Then put in wood on top of that. This is where you have to be very careful, don't let the bed move! From the underside, with everything aligned, take a pencil and mark all of the holes, going through the chassis, and through the cross members. Take wood back out, then drill holes. Once you're finished with that, put everything back in, using the order above.

Time for the strip holes!
Your next step for that, is to put in the strips, using the holes you just drilled for them in the front, and back of the bed. My method, was to have a buddy stand on the strip, while I was drilling, to keep it even. I just drilled straight through the strip and all! If you do use this method though, don't EGG OUT THE HOLES IN THE STRIPS, or else the carriage bolts won't fit!!!!!!

Next step, take everything back out of the bed, AGAIN! (sheesh!) = ] Then treat your wood. The way I would treat my wood, if I could do it again, would be to use, instead of white primer, thinned out oil paint, the same color of your truck. After that has set, paint on in fairly heavy strokes of oil paint. Just incase you're wondering, car quality paint, like for body parts, etc. WILL NOT WORK! The wood absorbs it like water, and it doesn't seal very well! A little tip for you though, is to paint the holes, and let it run down in there, until it's coated, so the rot doesn't start again.

By this time your wood should be dried, with the final coat already applied! YAY! YAY! YAY! At this point you've got three choices. You can just slap it together, and be done with this hellish task. You can reapaint the strips, and be done with this hellish task proudly. Or you can do what I did, beat the hellish task, back to where it came from! What I did was go all out, and paint the whole chassis under the bed, the drive shaft, the rear axle, and every thing else that can be shot with paint! After I was done with the painting frenzy, I replaced the rear shocks while the bed was off. (way to easy!) I put in a new fuel sending unit which I purchased from a junkyard for two bucks. (again way to easy!) I then changed out the U-joints, and did the rear brakes! Believe me man, do it now while the bed is off! If you be lazy, it's going to bite you in the a*s later!

Well I sure hope this helps you out man, Enjoy your truck to the fullest, flaresides are some of the best!

Sincerely,

-Christopher J. Salisbury 2nd Lt. USAF

 

Hey guys. I recently re-floored the bed in my 87 stepside. Like the man said the floor is 3 pieces of plywood and you will need 2 sheets of wood. The factory used paper faced plywood that is normally used for making signs. The paper is hardened with something, possibly the glue that holds the wood laminations together. Anyway it resembles thin formica. The reason for the paper face is that it doesn't soak up paint like a wood surface. I used marine plywood from a boat yard that is treated with arsenic among other things. The plywood has a green tint. Two sheets were over 120.00. The paper face on the origional is on the upper surface only and it WILL NOT absorb water. The origional wood was still good except for where it absorbed water from the edges which are exposed to water spray from the wheel wells. This made the floor rot right where the side bodys of the bed sit on it. When I put it back I used some aluminum sheet metal bent to resemble angle iron and sandwiched it between the side body and floor so it hangs over the exposed edge of the floor under the wheel wells. Then I caulked it good under there and painted it. I wanted the wood look on the floor instead of painted, and I got my wish but I am still putting polyurethane on it after a years time.--S Falkner

 

Evan ,
Good looking little truck you have there . Just asking because because I noticed the adress of your web page ... Youre from Ns ? I am as well , live in the Usa now . Anyway , What has become popular lately is sprayed in bed liners . I was thinking as long as the underside of the wood was protected , undercoated , the whole bed would last for some time .
Paul

 

I still haven't done it, can't find the metal strips that hold the floor in, nearly every truck I have seen has them rotted out, is there any source other than a Dealer?
Evan MacDonald
82 F100 FlareSide
84 300-6, 66 240 head
83 NP435(6.69 low)
Blue

 

 

Bed strips are available from Mar-K in Oklahoma City OK www.mar-k.com