Shortening a longbox
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Junior User
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Shortening a longbox
My 14yr old son is restoring a 68 f100 swb and the body will need replacing. As these boxes are scare and pricey, I was wondering if there is any reason I couldn't take 1.5' out of the front of a longbox. Has anyone done this?
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 24,552
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From: Creedmoor, North Carolina
crg, I don't recommend doing it. To do it right you have to take a section out of the front and behind the wheel well. You have to make 4 cuts and 2 welds from the west coast to the east coast.
A 14 year old doesn't have a license yet, so you have time to keep looking. Beds from 67 to 72 will work and they are not that scarce.
Rushing a project along is not a good thing. IMHO
John
A 14 year old doesn't have a license yet, so you have time to keep looking. Beds from 67 to 72 will work and they are not that scarce.
Rushing a project along is not a good thing. IMHO
John
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To give a bit more history....we live on the ocean so the only non rusted boxes are either imported and expensive or a ferry trip ($125 each way) and alot of driving away. AND..... I have wanted, watched and advertised for over five years. This rusty one was the first I'd found in the 67-72 era I wanted for him. AND.....I own a nice Lincoln MIG and have a ton of bodywork experience which I would like to start passing on to my son.
I'm not worried about shortening the box but hoping to find out tricks or pitfalls and if the box is only different ahead of the wheelwells.
Thanks for the input.
I'm not worried about shortening the box but hoping to find out tricks or pitfalls and if the box is only different ahead of the wheelwells.
Thanks for the input.
Originally Posted by jowilker
crg,
A 14 year old doesn't have a license yet, so you have time to keep looking. Beds from 67 to 72 will work and they are not that scarce.
Rushing a project along is not a good thing. IMHO
John
A 14 year old doesn't have a license yet, so you have time to keep looking. Beds from 67 to 72 will work and they are not that scarce.
Rushing a project along is not a good thing. IMHO
John
Fleet Owner
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 24,552
Likes: 74
From: Creedmoor, North Carolina
Ouch, They are still plentyful in North Carolina, so we sometimes forget about places like the coast.
The bed still needs to be cut in front of and behind the wheel well to keep it correct.
Have fun
John
The bed still needs to be cut in front of and behind the wheel well to keep it correct.
Have fun
John
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Junior User
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LOL. I accually cancelled my ebay search for these swb 1/2 tons as over 90% were in N/S Carolina or GA! I figured those people were the few that knew a good thing when they saw it!
Originally Posted by jowilker
Ouch, They are still plentyful in North Carolina, so we sometimes forget about places like the coast.
The bed still needs to be cut in front of and behind the wheel well to keep it correct.
Have fun
John
The bed still needs to be cut in front of and behind the wheel well to keep it correct.
Have fun
John
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It's classic salt air cancer. The sides are a mess along the seam,bed pitted right thru with the front sides gone etc. I've seen threads where brave souls break all the spotwelds and take it right apart. Not for me.
Originally Posted by pud
is the bed of the box toast? You can buy just the bedsides also.
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Posting Guru
Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Quesnel, BC, Canada
not sure on this, but ive seen many 70s fords with later model boxes on them...you could search around to see if the boxes off one fit your truck, then order some box sides. You were talking about chopping a longbox down, so this sounds like not too bad of a possible solution.
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