So what did you all think of my bed pics? Im trying to dress things up in that dept. any ideas?

 

Hi Dan

The bed pics were good. I looks like you have a few patches that have been tacked in place and the welds need to be finished up.

If you are going to hold onto that bed, you could probably do some gringing on the finished welds to bring them down then, maybe Rhino Line (coat) it. That will ad some rust preventive, and it covers a multitude of flaws.

Or, you could get a new piece of diamond steel and weld in in right on top of the old bed and fender wells.

J!

 

You just don't get it do you??? I'm not putting you down. If I did you would see a great difference. I was poking fun at you because you are so wrapped up in all this terminology crap. Lighten up a bit and enjoy life. With an attitude like yours you must be miserable. While you were so busy gathering quotes from things said between Julie and I you seemed to have completely missed the fact that we were referring to stuff from another time and place. I knew Julie before she got on the FTE forums. A lot of what we say is reference to private jokes and stuff said other places at other times. Things said here often are a reminder of other things said other places. If you paid more attention to the subtle things and less time defending your inflated ego you might just figure some of that out. You remind me of the guy who reads the headline and forms an opinion before reading the article.

Tell me, is the sum total of you talent limited to you vast knowledge of Ford truck history? Is that it, or is there more? How about showing us what you can do. I think we have all pretty much figured out what you know by now. Would it really be a shock to you to know that a lot of us really don't care that much if we say the wrong thing once in a while. Lives don't depend on it and we aren't getting paid for it. Most of us are just here for fun and enjoyment and you sure aren't doing a lot for that cause.

As for your pitiful litte remarks, I really don't care. What you say makes no difference in my life or well being. If you would take the time to think it out, nothing I say affects your life or well being either. So what's the big deal??? Like I said, LIGHTEN UP !!!

 

Well, at least you didn't mention our affair, David!!!!

You know me Dave - forever the jokester. I guess we understand the jokes because we were there...Not the first time others haven't! And you know who I'm talking about not understanding the last time! (father has never forgiven me, right - tee hee).... It's rough being beautiful, sexy, AND funny.

But hey - now that you are here, the welding and welding equipment guy in the know, take a look at Dans pictures. You know me, if he wanted lights in there I could tell him how to install them. Welding...not my bag. What would you do with those unfinished seams that are spot welded?

Can they be finished neatly or do you think he should weld down another sheet on top?

I need to do mine pretty soon so it will be interesting to find out!

J!

 

THE LAST WORD

 

Hi Julie,
Just to be sure I'm looking at the right thing, give me a link to the picture you are talking about.

As long as there is good solid metal there you can usually fix the problem. You mentioned that it was spot welded. Actual spot welds require the metal to be overlapped to provide a place for the weld which is applied by electrodes pressure contacting either side delivering a high current pulse which fuses the metal together in that small spot. That overlap joint is not desirable because it requires a lot of grinding and filler. In spite of what you see on those TV shows where they pile on tons of filler, the best finish product is one where the least filler is used. If you have a place where a lot of filler is needed it is better to use lead. The problem with lead is twofold. First, it's nasty stuff. With al the bad press it has gotten as of late, people are scared to touch the stuff. It can be used safely with a few basic precautions taken. Second, it's not a skill that comes easy. Some people never figure out how to do it and others pick it right up. The mext best thing is a metal based body filler. They are more expensive and harder to find unless you have access to a dedicated auto body paint and supply place.

If in fact it is a patch where they have just welded it in butt to butt with small welds seperated by even spaces, that is a whole lot easier to fix. I would of course suggest using a TIG and an heat sync to prevent warping. The old school way when all they had was torches, was to braze weld it and keep it cool with a sopping wet rag. It was kind of messy and you really had to know what you were doing. As a little kid I remember watching my dad do it.

You could probably ask this question of several different people and get different answers which would probably all be good ways to do the job. Eveyone has their preferences. Modern body shops just don't do this kind of work. They replace whole sections or panels and thewelding is usually hidden and is not that important. That is not to say they are at fault for this. Time is money and that's the way things are done in the body repair business. Fixing up these old vehicles or doing custom work is a whole different bag. First of all you're lucky to find replacement panels. A lot of time you buy patch panel sections and then welding and blending them in is required. A lot of the stuff I do requires using raw sheet metal and cutting and forming pieces to fit. I used to save the hoods of mid 70s big cars for the nearly flat pieces of metal I could cut out of them. Since the big scrap metal craze it's almost impossible to find that stuff.

I hope this helps answer your question.

 

Yeah, we got away with that one didn't we. Boy if my wife ever found out...

Later Girl...

 

OK Julie, I found the picture you were talking about. Those are not true spot welds. That is the correct first step in doing the job. If your using a MIG welder you just keep doing that by going back over and adding more small weldes in between what has already been done until you fill it all in. This way you don't put too much heat in any one spot at one time. After tah it's a lot of grinding and work with a dolly and body hammer, then filling. The problem here is that this is a high impact area subject to getting rough treatment. Plastic filler can get knocked out easy. I like your idea for putting in a tread plate floor. Judging from what I saw I'd guess this truck is used for work. When I rebuild the bed on my '53 I intend to floor the bed with 1/8' tread plate. I'm even considering doing it with the sides and back. There is an added weight factor but around here it might help with traction in the Winter.

Later Girl...

 

hi Guys,
Julie mentioned using diamond plate, (tread plate) in that bed. If done right it can make a pretty nice job. Here is a picture of a dump bed I made from scratch for an over sized farm and ranch utility vehicle. It is mane fron 1/8" tread plate and it is virtually indestructable. If it's durability you want as opposed to correct restoration, this is the stuff I recommend.



Later Guys...

 

wow, nice work dave!! Materials cost high? Or would a wood bed kit save$$$

 

Hi Dan,
Steel cost have gone up since I last bought some of this stuff and you might save a bit by going with lighter guage plate if it's available. The prices I have seen for the wood bed kits are pretty high if you are buying the metal strips too. I would say this method is really good if you don't care about correct period restoration and you want to use it for work. The little dump bed in the picture is a lot more work intensive than what you would probably be doing with your truck bed. The other side of it is that you need to have access to the right welding and cutting equipment. Good welding skills are also important but the current generation of gas shielded MIG welders mke that part a little more easy. I stick welded the bed in the picture. I think it all depends on what your end use requirements are. By looking at you picture I assumed you were goint to use this thruck for work. I'm the sort that might throw an old engine, transmission or some other piece of machinery in the bed. If you do stuff like this I would advise against the wooden bed floor. So far as I know, there wasn't a wood floor for you style of bed. I can't be sure of that but there are experts on here that would know. Hope this helps...



Later Man...

 

Styleside pickup beds never offered wood in the pickup beds, they were all steel.

All the Ford pickups used wood bed floors from 1925 thru 1956. Stylesides were introduced in 1957. From then on, only the Flaresides had wood in the bed thru 1979.

The bed wood was originally painted body color.

 

Hey Dan,
Ther's you answer about the wood bed. I was about 99.9% sure that was the case. So, unless somebody offers some kind of aftermarket kit , you arepretty muck stuck with the steel bed floor. I think places like LMC truck have all the replacement panels but here again, it's a welding skills thing. As I se it you might as well fix your old one or go for the tread plat. It's probably a lot cheaper than buying those panelas and if you have a local steel supplier you won't have to pay high shipping costs.

Later Man...

 

There's always the option of replacing the bed floor with the bed floor from a donor truck.

I was lucky enough to aquire a complete 2005 GMC long wide bed that almost no miles on it. The bed had to be replaced because the owner failed to properly latch his 5th wheel trailer and it smashed the bedsides. I used the front panel and the bed floor in my 49.

So I guess my bed would have to be labeled a stylestepside or a stepstyleside bed.


Bobby

 

Nice job of transplanting.