Can someone measure their f100 short bed and tell me the distance from the top of the rear fender to the bottom of the start of the angled bed rail? I am shortening a long bed and didn't know there was a possible difference in bed depth also.

Thanks in advance,
Nick

 

.....4"...

 

Thanks, looks like I will need to cut almost 3"'s out of it to make it look correct. I had hoped they were the same. Also looks like the running boards are wider on the short bed also. I compared a pair of short bed running boards to my long bed boards and they are clearly wider.


Thanks Again,

Nick

 

Are you going for a stock look? If the long bed box is 3" taller then perhaps it may cover the "ribs" or indentions that are on the back of the cab. Maybe you can test fit it to see if you like it before you cut and add additional work.

 

Great point. I am building a street rod truck not a stocker but I wanted it to look like it was originally a short bed.

 

Get another answer on that dimension I gave you....I got my bed sides from M-Ark and I can't remember if I had to drill the fender mtg holes or not. But the running boards and all align; so 4" couldn't be far off if it is off.

 

Before you start cutting on that long bed you might want to look for a used short bed or price out the reproduction bed panels from Mar-K. You may be ahead by getting a short bed instead of trying to make a long bed look like a short bed. They are quite a bit different. Width, Height, and depth are different Long bed has xtra stake pockets and has Wheel tubs, front panel and tailgate are wider too. At one time there were people looking for good long beds, so maybe you could sell yours.

 

Be careful here...you may have a later model stepside bed. I am not certain about the year that Ford began mounting the fenders higher on the bedside but there is about a 1 inch difference between the 53-56 trucks and the 60+ trucks.

 

Sorry for all the repeat info. , I see this has been pretty well thrashed in your other post about the Wheels.https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...al-wheels.html

 

Thanks, the guy I bought the trucks from had already cut the box on the white truck so I dont think I could really sell it. In the interest of a low cost budget build I figured I would see what I could with it to make it work. The truck will be far from original so I guess it doesn't really matter if I dont take the extra 3"'s out of it, but at the same time I don't want it to be obvious the truck didn't start out as a short bed.

The only stake pocket hole left is the center one over the wheel well and I plan to weld it shut when I remove the pocket brace. Because the box was shortened on both the front and back, the other 4 stake pocket holes were cut off already.

I do agree the best thing would be to just find a short bed and be done with it, but these trucks are few and far between around here.

Thanks, I am pretty sure it is th original to the truck or it at last has the original light green paint the truck left the factory with on it down under all the White paint. It also has tall he same densions as my Green 56 long bed, just not as beat up.

here are really the only pics I have of it on the truck, because it was the first thing I removed from the truck the day after I drug the truck home. In the pics the back stake pocket supports are not welded back on but I did get them. It is fairly rough but I have fixed worse so I am not too worry about making it straight.





Thanks Again for your help,


Nick

 

The battery died for my camera and I am charging it tonight. I will take pics tomorrow of my '56 short bed minus fenders and make measurements for you also.

 

Thanks

 

I'm thinking the panels front and back at the bottom of the bedsides are smaller also.
Need a measurement on those?

 

Thanks that would be great.

 

On my bed the distance from the center of the highest fender bolt to the bottom of the break for the top rail is 5". The distance from the bottom of the bed side to the center of the same highest fender bolt is 12.5" making distance for the bed side from bottom to top rail break of 17.5".



A little shorter than yours but, I think the higher bed sides, and wheel pockets in your bedsides, would make for a more ballanced look and give you more room for tire clearance should you decide to go with wider wheels. IMO, the top of your bed looks to be almost even with the top of where the hood would be giving the illusion that the roof has been lowered a little.