Anyone ever replace the floor of a bed. Mine has got some rot at the front, and a few other places.

Just wondering if its worth the $$$ and time, or take my chances and go to the big swap meet at Hershey.

 

I've been looking to do the same thing on my 78,mines not all that bad,few small pin holes and some dents,but I have a perfect floor to use,but it would be a big undertaking.alot of spot welds to drill out to do the job right.but it is doable.
I would say if the rest of your box is in good shape why not go for it.

 

I've done this a couple times and its really not that hard to do if you have a drill and a welder. Its definitely worth the time and small expense if your sides are good. I saw my buddy drill out the welds just to the outer skins and attach them to the better inner bed but I would prefer changing the whole bedside personally. Chevrolets bolted their beds together and were easy to swap out sides, header panel, floor, ect but Ford welded everything. Basically its the same job just using a drill and welder rather than a ratchet.
I'm going to estimate that there are roughly 200 total spot welds holding the sides to the bed and it honestly doesn't take that long to drill them out. I used my makita 18v cordless to do it on one charge but a good drill bit is the key. I used clamps to hold it all together for rewelding the first time but wasn't satisfied with the process though the finish was good. The second I used bolts with washers about every 18" through the already drilled spot holes
and basically just bolted it up tight like a chevy lining everything as I went, once I had it lined up and was completely satisfied with the fit I started stitching it back up and it turned out great. One thing is don't stress if some or a bunch of the drilled out welds don't match up with the new floor if everything else is aligned, thats just the nature of the beast. The hardest part to do and most important is on the tail end where rear brace is attached to the sides. It is welded in places that make you wonder how they did that. That one is a bugger but once you get it lose it isn't too bad to put back on. I usually make an x brace out of angle(old bed frames)to hold both sides in place at the tailgate until welding is finished.
With good beds from the south running $1500 or more its most definitely worth the work.

 

Im in the middle of doing mine now everything is drilled out just waiting on the weather to break to do the welding. It has not been a bad job to do just a little time consuming. Also when i bought this bed the guy had already cut the center out and had another peace there the extra peace he had for the bottom seems to be from a newer year bed. It is the same size just looks like the bolt holes are a little diffrent.

 

word of advice I have sided a bed before and think it was worth it, just wish a i had watched the kid u blocked sanded it better cause it needs more to be straight. But back to my advice if i were to replace the whole floor section in the middle, before and cutting or drilling i would make an X brace from tubing or so running from each corner of the bed. Once that floor is out alot of rigidty is gone and that bed will flex. Then before welding everything make sure that everything lines back up with the back of the cab. Just take your time and use common sense its not that bad to do this stuff if you think about it first.