Somewhere during the course of 1950 production the bed style on the F-1 was revised as a running change from raised panel to flat side. In fact, the entire build design and structure is totally different between the two, the later version being much simpler and cheaper to build. If anyone has been able to narrow down a date, I'd be curious to know. AFAIK, the F-2/3 didn't change throughout it's model run, 48-52.

My question is; is the wheel hump area in the same place on the 8' beds between the 48-52 and the 53-56, which is what that repro bed appears to be based on? If one was to use that bed on an early truck, would the wheels end up in the right place?

 

Interesting observation. The wheel base of the '48/'52 F-2/3s is 122" while the wheel base of the '53/'56 F-250s is 118". The charts in the respective dealer handbooks show the F-2/3 bed is 96.05" long while the F-250 bed is 96.0" long. The rear axle location on the F-2/3 is 47.79" back from the headboard while the F-250's is 46.96" back. Almost an inch difference, but how does the shorter wheelbase work with that? Not sure what all that means. Stu

 

Roy, I sent you a PM. Thanks!
Tim

 

Wow, You all are blowing my mind on all this knowledge that you have

 

yeah huh...these folks will do that to ya,and i think that is just the tip of the iceberg so to speak.

 

Here's a side shot of a 52 F3 that I had.



Here are some additonal pictures of a 48 F3 and a separate F2/F3 bed.










Sold the truck with the extra bed several years ago on eBay for about $900.

 

One difference I have noticed in the 8' Express box is some came with round wheel wells, some with oval wheel wells. The original box on my '49 had the round wells while the box I replaced it with had oval wells. The wells in the second box were hacked up so I cut the wells out of the '49 box and welded them into the replacement box. I don't know for sure when they changed the shape but I would guess it might have been around the time Ford changed the design of the F-1. It could also have been an assembly plant difference, I don't know, but it was like the ribs on the back of the '48-50 trucks, some had them, some didn't, I think it all depended on what plant the truck was assembled at.

 

I just thought of another thing along Bob's wheelwell difference. Does anyone know if Ford changed the location of the tailgate latches on the Express beds between the 48-50 and the 51-52 model years like they did on the F1s of the same years (i.e., in the upper roll vs below the upper roll)?

 

Ilya, all I can say about your tailgate question is I've had quite a few '48-52 F-2s and 3s and I've never noticed a difference. Not saying I could have missed it though.

 

That looks just like the one on my truck, except my head board has been modified with diamond plating and steel tie downs. Thank you for the pics.