Bought an 03 project truck
 

So I scored a one company owned 2003 F250 4x4 5.4 4.10LS with 147k miles. It was taken out of service last month when the service body that was on the back was removed. The truck has had great maintenance and is in damn good shape other then being dirty. It runs and drives very well and no rust other then light surface stuff on the frame, zero body.

My plan is to install a 84"x84" Bradford Built Mustang Flatbed clean it up, maybe replace the sway bar end links and shocks.

I plan to install the bed This weekend and get it home to clean it up I'll post photos as it progresses.

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WOW...nice looking truck, wish mine was that clean. heck I have rust chips fall off every time close the doors too hard...LOL I

Looks good. Decent miles n it.

Good buy .

Picked it up for $3k, pretty good deal I think. Tonight I pressure washed the frame as it had 14 years of mud and sediment on it and I don't feel like having that fall in my face when I'm working under it.

I'll have some pics up Saturday night if all goes right.

It looks pretty good, considering the 14 years of fleet use.

That is cleaner than mine!

I pressure washed it and staged it in the shop tonight. I plan to go in the morning and do the install. I'm gonna paint the frame when I'm under there also.

More to come tomorrow...

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Good looking truck and heck of a deal on it too. Most of the fleet vehicles I see are worn out so badly that they aren't useable for much of anything. Mine has been garage kept and never seen anything worse than a gravel road and it has more rust on the frame than yours does.

This company (electric) runs a lot of older equipment, or I should say they take care of their equipment and don't retire them until 150k or 10 years. This truck was past the years they typically use but they said it just kept running so well with no repairs needed other then a good maintenance program. They run the trucks in pretty remote (by lower 48 standards) areas and need reliable trucks for the guys in winter temps that can hit -50f to -60f.

I see A LOT of fleet trucks as it's what I deal with daily in my job. The companies that have really good maintenance programs and keep one or two drivers in a truck. They can and do report any issues right away and get them in they have much better trucks.

AlaskanEX do you think the flatbed will push the springs down much?

This truck had a covered service body on it all its life. The rear springs may be a little weak these days but it has been equipped with Timbren SES bump stop replacements since it was new. Currently with no bed on it there is about an inch between the Timbrens and stop on the stub on the axle block.

The flatbed is only a few hundred pounds more then a pickup box on the 8ft version, I'd expect the same with the short bed.

The bed is on! Took me about 6 hours taking my time and including lunch. I'm very happy with how it turned out and really got to drive the truck at highway speeds super smooth and great alignment. Now to get those 14 year old stickers off..I started to but I'm way to sore tonight, I've been behind a desk to long.

Interesting options/info on the truck.
Was white from the factory, painted blue when it was brand new and they did a great job all the jambs and under hood were done
No A/c
Cruise Control
No rear seat, factory ordered. There are plastic fillers where the rear belts would be
Captains chairs with center console
Daytime running lights
4.10LS
Manual tow mirrors


I was very surprised how peppy the 5.4 was, I lit the rear tires up on the way home on accident and maybe half throttle best part the LS was working haha

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Looking good. Like how the bed is sized right. Not an oversized bed like a lot of them are.

nice looking truck Russ. lately i've been seriously considering putting a flatbed on my dually, but i'm not sure yet. yours looks good with the flatbed.

sorry if it was already posted, but what are your plans for it? just a "beater"/work truck? or clean it up and flip it?

I wish it would be my new plow truck/work truck for around the house, but I more pressing issues that require me to clean it up and flip it. It sucks because I already love this little truck:-X16

I work for a truck upfitter and nothing annoys me more then seeing the wrong size bed on a truck!


Few night time pics, she's really lit up!

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With the strobe light on :D

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So dumb question...the truck is a short bed right? I guess they make flatbeds for both?

Yes this truck was a short bed 6'9" pickup box from the factory.

Bradford as well as many other bed builders make beds in every size imaginable to fit just a bout any truck.

For pickup bed trucks your option is 8-8'6" on a truck that is 56" cab to axle.

On a short bed with 40" cab to axle you can install a 7' bed.

The bed I installed is 84'L and 84"W. :-jammin

Nice looking truck! Can't believe how rust free it is. I guess things fare better when road salt is not used.

Exactly, no salt is a wonderful thing! It gets too cold for de-icers to work. In recent years they have started using a brine in fall and spring up north where this truck is from. Also noticed this truck was undercoated when new with a thick petroleum based film that is still playable today.

I've got a lot of other things going on at the moment getting ready for the first snow this weekend. With that said I have not been able to dedicate as much time as I'd like to this truck.

Yesterday I did manage to remove all the decals on the passenger side, drivers side is next!

I think with a quick buff and wax the cab should look like new!
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The project is looking great Russ!

Are you keeping this truck or is it a fix up, flip, and sell?

I would love to keep it as I've fallen in love with the truck, plus its short length and great visibility would make it a perfect snow plow truck! But I am planning to clean it up and sell it. If I can get some time this week I'll get the rest of the decals off and clean the interior up so I can take photos to list it.

Nice find and work.

First thing I noticed was the Manual transfercase. :-jammin

Did you get the flat bed brand new? What do those run out of curiosity?

I work for a truck up fitter so I sell these beds every day. Typically retail landed in AK is $2,950 or so for the bed. Installed is around $4,400 or so.

Yes the bed is brand new.

That's not too bad. What about aluminum ones? I presume at least a little bit more. Are they made in Alaska or shipped in?

Aluminum is a good chunk more, don't have cost off the top of my head.

Bradford Built is located in Washington, KS and I've been very impressed by their product. I carry a few bed manufacturers and they are one of my favorites.

Home

I have seen their stuff before and it is impressive. I'd like to do a flatbed on Ranger at some point and I am torn between building or buying. But I like shopping around nonetheless. Thanks!

The 4x4 works great, but she's a little light in the rear end and likes to get tail happy. She does have cooper M+S snow tires not studded on and did real well considering it's the first snowfall.

I took to to work today and added some more bracing on the bed, she's good to handle a gooseneck now even if it never gets one hooked to it.

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Pretty truck, nice find and you turned it into a gem. Inside was a little rough, how's that looking now?

Since you have the flat bed on there, it would be really cool if you could create some counter weights that cold be loaded on there and hand under the deck and behind the rear wheels. Something that uses like dumbbell plates or something like that.

If I was going to keep it I'd surely do something cool like that for ballest, but the new owner will have to worry about that.

Have not detailed the interior yet, just wiped the dash and console down real well.

Went down today and got the title, registration and new plates $180 but tags are good for 2 years.

Best part is I got the stupid rest of the stickers off the drivers side!

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Great looking truck. I really like XLs with flatbeds and basic interiors. Functional and tough, seem to bring out the best in SuperDutys.

I love my Limited F-150 with all the bells and whistles, but this little truck with no A/C, roll up windows, manual hubs and floor shift has stolen my heart. I'll be sad to see this one go for sure.

I figured you guys would like to see a before and after. We removed the service body from this 03 to install on a brand new 17. It was repainted and took some modification to fit the new frame.

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So I got the interior cleaned up and listed the truck for sale. Going to be sad to see it go..

Its a clean pickup Russ, I'm sure it will sell just fine. How much are you asking?

I'm shooting high leaving room to bargain, if it was a pickup it would book for $7,775 in my zip code and if you consider what the bed installed would be ($4,400) I figure my 9,500 OBO it's a good halfway point. Right now is the time people are looking for snow plow trucks or good winter work trucks which this would be absolutely perfect for so I've got that going for me.