Now that I've got my truck on the road, I'm ready to turn my attention to other items that need attention on the truck. Like the rear bumper & wood bed.
Here's a photo of the bumper the PO has on the truck when I purchased it.


Rear Bumper that came with truck

It is one of those universal step bumpers, but it was not the look I wanted for the truck. I knew when I purchased the truck that the bumper was not correct for the 1960 model year and my hope was to bring it back as close as I can to the look it would have had in 1960. My 1st step was to remove the old bumper.
Here's a photo of what my truck looks like now without the bumper.


Truck without bumper

In doing this, I noticed that the PO welded together extensions to the frame to support the bumper he had on it. Here are some photos of what he did.







This also led me to admit something I did not want to deal with immediately after I purchased the truck and that is the entire bed does not look correct for 1960's truck.
Here's a photo of the bed.


Wooden Bed

If my assumption is correct then I need some advice. I just don't have the ability or the cash to remove the entire bed and install the proper bed. Over the next year or two I hope to put on a rear bumper that looks correct for the 1960 model year truck I have and I want to replace the wood in the bed. But because I'm not sure what I have, I don't know:
1 - How to attach the bumper to what is there now
2 - What wood bed kit I can use to achieve my goal.

As a newbie, I always appreciate any advice anyone is willing to provide. I'm in no rush, because my wife may leave me if I spend another dime on this truck in the next few months.
Thanks!

 

No to be negative but the previous owner did a real hatchet job installing that bumper.

Since the bumper is now off the next thing I would do is remove the 10 pounds of steel he scabbed on to each side of the frame.

The OE style bumper is available after market as are the mounting brackets and hardware.
https://cgfordparts.com/wwwsectionfi...ar_bumper.html

See below for what it should look like

The bedwood and strip retainers are also available aftermarket.

 

Not that it really matters but, your bed is from a 72-79 flareside, notice the flat rails. Sorry, I reread your post and you already know that.

 

No it isn't, the bed rails were not flattened out until 1976 from serial number C20,001.

So the bed is from a 1976 from serial number C20,001, 1977/79.

1980/87 Flaresides are flattened, but the rear fenders are different.

The OP's shield tail lamps were used 1955/66. 1955/60 had FORD embossed on the lenses.

 

Were your "custom", bumper brackets welded only from the bottom side? If so, get out the grinder and cut the welds trying to save all the original you can. They sell the brackets you will need to put a more desirable bumper on there everyday. If they were welded from the top as well, you have a bigger project getting access to them as I am sure you know!

 

I appreciate the feedback!
First the photo posted by matthewq4b is EXACTLY what I'd like my truck's bed to look like. (Thanks for the photo!)
Yeah, the flat rails on my bed and the step bumper were my first clues that the bed was wrong.
I was all set to "remove the 10 pound of steel he scabbed on the frame on each side", but realized I have a problem that prevented me from moving forward. I removed the wood over the frame Take a look at the photo below.

Frame weld.
In this photo you can see what the PO did to make this bed work on the frame. Here's a photo of the bed resting on top of that cut pipe on the the outer most weld.

Truck's original frame on right.

So if I were to remove the welded pieces, my truck's frame would be 3 inches too short to support the bed. Now I realize I know squat about body work, but is there any sort of solution to achieve something close to the look I want without replacing the entire bed? Is there a better way to extend my frame 3 inches? I'm also hesitating purchasing a rear bumper and brackets until I figure out my options.

Again, I just want to get my truck's bed to look closer to it's original model year without removing the current bed.
Thanks!

 

I see the issue you have here. The fix is going to require some fabrication.

What I would do is extend the original frame and fab up an L bracket with a gussets to weld to the extension to hold the body mount. Once you get the bumper brackets you will know how far exactly you need to extend the frame for proper bumper position. The also would be reversible if in the future if the correct box was to be mounted.


Maybe someone with a 57-60 Flareside that has not been butchered would be kind enough to post to post pics of the bumper brackets and bumper in place to give you an idea on the dimensions


This should be a fairly simple job that can be done with a welder and grinder.

 

I think Matt is right on extending the truck frame as needed and remove that crap welded on but..............


I see something you are going to have to deal with that makes it a little more work than extending the frame.
If you look at the 2 bed "roll pans" you will see the right year bed does not drop below the frame rail like the post starter does.


How I would go about it is buy the bumper & brackets as you need them to see where they line up on the frame so you know just what is needed to "fix it".
It could be you still just need to extend the frame rail, drill holes in the side of the extension to bolt the new brackets to.


From 1 of the pictures it looks like there is a bolt hole in the rear cross beam that lines up with the stock frame rail if it was longer right?
If so then the extension parts looks like a go.


My .02
Dave ----

 

Matt & Dave I appreciate your input and I'll follow your advice. I'll order the correct bumper - Part# BBAA-17906-A, and brackets - Part# B5C-17787 from C & G Ford parts and see how it lines up with what I have.

Dave you're right about the rear pan on my truck. It is lower than I would like. Your keen eye also picked up on the fact that if the original frame was extended straight out it would match up with the bolt hole on the rear cross beam.

I just found out something that may help me too. One of my neighbors told me that one of best fishermen in our area also happens to be a retired town welder and he just moved in a block away from me. He's a super nice guy and from I can gather is an expert welder. (He owns a Ford Raptor.)

 

B7C-17787-C .. Right Outer/Left Inner // B7C-17788-C Right Inner/Left Outer .. Rear Bumper Brackets = 1957/66 F100/250 Flareside.

 

Bill - I just checked, C&G Ford has the brackets listed as a set B5C-17787/8. They also state the following in their description:
Fits vehicles... (and/or) additional info...
48-52 F-1 black
53-56 F100 black
AKA: Stepside Rear Bumper Brackets
57-72 F100 black
===========
I found it interesting a shop calling itself C&G Ford, refers parts for a flareside as "stepside"
As always, I appreciate your help.

 

So my bed is from the late 70's (1976 from serial number C20,001 - 1977/79). As I pointed out the PO of my truck fabricated a few items to make it work for his needs but I'd like to bring it back to as close to the original model year as I can without spending much.

Here's what I'm thinking: I found a flareside bed from a 53-56 F100 (minus the fenders) asking price is $400. I'd ditch the bed I have and replace it with this one, that has a look much closer to what I am after.


53-56 F100 bed

Has anyone done a similar swap? I am not going to move forward on this until I know what I am getting myself into, as I mentioned I do not know anything about body work. This seller is also a 4 1/2 hour trip away from me.
I also really want to get rid of all the metal welded on to the current frame and I'm hoping someone will know if this bed will fit without all the modifications currently in place on my truck.

 

The boxes are pretty close to the same up until 1976, so certainly that box will work for you. Did you get it?

 

No I didn't get either one because I was unsure what would work. Now, after doing some research and after what you mentioned, I feel quite certain that I can use just about any bed from the 50s through 76. So as a first step I decided to try and sell my current bed and then sink that money into the bed I want. I was on eBay and there's a complete kit (minus fenders) for $1,700. I'm sure it's made well but that is simply too much for me to spend. I am just hoping to find a decent used bed within a reasonable distance from my location. So if you hear of one out there, let me know. Thanks!