The bed floor in my 59 F-100 was rotting out and the front foot of it was made of bondo and license plates when I got it so I cut the bed floor completely out. Does anyone have any ideas as far as replacing it? I was thinking of just going with sheetmetal but I dont know how I would make it strong enough to not bend. Anyways lemme know what you guys think.
For my '34 I using a 1 x 1 x 11 gage frame with 3/4" marine grade plywood covered with 18 gage sheet.
do you live somewhere everything rusts?, you could get the floor out of a 60's or 70's truck to replace it.
I kind of like this idea personally. Are you going to make any kind of crossmembers or is your bed short enough to where you won't need to? I think I would probably have to put in a couple of them. This seems like the best option to me right now though for sure.
Check out a hardwood called "Purpleheart." I think it comes from Indonesia. It's bulletproof, and it's cheap. 17 cents a board foot here in Nor Cal. Great color, looks like the inside of a red wine barrel. It's so sturdy, you don't need to varnish or seal it, but it will turn brown if not sealed. The bed for my rpu -- planed, ripped and grooved for the bed strips -- was about fifty bucks.
Be REALLY creative and make the wood look like a Cris-Craft boat from the same era as the truck...rich woods, top-notch craftsmanship, and a unique appearance. It could be protected enough to be functional too. ~Scotch~
Hey, Ya didn't say, step side or style side? Ford used the same box on the F100 ,F150 thru '72. from than on, they had gl*** fenders, but I bo leave the same box up till the 80s. Are ya workin this truck, or showin it? Repopped metal and pre-sawn wood is available for these, if you've got more money than skill. A good dry bed shouldn't be to hard ta come by, here in the west. My F100 has had a sheet of 3/4 cdx in it since 1984.
The frame is a rectangle box with three pieces going across (the rear-most one rests on top of the rear frame crossmember which it's bolted to), and two going front to back. I had to do the supports this way to clear the center section on my rear end. At the front, there are two bars that extend down (vertically) that are welded to a plate, which is bolted to the frame.
Hey, I kept the metal sheet (16 ga. maybe?) that came with the truck. After taking the bed apart last year. I cleaned it up and welded the holes up. Painted it dark grey. To make up the thickness, I brought 3x3/4 wood (the best they had) strips from Lowes and took them to a wood shop and ran them through a planer(?) to cut them down. When it was all said and done, trial fitting. I went ahead and primered and painted them that I bought from the boat shop her in Ventura. Here's some pics. later. Ken
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