Longbed end cap on a Short Bed Unibody

[theinternetkid]

After a fair amount of searching I was only able to come up with an end cap from a long bed to replace the mangled end cap on my 1961 F100 short bed unibody. I was told the body lines wouldn't match up and that was definitely the case. After a couple test fittings I found that after aligning the body line on the new end cap with the bed everything else lined up fairly well. The only issue was that the new panel sat about 1/2" higher than the rest of the bed. To solve this I sectioned the top portion near the stake pocket by 1/2" and added a 1/2" to the bottom. Adding the 1/2" to the bottom was critical to keep the tailgate hinge and roll pan line up correctly. I still need to get the tailgate post in there to finish it up. So far the hardest part was disassembling the rear section I got from the junkyard, I'm still having nightmares about spot welds.

[MN66]

Nice work! I need to get started on my rusty long bed on my 66 - not looking forward to those spot welds either.

Keep the pictures coming - it's good inspiration for guys like me who's projects are in a lull.

Corey

[MNTBUGGY]

Guess I will be doing the same on mine. I have a set of long bed caps for my short bed also. Hopefully I will get started on in this summer

[Day 2]

Thats looking good, one question! Are the tailgates different from shortbed to longbed? Since the ends are different....just wondering. Thanks

[theinternetkid]

Thats looking good, one question! Are the tailgates different from shortbed to longbed? Since the ends are different....just wondering. Thanks

I'm not sure on that one and I bought the truck with no tailgate, so I can't check easily.

[Hunter's 64]

https://www.npdlink.com/store/products/ ... 50898.html

looks like the tail gates are the same.


Danny

[Day 2]

It just looks to me that if the top had to have material removed then the tailgate would be different. Anyone know for sure?
Thanks

[oldsmiley]

Great job. I always get SO excited when I see cars & trucks diesected, parts moved around, then stitched back together to look my my friend Frankenstein.

So, so, cool.

[foodstick]

When I did this exact job I was able to get a decent line up top and bottom, I do recall it was not exact. but it was decent...and then just cut a slit on the cap where I wanted the new body line ..bend the metal below that in, flaten it some.. reweld and minimal bondo. However my quarters were pretty bent.. maybe I straightened them a bit at the bottom, I think there is a chance ? your tailgait may be off a bit if you shortened the metal between the pivot point and the top of the gait. However the bottom tube on the gates is usually garbage as it was made out of thin crappy tin. Get a thick walled steel pipe that will go between your pivot points (use that as the rolled bottom of the gate). Then weld flat tin between the gate and that tube. That flat tin at the bottom is always pretty much garbage anyhow. If anyone ever steals you gate.. at least it won't fit their truck ! hahaha

There are always lots of surprises along the way ! hahahaha

[theinternetkid]

I actually had to add in that 1/2" section near the bottom of the endcap to keep the tailgate hinge lined up correctly. You can see it in the second to last picture.