I am leaning towards a wood flatbed

bigtrip460 · Post by **bigtrip460** » May 23, 2007, 8:18 pm

i was thinking 2x8 oak in a 3 inch angle iron frame with box tubing welded in the bottom for bracing. after the wood is in the frame and the box tube is on drilling the holes to secure the wood.

i was also thinking about 64 galaxie tails.

any thoughts or ideas?

Johnny Canuck · Post by **Johnny Canuck** » May 24, 2007, 8:52 am

Looks good to me!!!
Just don't let your women drive it in Winslow Arizona... :lol:

bigtrip460 · Post by **bigtrip460** » May 24, 2007, 11:32 am

I just dont want to replace the bed and regret getting rid of original sheet metal. If I do this it would be "permanant" because I cant store an 8 foot bed and work on it. :roll:

how big of a deal is the bed when you are looking for a truck like this anyway? would this be seen as an upgrade or would it be bad to lose the bed. most of them I see have the steel beds and not a flatbed and some guys go to great lengths to keep the bed intact.

I dont plan on selling it anytime soon but it would be nice to know that I wouldnt be ruining the truck after spending so much time and effort of going over the P/O's shoddy work. I mean drive train is one thing and I can make it fast as all hell (for a street truck) but these are about looks too, eh?

65TremecGT · Post by **65TremecGT** » May 24, 2007, 11:35 am

I personally think that you reduce your potential buyers by removing the fleetside bed. Most people think flatbed=worktruck. But if you are builidng it for yourself, and dont plan on selling it any time soon, then go for it. I like the galaxie taillight idea!

dotcentral · Post by **dotcentral** » May 24, 2007, 11:39 am

I think most people prefer the original bed, but sometimes its not practical to try and save it. If I had a bed with good sides, I'd weld flat steel in for a bed floor. If my bed was shot and a replacement bed was more money than I wanted to spend, I'd consider going to a flatbed.

bigtrip460 · Post by **bigtrip460** » May 24, 2007, 11:42 am

thanks. I guess that means I'll need to make other parts of the truck say "hotrod" even if the bed says "work truck". :twisted:

Truckrat · Post by **Truckrat** » May 24, 2007, 5:13 pm

Well......I like flatbeds, and am in the process of building one for work and play. I didn't have a long styleside bed anyway, almost did, but that's another story. I came up with a cool flatbed about a year ago and that sealed the deal. It is 102 x 80 inches in size and all steel with a 2 inch square tube headache rack on it.
After doing some measuring, it should center on the truck chassis and be a few inches farther forward of the rear axle than aft of it from front to back. My idea is to use it for light hauling of bulky objects so I don't have to worry about denting up a nice pickup bed. Also I will weld on a good drop down bumper with a receiver installed so I can pull trailers. It has a 65 cab and frontend on a 74 F-150 frame with power steering and disc brakes. My biggest obstacle will be trying to use the wiring harness out of the 74 cab in the 65 along with the steering column. Doesn't sound like much of a problem to me, but we'll see. My flatbed is all steel, so I may put bedliner coating on it for durability rather than paint it. As for color, who knows, it's probably going to be the ugliest thing at Slick Stock 08.
All I know is I am going to have a blast with it no matter what it looks like.
TruckRat

DV65CustomCab · Post by **DV65CustomCab** » May 25, 2007, 5:59 am

Flatbeds don't sell.
They are considered work trucks, and in the restoration world a home made wood flatbed screams "I was too lazy or inexperienced to fix/find the correct bed". I'm not picking on your idea, just telling you how they are viewed in the collector vehicle market. Even the WRONG steel bed is better than a flatbed.
I have only ever seen ONE wood bed that looked decent to me, on a much older truck that started life as a stepside. He utilized the steel stepside fender and used wood bed sides in addition to the floor. So it was an actual bed. Didn't look bad, if you're into wood, but still didn't look quite 'right'.
:2cents:

Post by **Greg D** » May 25, 2007, 9:29 am

Built right and styled abit (not just a floor of planks) Some can be kinda cool. I do think it would kill a high resale though in most places. Would kinda fit better if you were to put chrome stacks for the exhaust (just something I would do along with it) and some really wide tires. It still all comes down to personal choice though, it's your truck and if you like it go ahead. 8' styleside beds are not impossible to find I know where there are 2 pretty nice ones right now. I wouldn't scrap your old bed if it were me unless it's a real mess though. There are only so many out there and may be as hard to come by as short beds someday.

Johnny Canuck · Post by **Johnny Canuck** » May 25, 2007, 11:48 am

Bigtrip was your truck originally a flatdeck from the factory?

Dwight is gonna have to stop the flatbed hate.. :lol:

Post by **Greg D** » May 25, 2007, 11:52 am

bigtrip460 · Post by **bigtrip460** » May 25, 2007, 5:46 pm

its not "bad" its just rusted out in the floor and cross braces the bulkhead was replaced by galvanized steel and the 1/3 nearest the cab was replaced and looks terrible.

Uncle Skip · Post by **Uncle Skip** » May 25, 2007, 6:18 pm

I thought you said the bed was shot.
That looks better than 80% of what the rest of us started with.

Its just some welding, a BFH and a little bondo away from looking factory new. :wink:

Quit whining and get to work.
NO whiners!
U@ss LMAO

bigtrip460 · Post by **bigtrip460** » May 25, 2007, 7:25 pm

under it IS bad. the cross braces are all but gone. I wouldnt mind repairing the bed if i could find a floor and tailgate, get it together and get it to look right.

Post by **Greg D** » May 25, 2007, 7:29 pm

That really isn't a bad box cept for the floor inside. You can buy patch panels, a whole new bed floor or get a wrecked later model box that has a good center floor cut it out and weld it in, Not thinking you would have to pay too much for a bed that the salvage yard is going to crush. I'd fix that one way or another if it were me.

shawns fords · Post by **shawns fords** » May 25, 2007, 7:33 pm

I am going to cut out my steel floor, because I am replacing with something else that I cant tell anyone until it is done, big secret, :lol:

if ya was closer you could take my steel floor home with you, its not so great of shape but its solid and there, really is just rolly from years of being used to haul some heavy ass stuff I dont know what but it was heavy :lol:

bigtrip460 · Post by **bigtrip460** » May 25, 2007, 7:35 pm

ill make some calls and get some prices on a bed floor.

DanSanDiego2000 · Post by **DanSanDiego2000** » May 25, 2007, 9:16 pm

BigTrip460,
Like you, I have recently wanted to re-do the flatbed on my truck. Unlike my daily driver '65 F100, this 2nd truck is a 67 F350, originally with a flatbed.

The overall steel frame of the flatbed is over 96" wide and 126" long. The wood area alone is 92" wide and 120" long, and the wood is all eaten away. I know it is a worktruck, and putting on a bed in my case is impractical, because of the extra 2 feet of wheelbase. So, after contemplating metal, plywood, 1x6 redwood, etc., just today it occurred to me to use Trex. It is a manmade wood/composite/resin decking that is pre-colored, has a simulated woodgrain texture to it, and will never require staining, will not splinter, and will not rot. I used it for a 500 sq ft patio I built, and it was cool to use. Coincidentally, you started this thread just about the same time I realized I had to get my truck flatbed straightened out, so your thread was both an inspiration and a brainstorm for me. There is another 'Trex'-like product out there, too, but the name escapes me. I look forward to seeing your completed project, and hope to share mine when completed, too.
Good luck.
Dan

bigtrip460 · Post by **bigtrip460** » May 25, 2007, 11:44 pm

for as much as I would like to have the original bed I think I like the idea of the flat bed. it would be something that my friends and I could do and not have to worry about getting the right floor and the welding that would go with it. besides if I build a flat bed I can always find a good home for the factory bed, eh?

DV65CustomCab · Post by **DV65CustomCab** » May 26, 2007, 8:02 am

Johnny Canuck wrote:Dwight is gonna have to stop the flatbed hate..

Duly noted.

How about the "best of both worlds" solution?
Don't discount this until you've really considered it!
Replace the floor with wood! I don't see it being that hard to replace the cross sills with new steel You can buy channel pre-formed. The hard part is getting a floor to look right in metal. Diamond plate looks, well, odd. Flat steel usually doesn't stay flat. The ribbed floor is tough to match. I know my '66 brand X truck had a longbed styleside with a wood floor. You can buy the metal strips in steel or stainless, and maybe even get planks pre-made, just not cut to length, from a brand X supplier.
:hm: