1982 F250 Bed repair??

[dtt454]

^^ what he said, i was gonna say why not put a flat bed on it? thats the route im likely gonna take when i get started on my next one.

[ElectroLight]

The bed is interchangeable between 80 to 96 the later beds have a slightly different flair at the wheel opening but not really too noticeable IMO. Head on over to FTE (www.fordtrucks.com) lots of good guys there, really helped me with my 85 F150 and 86 F250.

[Nealcrenshaw]

Grab another bed from the junk yard $250 tops

[FXDawg]

Originally Posted by Nealcrenshaw

Grab another bed from the junk yard $250 tops

Yea, I looked around locally and could not find one. This is what prompted me to buy the 85 with a banged up bed. I figured between the nice panels on the 82 and the complete tub on the 85 i could cobble together a decent bed. Now, however I'm trying to save time and labor which is why I'm second guessing Plan 'A'.

I'll call the local bone-yards again and see what I can come up with while moving forward with plan 'A'

Originally Posted by ElectroLight

The bed is interchangeable between 80 to 96 the later beds have a slightly different flair at the wheel opening but not really too noticeable IMO. Head on over to FTE (www.fordtrucks.com) lots of good guys there, really helped me with my 85 F150 and 86 F250.

I'll be looking into that forum, thanks!

[FXDawg]

Okay, a quick update... I think I'm deciding to go with a simple aluminum flatbed. I found a guy not far from me that can do that for "the mid teens..." in hundreds. As much as I wanted to see my old man's truck as it was when he was alive, I think he would have liked the flat bed, it will look way cool, and it is far less of an A$$ ache. and that price sound very reasonable. He said that price include the headache rack and installation. No boxes or rails or anything else. But it gets me back on the road much quicker. Maybe I could spend more time looking for a good bed in the mean time, but probably be the way it will stay from now on.

So, I need to fix a gas tank leak (probably replace with a plastic one) and tires and off to the truck bed place!!! Could be driving around in this thing next month maybe!!

[Ign]

Originally Posted by ElectroLight

The bed is interchangeable between 80 to 96 the later beds have a slightly different flair at the wheel opening but not really too noticeable IMO. Head on over to FTE (www.fordtrucks.com) lots of good guys there, really helped me with my 85 F150 and 86 F250.

LMAO!!! Go over to FTE for sure. Be sure to say you're looking at parts from LMC truck. Talk about LMC a lot.

[chris142]

A used bed at PicAPart is $175. I see them all the time in great shape. Look like they have never hauled a thing.

I'd go this route + paint before I tried to patch one up.

[FXDawg]

Originally Posted by Ign

LMAO!!! Go over to FTE for sure. Be sure to say you're looking at parts from LMC truck. Talk about LMC a lot.

I wish I could....I registered and I can log in but can't search or post or update my info...says I don't have access...

Originally Posted by chris142

A used bed at PicAPart is $175. I see them all the time in great shape. Look like they have never hauled a thing.

I'd go this route + paint before I tried to patch one up.

how do I contact them?

[buildmyown]

I just notcied your in mass give Linders a call (508) 756-5125 out in Worcester ask for Jesse tell him Phil the powder coater sent you. Its a big yard and if he doesnt have something there he might know of something.

[FXDawg]

Originally Posted by buildmyown

I just notcied your in mass give Linders a call (508) 756-5125 out in Worcester ask for Jesse tell him Phil the powder coater sent you. Its a big yard and if he doesnt have something there he might know of something.

Thanks Buildmyown! i just tried there and Jesse isn't in today. They transfered me to "Sam's" and the guy was all "we don't keep an inventory" and "it's self serve"

So, I may try and get there this weekend. I know i tried there a few years ago and they had nothing worth while but, you never know i guess.

you know I recently saw an F250 for sale on line whith a fabricated tub in it and the stock side panels. I bet that wouldn't be cheap though.

[Griff93]

For that truck you really just need to look a bit harder for a bed. I have an 89 F350 myself and had an 85 F250 prior. I was at our local pick and pull today getting a few misc parts for mine and there were three trucks with real nice beds, 4 or 5 that were usable, and several more that were hammered. The bad thing about a bed is it's not cheaply shipped.

[buildmyown]

Originally Posted by FXDawg

Thanks Buildmyown! i just tried there and Jesse isn't in today. They transfered me to "Sam's" and the guy was all "we don't keep an inventory" and "it's self serve"

So, I may try and get there this weekend. I know i tried there a few years ago and they had nothing worth while but, you never know i guess.

you know I recently saw an F250 for sale on line whith a fabricated tub in it and the stock side panels. I bet that wouldn't be cheap though.

Sams is across the street and i think its the same owner but im not positive on that. I know Linders keeps a running inventory and can search for anything on the computer. Im not postive but I think Linders pulls everything for you I know they did when I needed parts for my honda.

Not sure if you know of this site or not but its great it allows you to search yards all over the country. The only draw back not all yards are in the data base. http://car-part.com/

[theoldwizard1]

I sure hpe you have done a lot of crawling around under that truck ! At that age some parts of the frame might be swiss cheese !

[FXDawg]

Okay some pics finally

this is may dad's old truck I want to fix and use.





And this is the inside of the bed





You can see I removed the gas tank as it was leaking and needs replaced

Here is the parts truck I bought.





And some of the damage in the bed.





I'm waffling again about whether to swap out the bed off the parts truck and repair what damage it has for the stock truck bed or go with the flat bed. i am leaning toward the stock bed at this point as the damage doesn't seem too bad on the 85 parts truck.

The parts truck also has 16" wheels. This was a welcomed fact as the 16.5" wheels really limit what kind of tires you can use. Having the 16s is going to save me a bunch of money not having to buy new wheels.

[wrenchr]

I would buy the nos panel for the floor and just fab up what you need to add to it, I'm no pro body guy but those sides are pretty flat and should be quite easy to make. Hell I bet you could even cut what you needed out of the parts truck to make up the difference.

[cide1]

Before you spend any money, I think you need to be honest with yourself about the condition of the rest of the truck, and what else you want to do. What condition is the interior in? Does the hood close all the way, or is there damage there. How many miles? How well does it shift? How does it run? Are you going to be spending money on fuel pumps, alternators, batteries, etc. If the bed rusted that bad from acid, you need to look carefully at the frame underneath, along with the brake lines, fuel lines, and suspension parts. Are you willing to spend another $1000 rebuilding the motor? Are you willing to spend another $1000 on the transmission? Are you thinking about a paint job for the truck to stop any further decay?

Since this was your dads truck, and judging by your list of vehicles it seems your in a place where you can spend some money on vehicles, I think I would go the aluminum flat bed route. Best case, you put some cool wheels on this, new tires, new gas tank, carb rebuild, new plugs and wires, new battery, clean it up a bit, remove the tool box, and make it reliable. You should be able to find a new chrome rear bumper for cheap. Worst case, you can always put the flatbed on your next truck or sell it for much of the money you have in it.

A second stock bed will already have a lot of years on it, and will decay like the original if not rhino-lined. Once it decays, it loses all value, and once rhino-lined, it loses all value, so either way its kind of throwing money away.

I would take your 16.5" wheels off, and replace with 16" or 17". Tires will be cheaper and much better quality. You will be able to find tires without special ordering. Do not try to put 16s on 16.5" wheels. Some shady places will try and do that, but it is dangerous. If you already have 16" wheels, you may be able to find a place that will blast and powder coat them for cheap. Some places do this on large numbers of semi truck wheels for cheap.

[wrenchr]

Plus the bed floor for the next body style would work to, even if there are some slight changes no one would ever know.
I bet you could get a box from say a 87 or newer and drill all of the spot welds off your dads 1/4 panels and swap them onto the good tub.

[wrenchr]

Not my truck but I bet the 1/4's are the only change, this is your body style truck with the newer bed on it. I would bet that tub is the same.
http://toledo.craigslist.org/cto/2816350285.html

[FXDawg]

I've already put some work into it and it runs, seemingly, very well. It already has a new carb, new brakes, new brake lines, new exhaust. It only has 82,000 miles on it and my dad changed the oil religiously.

The wheels on the parts truck are 16s. I would never even have thought of trying 16" tires on a 16.5 rim...

The hoods on both vehicles close fine and outside of that bed issue there is very little rust on either of them.

There really is no rot on the parts truck tub. I am going to have it painted. I 'm thinking what I was going to do was, pull the bed off the prts truck and strap it to my the 82 and drive it to the body shop. I figure, that way they can more easily repair and paint the replacement bed and then install it.

The interior is not horrible. There isn't much too them. i got one of those bench seat covers from JCW a while back and will throw that in. The floor boards look to be fine, the frame seems to be fine...

I'm surprised to hear that rhino coating kills any value...I guess cus it doesn't come off...?

I was thinking to get it repaired to stop decay and throw a bedliner in. Initially I thought I would rhino coat it and put a liner in. My fear of the liner is that they sometimes keep moisture trapped between the plastic and the metal...

Anyway, it's really more an emotional restoration. She was my dad's first brand new truck and he was pretty proud of that. He never had the money to fix the bed but, I knew he wanted to. I was still putting myself through college when he passed so, didn't have any money then. I just think it will be awesome driving around in his truck on the weekends.

[buildmyown]

Your original bed it shot stick a fork in it. The bed on the 85 looks totally useable how are the cross members and underside? Do both trucks have dual tanks if not block off that second filler hole with somethng so some gas jocky at a full serve doesnt use it by mistake.

As for your wheels watch for brake caliper interferance. The reason some of those era trucks came with 16.5 wheels was to celar the calipers if the truck had the heavy duty brake package. At least thats the reason on chevy trucks of that era i know ive had a few. To use a 16 inch wheel we used to grind the calipers down you dont have to take off much.