Project F350. Phase one.

[vipertech]

As there doesn't appear to be an Off Topic section on this forum,  I guess I'll place this post here!  ;D

A little background:

When I first met my wife, her Father owned this Ford F350 truck. A short time after we were married, he purchased two wrecked F350's that were dually rear ends. From the three trucks, he re-built a new truck taking the cab and engine from the original, frame and rear end from one of the dually's and parts from the third. He drove this "new" truck for several years using it on the farm, etc, then sold it to his nephew Dale, my wife's cousin. He drove it for awhile then let it sit for a few years allowing it to deteriorate.

Last year, my son Alex expressed an interest in taking the truck and trying to fix it up. He's on a career path for fixing heavy equipment so I told him it would be okay if he could keep it at the farm and get it running there. As it turns out Dale gave the truck to Alex as payment for working on Dale's farm. Last summer, he got the truck running. It runs pretty good actually. He removed the bed because it was completely rotted away. He replaced the hood and some panels and fixed up the interior somewhat. The frame was sanded down and cleaned up.

A few months ago, one of my fears came to be. The truck was brought to my house! Now this eyesore is sitting in my driveway. Here's some shots of it a few days ago:

To his credit, my son is continuing to work on it. It's not just sitting there doing nothing. But of course, his budget is pretty much zero. Well, I've finally had to step up and help get this thing on the road. In order for it to pass inspection, it has to have a bed on it. Alex decided that he wanted to build a flatbed for it.

So, that is where we stand on the project. I've truly crossed over to the world of redneckery!! Building my first flatbed on a pickup truck with little or no budget. This is very much a MacGyver style build!  We're not shooting for a showroom restore by any stretch! We obtained some nice pieces of scrape 2" steel tubing and have been using it to build the under-frame for the flatbed.

Here's where we stand as of this past weekend. We've measured and cut the steel tubing for the flatbed frame. Because the tube wasn't long enough, we had to weld on extensions so it would run front to back. Then we built the footer just behind the cab so the flatbed will be level on the truck frame as well as allow the rear tires to compress without hitting the underside of the flatbed. We cut more posts for the flatbed frame to sit on and welded these to the passenger runner. The driver side runner had to be built in three sections to allow for the gas tank fill pipe.

Here's some pics of the progress so far:

Next up: Have to finish both runners and weld them to the truck frame. Then we have to cut and weld on the supports that run side to side on which the actual bed will be attached. We're going to use diamond plate for the bed.

If you told me a few years ago I'd be building a flatbed on a pickup truck, I'd have probably laughed and said you were crazy.

[burmjohn]

I fixed the font, it was micro sized

[vipertech]

I fixed the font, it was micro sized

Thanks.  That's weird.  I also had to fix a bit of font between the pics.  wonder why it did that?  Oh well.

;D

[fasteddie]

I have seen some truck beds made out of pressure treated wood . I wonder how much a truck bed would cost at that parts place on Rt 104 just west of Slocum Road in Ontario . 

[vipertech]

I have seen some truck beds made out of pressure treated wood . I wonder how much a truck bed would cost at that parts place on Rt 104 just west of Slocum Road in Ontario

Not sure.  But I've not had much luck with them in previous dealings.  For one, their website is crap.  Second, whenever I call over there asking about parts, they never have them.  They tend to refer me elsewhere. 

[skyzmine]

I have seen some truck beds made out of pressure treated wood . I wonder how much a truck bed would cost at that parts place on Rt 104 just west of Slocum Road in Ontario . 

Ontario Truck Parts 

        (315) 524-1900

1075 State Route 104

Ontario, NY 14519 43.2267 -77.3287