Hello, I'm new here. I have a 1952 Ford Pickup that I need to patch the bed sides. The bed has been totally disassembled. There are rust outs at the bed frame mounting hole locations. After I cut out the rusted out locations, should it be better to butt weld the patch in or flange the area and spot weld the patches on? The area are flat. The stake pockets bottoms will need to be replaced. I already have replacements for the stake pockets. Wish the photo was better Regards, DEJ from Kentucky
Welcome to the Hamb. I would cut out the offending bed mounting area and weld alittle heavier material on the underside by placing a larger patch than the hole. Don't spot weld just weld the edge to the good metal. Then just simply mud up the visible area. Stake pockets?? If it were me I would weld them shut with patch panels unless you plan on using them for signage or a rack. Tell us more about yourself.
In general , I favor butt welding to flange stuff. The flange just provides a pocket to hold moisture and create future rust problems. The butt welding is a little trickier, but once you get the hang of it you'll like the procedure.. One mans opinion..........
Then just simply mud up the visible area.?? you aint talkin about bondo are ya? id leave it, aint nothin better than to see "ole rusty" flyin down the street droppin pieces of the body/bed on a bran new BMW!
I've been working on this truck since 1990. I don't have a garage, I do all my work mainly in the driveway or my basement. I had the front nearly done in 1996. In 1997 I have a few photo of the truck going under water from the 1997 flood. Bed was then used as a beer can depository that year. Then after I recovered enough, I had to yank the flat head eight, it was siezed up couldn't git it to bulge. Replaced it with a 351W and automatic transmission. Ran new wiring, 'do not ever use anything electrical that has been flooded' thought I could get away with using the wipers again, not. After replacing fuse panel again. I replaced the fuel tank with a 74 GMC saddle tank. I then just touch up any area on the cab with primer. I decided in 2004 to work on the bed, had it sand blasted, I then just went ahead metal prep it, primered, and painted it, to prevent it from rusting any more. This year I was going to finish the bed, then paint the entire truck. I hope this wasn't to long. Best regards, DEJ from Kentucky
Hello Again, I finally was able to get a few pictures of my bed sides. The rust outs are typical for both sides of the bed. On the driver side the large circular hole is my gas filler opening. The fender will cover it, and I will create a filler door in the fender. The rust didn't look to bad until I had it sand blasted then all the little pin holes showed up at the mounting hole locations. Now back to what I was questioning, should I butt the patches in or flange and spot weld the patches. Any help would be appreciated. Regards, DEJ, from Kentucky
got a lot of tinworm to hack out, but its worth saving,,, go with a butt weld, its a bit more tricky, but as was mentioned a nicer fit once done. not to mention butt welds are easier to bump out afterwards to get the tin straight.
IMHO, that thing isn't worth saving. Rust dents, just a lot of wasted time. Look for replacement panels.
cut out the rot and deep pits, then butt weld Only! Flangeing is for people who dont know any better and for body repair shops whose only concern is to make money fast. As stated, flangeing looks terrible and cheap and will rust out soon. A butt weld will look good and last the rest of your life. Your bed is about the same as my 35 was. It can be repaired and you will be able to say that you rescued that part and repaired it to be as good as new. If you are rich and wasteful and dont care about the parts made by Henry that fit properly and have a history, buy new panels.
I appreciate all the replys, I try to post picture when I get it done thanks. Regards, DEJ from Kentucky
Welcome from a 50 f-1 owner. The stake pockets you can buy cheap. I'd butt weld all day before the flange. I feel like the flange is just asking for rust, plus you can see it on the back side. I saved my bed sides, or am actually in the process. Between the dents and rust, I should have probably just ordered new bed sides at about 250 each. Maybe you should consider it.
I'd just butt weld the pieces. It takes some getting used to, especially when you're mating new metal up with old. And try to use similar gauge metal. I'm assuming you'll be MIGing it? Maybe try spotting at a few spots and brazing the rest in. That is what I had to do on my Chrysler. The metal I had to weld to was somewhat fragile, so I made sure I got some good solid spot welds between the pieces and then just braze the rest of the seam. Grind it smooth and it will practically be indistinguishable.
were all here waiting to die, so we all have a bit of time (thats why we build cars in the meantime) i would personally fix that pannel, a new pannel would be ok, but more expensive and i like to keep things as cheap as i can get it! doing it the cheap way saves money for fuel to drive it @ 2.85 a gallon
If your wanting that to look good, toss um and replace um. For 250 a side your wasting your time.( I don't know about you, but for me life is too short to spend that kind of time fixing junk) If you do fix them butt weld.
Try Dennis Carpenter FORD reproductions in North Carolina for replacement sides. I had a '50 F-1, got quick service from them and my parts fit pretty good. Worth checking into.
What Tinbender said. And spudshat too! Youll have to hammer and dolly the crap outta that then shrink all the areas to get rid of the oil-can effect from flattening all those small dents. Im a cheap bastard but I would replace those with aftermarket ones. If you got the skill and time, you can fix it. They would be great to learn on!
imho... I wouldn't wast time trying to repair those sides when replacements are relatively cheap. I have a body shop and I do almost all of my repair with butt welds and that side could be saved but you would have so much time in it with dents also that it wouldn't be worth it . If you're not that good with body work you probably won't be happy with the results anyway. It sure would be good practise though.
I will probable have to save these. All you 48-52 F1 Ford Pickup owners would notice that these bed sides are longer than normal bedsides. These sides are 8 footers from an F2, compared to the 6 footers on the F1 trucks. Dennis Carpenter and other old Ford Truck places only sold the smaller bed sides. Even the header and tail gate are about a couple of inches wider on the larger trucks. I do appreciate any and all feedback. I would have bought new sides, but except for N.O.S. and how expensive they or new ones would be, there's no comercial market for the longer beds. I probably repair the rust outs then work on the dents? I once came across an 8 foot bed in a salvage yard once in great shape, went back a couple of weeks later to get it. They crushed it the week before. Regards, DEJ from Kentucky
skip trying to fix them and find a decent sheet metal place that can roll a flange and brake the top and sides weld the wheel well from the old bed in and call it a day. you could get both sides made in 16 gauge 8 feet long for less then $250