Last November I got this 52 F1. After looking at pictures of other '52's, I noticed my bed didn't look like the others. I noticed that the forward panel, between the cab and rear fender doesn't have a seam about 6 inches above the running board. Not a big deal, but I'd like to know what bed it is, if it's not a '52.
i dont know , it looks like the correct bed it might have some aftermarket bed sides i know my 51 f-1 has the seam you are talking about
How about crawling under the bed and see if there is the flange where the bottom filler piece bolts to the upper bed side? The outer side could have been welded to smooth out the seam.
Thats what I'm thinking, Its been years since I built mine but I think it had the panel, I looked at what few pictures I have and can't tell.
I'd guess it was either filled, or the whole side panel replaced with a home-made panel of sheetmetal. If you're real concerned, I can put you in touch with the guy that built my new bed, he is absolutely an expert on Ford boxes, it's pretty much all he does. He even went so far as to to tell me how the freakin' spot weld pattern is different from '50 to '51, or some crazy thing like that. (I didn't have the heart to tell him I was filling them anyway). Here's his site, talk to Todd, he's a great guy: http://www.northernclassictrucks.com/
Thanks 8flat, I'll check it out The wheels were on my AV8. I got tired of the red wheel look and wanted to make it look more like 1940. So I got some 16" and painted them black. Lot's of miles between the two themes.
OK. Mystery solved. I couldn't crawl under it, as there is four inches of ice in my driveway. But I did stick my hand thru the wheel well and felt what seems to be the lower panel bolts. Someone must have welded the seam up and skimed it with bondo. The right side shows some cracking where the seam should be. Thanks to all for your help.
That is the correct bed for a '51 or '52. The 48-50 bed has raised panels in the sides, similar to early pu's...My old '51 had a '48 or '49 bed on it.
It looks to me like your truck might be an F-2 or 3...... maybe the bed was shortened or something..... is the front 8-lug? it looked to me like the front fender wheel opening are larger that an F-1...
The front tires are 5:60-15's. They were on the front of my AV8. It's a F1 alright. Just an optical illusion. I put the roadster wheels on, because the wheels that were on there when it arrived, looked aweful. My wheels made it look a little better. Damn little.
Ford changed the F-1 bed to flat side in mid 1950. Before that they had a raised panel. They didn't change the 8' box, or Express Box, on the F-2-F-3, they had raised sides through 1952.
The 1948 - 50 Ford truck had raised panels on the bedsides. The 51-52 had smooth bedsides. The bedsides on the 51-52 look simular to the 53-up. The difference is the bolt holes for the fenders. The 51-52 hole go close to the rear of the bed just in front of the rear pockets on the six foot bed. The 53 - up have some space between the rear pocket and the bolt holes. Also the pocket on the 48-50 are curved and the 51-52 are straight. The bed on your truck looks like 51-52
Ford used basically the same PU box from about 1942 up until mid 1950 for the F-1, in mid 1950 they switched to the flat side box, the rear fenders also change to accommodate the flat side. The fenders on the previous box had a set in the flange to line up with the raised side. The '51-52 is different than the '53 up to the late '70s. The fenders did change location somewhere in that time but the box stayed the same. There may be some minor changes but nothing that drastic.
Thanks you for the lessons on F1-F3 pickup boxes. I surely learned a lot from this post. I'm happy to find out, I have the correct box for the year of my truck. Now I just need to get some nicer weather, so I can start taking it apart. Paul
Thanks Tom, but I think mother nature did the real work. Hopefully, I'll have her back dressed in her original vermilion red. Maybe with some flattener added to accelerate the aging process.
The Jalopy Journal
