That is a great looking flat bed. in my opinion, you should do whatever it takes to save/reuse the "beaded surround" of the bed. Any decent fabrication shop should be able to replace the crossmembers. After owning a number of trucks with standard pickup beds, I now find that I much prefer flatbeds. Of my 4 trucks, 3 are flatbeds; a 1956 3800, a 1959 3800, and a 1979 C30.
Good luck in your quest to save the flatbed.
Oldbolter
1959 Apache 3800 dually flat bed/dump with 261
1956 3800 dually flat bed/dump with 235
1957 3600 flat bed, 350 engine, 700R4, PS, disc brakes, 14 bolt rear with 4.11 gears
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