Oh yaaaaa .... they may *look* like 1/2-tons with longer beds .... But .... they ... are .... NOT!!
Welcome to one-ton ownership
pick up or flatbed? The trick is knowing what you need and being able to recognize it when you do come across it at a junk yard or swap meet or yard sale. Like Jerry says, brake parts are hard to find, the pick up bed parts (except for the front piece and the tailgate ...
) are very hard. Bumpers ... Wheels ... Front axle ... you get the idea.
One thing is to network. I have some replacement parts I've managed to find from other guys wrapping up projects or converting to hotrod or just newer style brakes. You have to be able to pounce on stuff with little or no notice and be willing to bring home a bunch of stuff that isn't what you want or need just to be able to get a couple of things you *do* need or want.
You have to be willing and able to walk for hours (and miles) at Carlisle or Hershey or any other giant swap meet and be able to spot one-ton running boards from 100 yards even when they are mixed in with a bunch of other equally rusty sheetmetal (and 3/4-ton running boards). Sometimes, you have to get 3/4-ton parts (like bed sides, filler panels or running boards) so if the opportunity arises, you can work deals with the 3/4-ton guys doing the same thing (or who mistakenly got one-ton parts ...). You will buy stuff that looks close, but won't be the right things (I have a spare tire carrier that falls into that category ...
). I had 1/2-ton bumpers on my truck for a long time ... That's just the life of a 3/4-ton or 1-ton restorer ... but some day, at Hershey or somewhere, near the end of a brutal day of walking in the heat, looking at a million rusty things, you will spot something ... the bed side filler panels, for example (between the bed and the running boards). They will be in with a bunch of similar items (like 1/2-ton filler panels), but even though the end is near, your back and feet are killing you and you hear that ice-cold beer back in the hotel room calling you, you take a second look and see that two of them are longer than the others ... eureka! Mine were sticking out of a barrel with a bunch of 1/2-ton panels ... (about the 245th such barrel looked at that day ...) only they were sticking out .. just ...a... little... further ... And they were NOS (I still haven't painted them ...) That was 20 years ago at Hershey. But the stuff is still out there. Somewhere ...
There is no secret formula, strategy or source -- you just have to adopt a long game strategy -- be patient, learn what you are looking for and be dogged in your pursuit. Wear out a lot of walking shoes. And accept that this search is really hard and will take a long time for some of it. Hopefully, you don't need too much of the really hard-to-find stuff. The big swap meets are your friends ... but you never know when stuff is lurking at the small ones, either. And more and more, swap meet sellers know what they have, and know how hard some of us are looking for it, so be prepared to shell out a lot more today than this stuff could be had a few years ago.
