The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Converting flatbed to pickup bed

Hi all
I've got a '51 1-ton flatbed dually (9 foot bed) that I'm interested in converting to a pickup bed. I've seen the longer 9 foot 3800 series beds. Would it be possible to swap? I realize I would also have to swap the back axle for a single wheel version. Any help would be appreciated.

Dave

Dave,

Why change the axle? I'm adding dual wheels to my '59 3800 9' pickup.

You'll just have to widen the rear fenders slightly (like about 12 inches!).

As Bruce said, good luck in finding a box. I lucked out and bought someone else's abandoned project for $ 600.00 (the '57 in my sig) that came with a box in great shape. The box off my '59 1/2 ton was toast. No one makes new box sides for the 9 foot box. All the other parts are identical to the shorter boxes, you just need more crossbraces. Even the wood and bed strips are available. You may be able to graft a couple of sides from a 1/2 ton together to make the 9 foot sides if you really want to.

Check out my pics at http://community.webshots.com/user/Lane9999 if you want to see what I started with and where I am now.

Lane

Thanks Lane (and Bruce) for the help.

I'll be checking swap meets in the Fort Worth area; I know it's a long shot but I may get lucky. I've checked out the new sheet metal from a couple of vendors. You're right, I might have to bite the bullet and shell out three grand or so to get the parts, then end up stretching the bed with a grafted plug.

The sheet metal bed parts I've seen seem to run about 16 gauge. Has anyone had any good (or bad) experiences with any new sheet metal beds? Any vendors that seem to be better to deal with?

I know converting a flatbed to a conventional bed isn't necessarily the smartest/most economical way to go. I just like how the big 1 ton pickups look.