Beds, Tailgates, and Components

Beds, tailgates, & components

Beds
Tailgates
Box Rails
Fuel Filler Doors
Bronco Roof

Illustrations
Part #'s
Tonneau
Flareside Bed Floors
Bed Bolts

Note: Type (83) is Flareside, and Type (99) is Styleside.

Prior to July of 1982, all Flaresides used 7 boards and 6 metal strips to make up the floor, but as of 7/82 Ford went to 3 pieces of plywood and 5 metal strips. The tabs below show those two approaches and the dimensions of the parts.

And, for the moment at least let's preserve links to threads in the forum about this topic:

Flareside bed strips questions

Prior to 7/82
After 7/82
Metal Floor

Bullnose Forum member Zach 1981 Flareside said he did his bed this way:

I got my oak boards from Home Depot. Three 8" x 1" in middle. Two 10" x 1" outside of those. And two 6" x 1" on far outside. Boards are all technically 1/2" less wide, that's how American boards are cut. 78.5" long. I didn't measure grooves, just assembled boards and strips in truck, bolted a few spots down, and drew pencil lines where I wanted to use router. I used router to counter sink bolt holes.

And when I had uncut boards bolted on for pencil marks, I drew lines around wheel wells from under the fenders and marked bolt holes from top. I never measured that stuff, just assembled first, drew lines, took it apart, cut fender wells, routed grooves, drilled bolt holes and on the 10" x 1"s, counter sunk holes with router, assembled for testing, took apart, sanded, polyurethane 7 light coats non glossy, dried for half a week for urethane to harden, assembled. Only measured length and I did that at Home Depot so they were cut 78.5" before I started project.

In addition, he explained that bought the strips and bolts from NPD, and that the clear coat is Rust-Oleum Varathane 250241H 1-Quart Classic Clear Water Based Outdoor Spar Urethane, Satin Finish. Plus, under the two rows of eye hooks are two 1 x 3" oak, painted black, that are full width of bed. He'll use them to tie down a couple of small dirt bikes.

You can see some of his project in this thread, although there's more in this thread. But, here are some pics from both threads:

As discussed in this thread on the Bullnose Forum, the dimensions of the plywood pieces are: "The middle piece is 22 1/2 inches wide by 78 1/2 inches long. The two outer pieces are 15 3/16 at their widest point. I then suggest you set the side panels and draw your lines to cut the wheel wells out with the jig saw or tool of your choice." But Cory/Rembrant said "I believe I cut my outer panels a hair wider at 15 1/4" or 15 3/8". I wanted a smaller gap between them...personal choice, nothing more."

Here are some illustrations of how to prepare for the metal strips: (Click on them for larger views.)

Here are some pictures of Cory's bed floor:

One member of the forum, Dave/FuzzFace2, has used a Styleside bed floor in order to put a metal floor in his Flareside. His thread called 81 flare side custom with 300 six and T18 has many posts about how he did it, starting with this one. But we will try to isolate the bits and pieces on how he did it and consolidate them here - over time.

As you can see from the illustration below, 1980 - 84 Styleside beds had 8 bolts and 1985 and later beds had 6 bolts. And those bolts varied in size, which you can determine from the information from Ford's 1986 Standard & Utility Parts Catalog, which is shown below the first illustration.

Illustrations
Part Numbers
Changing Tailgates
Pictures

Here's where the bumper, discussed above, goes in the channel on the front side of the tailgate. (Credit: Ron/reamer)

You can easily put a later tailgate, such as one off of an 83-86 truck, on an earlier bed, such as an 80-82. The differences in the two tailgates are shown in the first picture. As you can see, the later 'gate, shown on top, has cables and two bolts for the latch. The earlier gate has straps and 3 bolts, with the strap attached to the latch. So, while it would be possible to install the later latch on an earlier gate or vice versa, I don't think that is a good approach due to the different clearances cut on the 'gate to clear the cable as well as the differences in bolt holes.

The best way, IMHO, is to put the later gate on the earlier bed, as follows:

Remove the tail light assembly
Find the 13MM nut shown in the 2nd picture and put a wrench on it
Put a wrench on the "bolt" in the 3rd picture, the one the straps hang from, but don't turn it as the hole it is in has a flat that is supposed to prevent the bolt from turning and if you do turn it the larger bolt for the cable won't go through w/o drilling. (Don't ask!)
Remove the 13MM nut and the bolt
Install the Torx-headed bolt that holds the cable and in the tail light cavity put a 10MM x 1.25 nut on the bolt and tighten it down, tightly.
Repeat the process on the other side.
Install tail gate and straps.
Done!

I assume it would be possible to put an earlier 'gate on a later bed. However, you won't have the flat in the hole for the strap bolt so you will have to ensure it is oriented properly so you can get the straps off. And, because of the shoulder on the bolt I'm not sure how it would settle into the larger hole. Also, the earlier bed is reinforced where the bolt goes through, as you can see in the 2nd picture, but I'm not sure that the later bed is. The fact that I don't have any nuts from the hardware I've taken off of later 'gates tells me that the later beds have a welded-in nut/reinforcement plate, which may pose a problem as well. Good luck!