OK, so it IS a sickness...I just bought another truck.

[campfire67]

That was very interesting, I never knew that my self
something to keep in mind.

[2bocat]

If your new treasure has a power steering setup I could on my '66 I'd be happy to buy it from you if you part out the '72 . Lemme know...

Thanks!

[willowbilly3]

Keith, if you keep parting out those nice trucks there won't be any left. The nice straight F-250 for a cab and now this nice shorty for a bed? It looks nicer than most of the trucks the rest of us drive! Anyway, nice score. I wish I could score a nice short bed.

[FORDification]

Well, the truck finally made it's way here. Actually, it made it here Nov. 5th, the day I was leaving for the Texas Meet & Greet. I was beginning to wonder if it would ever get delivered, but it did finally make it. However, I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to be able to use this box. It's really not in much better shape than the one I've currently got. Each box has problems in different areas, so I suppose I could always combine the two into one....but since SWB boxes aren't exactly plentiful, I'd really hate to destroy one that was repairable to fix another....so right now, I'm not really sure what I'm going to do.

I stopped by the shop for about a few minutes on the way home tonight after work just to snap a few pictures, since it's really the first time I got a chance to look it over. (The day it was unloaded I had about 5 minutes to look it over before having to leave.) It was getting dark, so excuse the poor picture quality on these shots.

Here's an overall view...as you can see, the front sheetmetal has been removed by the seller, leaving me everything else::



This box has some rust in a couple areas that I've NEVER seen before....up along the top, just behind the cab on each side. Here's the driver's side:



...and here's the passenger side:



Since both of these areas are basically hidden by the cab, I guess I'm not overly worried about them. I could easily just cut out the rusty areas and weld in some patch panels, and they'd be virtually invisible. However, there IS some rust getting started in the bed seam, and it looks like a previous owner tried to cover it up with some putty. You can see some of it chipping off in the next shot...the question is, how much more of this am I going to find once I start stripping the paint?



The left rear corner has been crunched a little too. I'm kinda thinking now that if I were to attempt to use this bed, I might just have to pull the end caps off each side of my current bed and weld them onto this one. The added benefit would be keeping the bed looking more like a 67's:



So anyway, I guess that's where things stand at the moment. Hopefully I'll get the chance to get this thing pushed into the shop this weekend so I can give it a good thorough going-over and compare it with my current box, and then try to make some decisions about what to do.

[rjewkes]

Hey, Keith If we have that Mid Western M&G in the spring could we deal with that chrome we where discussing and then i could use a set of those rims if you don't need them.

I'm looking for 2 matching and straight(or fixable straight)Rims If needed i could buy all four.And they could be painted thats fine. Now that I'm Thinking about it After taxes sounds good. Everyone Could have some more money if they file early enough.

I'll post that thought there as well.

[4x4x4crewcab]

------------From a previous post-------------------------------------------

Many years back Ford replaced the 67-69 box side part # (if purchasing replacment from Ford in the mid 70's for sure)
to the 70-72 style part # (yes, if you had a accident and your box side was damaged the Ford new replacment part you would have received would have been the 70-72 style with lamp hole) This box side would have came with a seperate cover to block the hole. The part number for the cover only was D2TZ.99278C38.A and was called a rear body corner panel lamp opening cover. I'm not sure how they attach but came with the box side if you purchased one (after number change) or was also sold individually.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------


Well the suspense was killing me and with a job switch coming up I thought it was now or never to find out what these little devils looked like.
So I aquired a set and after seeing them in person I don't think I will be keeping them. But did want to share my findings with you all. Simply a 5" x 2 1/2 " piece of metal bent correctly and ready to weld. This piece would cover the marker lamp hole and finish the center body line on the box. Photo attached

[fordman]

where did you get them?

[4x4x4crewcab]

From a obsolete parts supplier and I really didn't know what to expect. I was kinda thinking along the lines of a bolt on piece until I actually seen them. They are a bit pricey for the product so I will be returning them for credit.

[FORDification]

Very interesting! Thanks for sharing that, Mark. I'd had have no idea they'd have made something like that.

So how much were they anyway?

[flyboy2610]

4x4x4crewcab,
You have a job change coming up?
What are you going to be doing?

[4x4x4crewcab]

I pm'ed both of you. 20 years with Ford parts, last day tomorrow. and

[4x4x4crewcab]

Keith I just noticed in the picture of your new box. The lamps in the holes are aftermarket. The originals or at least the one on the L.H. side has been replaced at one time or another.

[FORDification]

Yeah, when the left rear corner was tweaked it must have broken that light out, and the owner just picked up a generic clearance light and popped it in there. The one on the right side is the factory piece though.