Another day at the shop....with BAD news! [LG PICS!]

[FORDification]

On today's agenda was to finally get the parts truck into the shop and get started cutting of the lower bedsides, to use as patch panels for my project. This '68 F100 was the very first parts truck I bought several years ago. I got it mainly for the engine (390) but then soon afterward got a good deal on a later-model 390 and will be using it instead. Here's a 'before' shot (taken after removing the topper, which was protecting the engine that's going into my truck):



Before I even got started cutting these out, I noticed a crack along the bed seam. Knowing that there was probably some Bondo in there, I stuck a screwdrive in there and pried up....and got a HECK of a bad surprise!



Apparently the bump along the side was crushed in, and a previous owner then drilled a bunch of holes in there to use a dent puller. When he found the dent puller wasn't working, he just Bondo'd it up....and it's a full 1/4" thick!

So at this point, I'm thinking that although I really didn't need this right now, I could still work with it. So I spent the rest of the day getting both sides cut off. Once they were off, I decided to then give them a good going-over. The driver's side was in great shape, and I can still use it. However, the more I dug on the passenger's side bedside, the worse it got.



...and then I started poking around the lower section of this panel, and it got even worse!!



Needless to say, this is going in the trash...and along with it, about 4 hours of my life I'll never get back.

And now I have to go buy another parts truck.

I'm tired and dirty, so I'm off to the showers. I'll post a project update page tomorrow evening, with more gruesome pictures.

[mcarlson11]

my gosh that bondo is THICK! And that is a lot of rust.

[71-F-250SC-72-F-250C]

That reminds me of my freinds old Fiat Spider. He got the car for $200 and I guess it had been hit pretty hard on the drivers side because there was alot of bondo in it, and it was all cracking out. We sold that car for $1000. As we were test driving it, we could see the road through the floor boards. The guy who bought it said "It seems like a solid car." We werent necessarily trying to screw him, because that car ran good. I woulden't be scared to take it on any length of trip.

[390Nut]

Gotta give someone SOME credit, they did a heck of a bondo job. Can't hardly see it in the first pic.

Sorry to hear ya can't use that panel, though, especially as long as you've been holding onto that truck for parts!

[spartman]

THAT SUCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry I didn't get a chance to stop in.

Wound up spending all day friday in Missouri.

Got to meet FORDMAN though.

Had to go home on Saturday since the truck was giving up engine codes.

The thing is only a year old and has been in the shop for engine codes twice now.

Don't think we will keep it when the lease runs out.

[binder56jd]

that is just plumb rotten, keith, not just the metal- the whole deal is enough to make one throw a fit- be sure to carry your magnet on the next hunt- that much bondo would've weighed up good at the scrap yard- good luck-jd

[hutch1973]

That stinks, but they didn't do a bad job with the mud, as previously mentioned.

[72hiboy4x4]

lookin' like it time for a cool FLATBED!

[jzjames]

Why is there so much rust in Nebraska Kieth?

[FORDification]

Because the Dept. of Roads dumps so much salt on the roads in the wintertime here. Just lately they've quit using salt and are now using a liquid de-icer, but from what I understand this new stuff is twice as corrosive as salt.

I don't think many people are aware of it, or even care, because nobody owns vehicles long-term anymore. Instead they'll drive a car for a couple years and then trade it off, so the salt issue really doesn't bother most people, since body corrosion will just be somebody else's problem.

and Mike, I keep thinking the same thing, about the flatbed idea! I've even toyed around with the idea of just putting what I've got back together....and making a very short bed (in height), using my top bedside panels, essentially creating a box which would only be about 10"-12" high. It would definitely be unique, huh?

[72hiboy4x4]

that would be cool!
I've always liked the tow bed style beds, with the front at stock height, and the rear low like you are thinking.

[flyboy2610]

That is a real bummer, Keith!
If you find a parts truck with decent front fenders and power brakes, I'll buy the fenders and power booster/ bracket and help you recoup some of your cost.

[dotcentral]

Sorry to hear about the setback. Hope you can find something else at a decent price.

[marz68]

You guys will probably kill me for this but when I replaced the long bed with a short bed the long bed sat in my back yard for 3 years,I could not get rid of it so I cut it up into 4 pieces and scraped it. At that time I did not know about fordification or else I would of given it away for free.

[grounded72]