long bed flare side to short bed

[stephen44]

need a new bed - have the chance of a long bed flareside (stepside) - but my truck is shortbed

Is it as easy as shortening from the cab end until fenders align with wheels - or do I need to remove metal from both ends ? - or have i missed the point totally

Anyone got any advice - can't find a short bed one anywhere

[sargentrs]

Pops up on the "Did you know" thing in the header occasionally. Something like 16" shorter before the the rear tires and 4" shorter after the rear tires. This page may nail it down a little better for you. http://www.fordification.com/tech/images/bb70/p144.jpg

[stephen44]

thought so - darn

Wonder what it matters if the back is a bit longer ? - guess bumpers would be wrong ?

[sargentrs]

That's about all there is back there, isn't it? Guess you could make some 4" extended bumper brackets. Tail light harness might need extending a little also.

[mk]

Ford did this (shortened the long flareside because it was wider and matched the newer rear axle track better) when they brought back the shortbox in '76 after a three year absence. Though the long flareside boxes are wider than the early short ones, they are also taller and it looked goofy. That resulted in the flat tops on these from 77 on.


mike