Flare Side Bed - Let's Take One Apart!

[Rembrant]

Things are progressing even if there isn't a lot of progress to show. I did use a wire wheel to remove the rusty scale from the frame and then power washed it:

The tank & sending unit have arrived as has the filler neck kit. Memorial Day weekend was a bit damp/rainy and not particularly good for painting. So, I'm hoping to get the frame touched up with rust encapsulating paint this week and get the tank installed.

I did fabricate some bed-to-frame blocks for the front cross sill. These blocks actually go inside of the boxed section of the sill to prevent the large bolts, that secure the bed to the frame, from crushing the boxed section of the sill. I used a 4x4 piece of pressure treated lumber to make the pieces. It took a little bit of "fettling" (as the English say) to get the pieces to fit. But, they're in there now and aren't going anywhere.

The sill is shown upside down in this image but you can clearly see the location of the wooden block. My truck did not have these blocks when I dis-assembled the bed. Only after looking at the Mar-K block kit did I realize I was missing these. And, yes, I still need to use a paddle bit to drill the thru-holes.

That frame looks great man, well done. And good job on the wood blocks too. Funny, I've never heard those bits called paddle bits before...I call 'em spade bits! If I remember right, the holes are 5/8's and the bolts 1/2"?

By the way, the wood blocks are kinda odd in that all five rows are different, but they are pretty straight forward to make. Guys always stress over them and are looking for dimensions, etc...

When the Flareside bed is assembled, even with no floor, you can set the whole thing on the frame and it will sit at normal stock height without the wood blocks because the front and rear sills have the metal mounts with wood inside them. On the last bed that I build, the wood blocks for the three middle rows were the last items I made. The sizes were easy to measure with the bed installed.

In any case, good job. It's looking great.

[Bronco638]

That frame looks great man, well done.

Thanks! But, that's just after being washed. I want to get some rust encapsulating paint on there before the bed kit arrives and I re-install the gas tank. My neighbor thought I had it sand-blasted and re-painted (granted, he was observing from a distance).

And good job on the wood blocks too.

Funny, I've never heard those bits called paddle bits before...I call 'em

spade bits! If I remember right, the holes are 5/8's and the bolts 1/2"?

I had nothing to go by when making the blocks for the front sill (there were none). They're pretty much custom because of the size variations in the sill's construction. I did take measurements but then had to shave a little off of both. I also had to use a small hammer to tap them into place. If they were loose enough to slide in, I was afraid that the bolt hole (that still needs to be drilled) would broach the block side. The holes in the frame measure 3/4" so the holes in the blocks and the bolts may be 5/8" (both block and hardware are in storage so I don't know for sure, at the moment). My set of bits is made by Irwin and they label them as; "Speedbor". I guess I had a friend refer to them as "paddle" bits and it stuck. Spade makes sense, too! =)

By the way, the wood blocks are kinda odd in that all five rows are

different, but they are pretty straight forward to make. Guys always stress

over them and are looking for dimensions, etc...

Hmm, I only have four rows of blocks (eight total) and only had three rows (six blocks) after dis-assembly. The ones I have are original (as far as I can tell) but I may just make new ones (as they all seem to be derived from a 2x4) from pressure treated lumber. But, yes, they are all different/unique.

When the Flareside bed is assembled, even with no floor, you can set the

whole thing on the frame and it will sit at normal stock height without the

wood blocks because the front and rear sills have the metal mounts with wood

inside them. On the last bed that I build, the wood blocks for the three

middle rows were the last items I made. The sizes were easy to measure with

the bed installed.

This is nice to know. But, I'll probably re-build the bed from the frame up. As I'm doing it by myself, it just seems a little easier that way.

In any case, good job. It's looking great.

Thanks again, we're getting there!

[Rembrant]

Hmm, I only have four rows of blocks (eight total) and only had three rows (six blocks) after dis-assembly. The ones I have are original (as far as I can tell) but I may just make new ones (as they all seem to be derived from a 2x4) from pressure treated lumber. But, yes, they are all different/unique.

Ya, the front and rear sills have the wood blocks encapsulated in the metal...so technically you can set the whole bed on there without wood blocks at all, and then slide them in later. Mine were always a tight fit so I shaved them until they could be tapped lightly into place. There would have been 5 sets of blocks originally. The front and rear sills, and then three crossmembers in between.

I don't remember what the original blocks in my '84 were made from. For my 1980, I made a new set out of some hardwood that was laying around...but I forget what it was.

Hard to believe, that as recently as the late 1980's they were still using wood parts to build these trucks haha.

 

[Bronco638]

Ya, the front and rear sills have the wood blocks encapsulated in the

metal...so technically you can set the whole bed on there without wood

blocks at all, and then slide them in later. Mine were always a tight fit so

I shaved them until they could be tapped lightly into place. There would

have been 5 sets of blocks originally. The front and rear sills, and then

three crossmembers in between.

I am still confused about the 5 sets of blocks versus 4 sets thing. And, maybe it's because my truck is the first model year of the 7th Generation. But, I only have 4 sets of blocks (and, actually started out with three). If you count the sills/x-members from front-to-back (cab to tailgate), there are five. In my truck, #1 sill has them inside the sill and they're used more like crush protection, the bed does not actually sit on them. For Sills #2 & #3, the blocks are partially captured by the sill and are positioned between the sill and the frame (wood contacts metal, above [sill] and below [frame]). Sill #5 (below tailgate) has the blocks sit between the sill and the frame (unlike sill #1? My #5 sill has had a tough life and may no longer be 'whole'). Sill #4 does not have 5/8" holes drilled for the bolt to go thru the bed floor, thru the sill and thru the frame (there is no 3/4" hole in the frame, at this location, either). It is also longer than sills #2 & #3 so it can span the full width of the bed floor. If you scroll up to the top of the page, I posted pictures of the bed with the floor removed. You can see sills #2 & #3 sitting on their respective wood blocks. Sill #4 is sitting on the frame. So.......what? I have an odd ball truck? Or, First Model Year of a new Generation always has quirks? Hmm...

Here's a pic of the sill Mar-K manufactures:

I cannot tell if it's built like sill #1 (encapsulates the blocks) or sills #2 & #3, sits on the blocks

I don't remember what the original blocks in my '84 were made from. For my

1980, I made a new set out of some hardwood that was laying around...but I

forget what it was.

I made some new ones from pressure treated 4x4 lumber. As I mentioned, I already cut blocks to fit inside sill #1. I made blocks for sills #2 & #3 and then realized I didn't have enough 4x4 for the two blocks for sill #5. I'll have to go digging in the shed/wood scrap bin.

I also realized that the blocks with two holes are only to simplify assembly; they're "ambidextrous", they can be used on either frame rail. So, the person assembling the bed didn't have to think about which blocks they were grabbing from the bin. Since I know which is which, I only drilled one hole in each (thus making them 'dextrous'...).

And, yes, I took comprehensive measurements and made an elevation drawing of each block (my high school mechanical drawing teacher would be so proud).

Hard to believe, that as recently as the late 1980's they were still using

wood parts to build these trucks haha.

This continues to blow my mind. The only thing I could think of is that they knew they were phasing these beds out. So, it didn't make any sense to come up with new tooling to make the bed floors out of metal.

[Rembrant]

Ya, the front and rear sills have the wood blocks encapsulated in the

metal...so technically you can set the whole bed on there without wood

blocks at all, and then slide them in later. Mine were always a tight fit so

I shaved them until they could be tapped lightly into place. There would

have been 5 sets of blocks originally. The front and rear sills, and then

three crossmembers in between.

I am still confused about the 5 sets of blocks versus 4 sets thing. And, maybe it's because my truck is the first model year of the 7th Generation. But, I only have 4 sets of blocks (and, actually started out with three). If you count the sills/x-members from front-to-back (cab to tailgate), there are five. In my truck, #1 sill has them inside the sill and they're used more like crush protection, the bed does not actually sit on them. For Sills #2 & #3, the blocks are partially captured by the sill and are positioned between the sill and the frame (wood contacts metal, above [sill] and below [frame]). Sill #5 (below tailgate) has the blocks sit between the sill and the frame (unlike sill #1? My #5 sill has had a tough life and may no longer be 'whole'). Sill #4 does not have 5/8" holes drilled for the bolt to go thru the bed floor, thru the sill and thru the frame (there is no 3/4" hole in the frame, at this location, either). It is also longer than sills #2 & #3 so it can span the full width of the bed floor. If you scroll up to the top of the page, I posted pictures of the bed with the floor removed. You can see sills #2 & #3 sitting on their respective wood blocks. Sill #4 is sitting on the frame. So.......what? I have an odd ball truck? Or, First Model Year of a new Generation always has quirks? Hmm...

Here's a pic of the sill Mar-K manufactures:

I cannot tell if it's built like sill #1 (encapsulates the blocks) or sills #2 & #3, sits on the blocks

I don't remember what the original blocks in my '84 were made from. For my

1980, I made a new set out of some hardwood that was laying around...but I

forget what it was.

I made some new ones from pressure treated 4x4 lumber. As I mentioned, I already cut blocks to fit inside sill #1. I made blocks for sills #2 & #3 and then realized I didn't have enough 4x4 for the two blocks for sill #5. I'll have to go digging in the shed/wood scrap bin.

I also realized that the blocks with two holes are only to simplify assembly; they're "ambidextrous", they can be used on either frame rail. So, the person assembling the bed didn't have to think about which blocks they were grabbing from the bin. Since I know which is which, I only drilled one hole in each (thus making them 'dextrous'...).

And, yes, I took comprehensive measurements and made an elevation drawing of each block (my high school mechanical drawing teacher would be so proud).

Hard to believe, that as recently as the late 1980's they were still using

wood parts to build these trucks haha.

This continues to blow my mind. The only thing I could think of is that they knew they were phasing these beds out. So, it didn't make any sense to come up with new tooling to make the bed floors out of metal.

Here's a picture of my 1984 when I was assembling it. My 1980 (and the 1980 before that one) was the same.

You can only see the front sill and 3 crossmembers here, but there's also two wood blocks in the rear sill, encapsulated in metal brackets, the same as the front sill. If yours are missing, they may have broken off...they do that. They crack from vibration, and eventually break off. I had to weld one new one in place on my 1980 F150 as it was completely missing. I can post a picture of what they look like later when I get home.

The wood blocks that go in the metal on the rear sill have a step in them.

[Rembrant]

Here's a picture of my 1984 when I was assembling it. My 1980 (and the 1980 before that one) was the same.

You can only see the front sill and 3 crossmembers here, but there's also two wood blocks in the rear sill, encapsulated in metal brackets, the same as the front sill. If yours are missing, they may have broken off...they do that. They crack from vibration, and eventually break off. I had to weld one new one in place on my 1980 F150 as it was completely missing. I can post a picture of what they look like later when I get home.

The wood blocks that go in the metal on the rear sill have a step in them.

PS: If you look at the long crossmember, where my arrows are pointing, you should see little holes in the sides. There was a screw through the metal into the wood blocks to keep them in place. They came that way from the factory.

[Rembrant]

PS: If you look at the long crossmember, where my arrows are pointing, you should see little holes in the sides. There was a screw through the metal into the wood blocks to keep them in place. They came that way from the factory.

Here's a pic to show what the rear sill frame mounts look like. This is one I made and welded in place because the factory one was broken off and long gone. The wood block with a step in it slides in behind it.

Here's the factory one on the other side...it was damaged so I welded a plate on the back side of it to strengthen it up.

Judging by the cracks and welds in your rear sill, maybe your metal mounting plates are broken off and missing also?

 

[Bronco638]

Here's a pic to show what the rear sill frame mounts look like. This is one I made and welded in place because the factory one was broken off and long gone. The wood block with a step in it slides in behind it.

Here's the factory one on the other side...it was damaged so I welded a plate on the back side of it to strengthen it up.

Judging by the cracks and welds in your rear sill, maybe your metal mounting plates are broken off and missing also?

Yeah, OK, I get it now. I think I might have mentioned that my rear sill has had a tough life. It's clearly missing some areas and now I see the brackets that hold the rear bed blocks have long since departed the truck. I can also see where it's been welded to make it whole again.

Driver's (left) side:

On the far side, you can barely make out the tab that was spot welded to the sill. On the near side, a portion of the sill itself is gone. But, you can clearly see where the support block sat.

Passenger's (right) side:

This side still has a portion of the bracket on the near side while the rest of it is gone completely. Again, the shadow of where the support block was is evident.

The other thing that was throwing me was that I was expecting to see a 5/8" or 3/4" hole in the frame below the #4 sill. I can see by your picture that the only thing holding the block to the sill (and therefore the truck) was one wood screw. No wonder they disappear. Given that my original blocks are pretty much re-usable, I would have to think that the blocks for #4 sill broke and fell out (as opposed to rotting). Here's #4 sill showing the screw hole (yellow arrow) and the place I was expecting to see a hole for the bed-to-frame bolt (red circle).

Lastly, I was able to find some suitable wood in the scrap bin and made these to replace the O.E. blocks:

Once I have the bed re-assembled, I'll get under it and get some measurements for those missing #4 sill blocks. Thanks for all of the input!

Edit (addition): One thing I forgot to mention concerning the original blocks in the image above; they're fractured and I could break each block into two pieces, easily, by hand. So, they definitely needed to be replaced.

[Gary Lewis]

Yeah, OK, I get it now. I think I might have mentioned that my rear sill has had a tough life. It's clearly missing some areas and now I see the brackets that hold the rear bed blocks have long since departed the truck. I can also see where it's been welded to make it whole again.

Driver's (left) side:

On the far side, you can barely make out the tab that was spot welded to the sill. On the near side, a portion of the sill itself is gone. But, you can clearly see where the support block sat.

Passenger's (right) side:

This side still has a portion of the bracket on the near side while the rest of it is gone completely. Again, the shadow of where the support block was is evident.

The other thing that was throwing me was that I was expecting to see a 5/8" or 3/4" hole in the frame below the #4 sill. I can see by your picture that the only thing holding the block to the sill (and therefore the truck) was one wood screw. No wonder they disappear. Given that my original blocks are pretty much re-usable, I would have to think that the blocks for #4 sill broke and fell out (as opposed to rotting). Here's #4 sill showing the screw hole (yellow arrow) and the place I was expecting to see a hole for the bed-to-frame bolt (red circle).

Lastly, I was able to find some suitable wood in the scrap bin and made these to replace the O.E. blocks:

Once I have the bed re-assembled, I'll get under it and get some measurements for those missing #4 sill blocks. Thanks for all of the input!

Edit (addition): One thing I forgot to mention concerning the original blocks in the image above; they're fractured and I could break each block into two pieces, easily, by hand. So, they definitely needed to be replaced.

This thread is such a wonderful example of the knowledge that we have documented on these trucks, and explains why we must spend the $1800 to port all of this over to the new forum. Well done, guys!

[Rembrant]

This thread is such a wonderful example of the knowledge that we have documented on these trucks, and explains why we must spend the $1800 to port all of this over to the new forum. Well done, guys!

Gary, I don't remember much that I can help with these days, but these Flareside beds are imprinted in my brain lol.

This is a great thread and I'm thoroughly enjoying seeing the progress of Bronco Dave disassembling this bed. As with everything on these trucks, it's like an archaeological dig trying to understand what was, and what was done previously by other owners. That part is always fun, even as a viewer.

Keep up the good work Bronco638. Peace & Axle Grease!