50-52 Truck Bed
 

Does anyone have a copy of the original blue prints for the 50-52 F1 Truck bed?

I would love to see the actual measurements of the bed and its boards as it was designed.

What were the original real board dimensions, and what was the actual gap between boards as designed?

I've tried running it through on CAD and I can't get a number that works.


Kirk

Re: 50-52 Truck Bed
 

Are you looking for info on a half ton pickup bed?

Re: 50-52 Truck Bed
 

I have the 1/2 ton ‘51 and put a new bed in myself using a kit and it fit perfectly. Maybe if you contact any of the places that make the kits they’ll have some specific numbers for you since they need to build them.

Re: 50-52 Truck Bed
 

I'm actually looking for the specific blueprints from Ford.

I'd like to know the exact dimensions they specified for the box and the boards.

I've seen quite a few aftermarket drawings, none of which are clear on the gap between boards, exact board dimensions, placement of holes in the cross supports, etc.

Kirk

Re: 50-52 Truck Bed
 

There's a few truck guys here but, if you don't get the info you're looking for, try the FTE forum as well. I think I've seen the drawings you're looking for posted there.

Re: 50-52 Truck Bed
 

I've never seen factory blueprints for the beds or the boards. There is a lot of slop as far as board spacing goes.

BTW, 51-52 are slightly different from the flat-sided late-'50's, they have a 3rd anchor bolt towards the front, and a different cross-piece for them.

Re: 50-52 Truck Bed
 

As a career woodworker and ford truck fixer, I say it has to do with the moisture content and species of wood you have on hand. I have seen kiln dried wood beds buckle like the rocky mountains when left in the rain to swell. I only use air dried wood, as boatbuilders have ALWAYS done. I would never use red oak for a truck bed. I don't think any manufacturer ever did. It's structure is like a fist-full of hollow straws wicking up water. White oak is much better , but the manufacturers used a resinous type wood, yellow pine for example because it was already pitchey and didn't soak up water. If I had a choice it would be locust, and if I had DEEP pockets it would be teak. They say that to this day the teak decks on the Titanic are like new.

Re: 50-52 Truck Bed
 

Or maybe Apitong?

Re: 50-52 Truck Bed
 

My problem is that i'm trying to figure out the dimensions used for the boards and the spacing for a Canadian truck.
Unfortunately in Canada, the building that housed all that information burned down in the 1960s. So it is unobtanium.
If I can find a copy of the USA blueprint, it would let me know what they designed the gap to be, and what they expected the total dimensional width to be.

In Canada the beds are more complex than the USA. Between mid 1950 and 1952 they used a bed with nine boards of three sizes.

Based on the holes in the cross braces and samples of existing wood I've come up with a drawing that will work.

However if I make a drawing of a USA bed, with 8 boards, 5 3/4" wide and 7/16" spacing between the boards, I get a dimensional width of 49 1/16"

On my Canadian Bed using Edge boards of 5 1/2", middle boards of 4 3/4" and center board of 5 3/4" with a total of 9 boards and gaps of 7/16" I have a dimensional width of 48 3/4"

Its reasonable to assume, that despite the difference in boards, that the total width should be the same between USA and Canada. So one of these two sets of dimensions has an error in it.

If I could locate a copy of the original blueprint drawing used by Ford in the USA, I think it would solve the issue.

Quite a few people have asked me why I care about this, and the answer is simply that I have spent a ridiculous amount of time figuring out the 9 board Canadian spacing, and at this point I just want it to be right.

Kirk

Re: 50-52 Truck Bed
 

I am definitely not a 'Wood' guy. So working with something even as simple as bed boards has been a challenge. I'm making up a set of test boards with crap softwood first so I can test my dimensions before moving on to an expensive wood.
I took a piece of my existing bed to a person who works with wood, and after analyzing it, he says it is Canadian Hard Maple. Which makes sense, as that would have been common as dirt in Windsor Ontario in the 1950s.

Back then there was no cross border sharing of parts between Ford Canada and Ford USA. Every single part of a truck in Canada, right down to the stickers and light bulbs was "Made In Canada".

Now the tough question is, when I figure this all out, if I cut a new bed from Maple, will I have the guts to do the right thing and spray it with body colour paint as it was done originally from the factory...

Kirk

Re: 50-52 Truck Bed
 

The hold down bolts that hold the metal strips down should dictate the width of the wood boards. The gaps between the boards only need to be big enough to clear the hold down bolts. Measure the center to center of the holes in the subframe and deduct the allowance for the gap and you should have your board widths.

Re: 50-52 Truck Bed
 

Yes, That's basically what I've done, however I've come across the curious fact that when I apply this method to both USA and CDN beds, I do not come up with the same dimensions.

Here are the two calculations:

(8 * 5 3/4) + (7 * 7/16) = 49.0625 (USA)

(2 * 5 1/2) + (6 * 4 3/4) + (1 * 5 3/4) + (8 * 7/16) = 48.75 (CDN)

That's 5/16th difference. Not a number I could easily add across the two outside boards.

In 1950 an engineer somewhere drew this up on a blueprint, and it would seem unlikely that he drew up odd numbers that don't divide equally on either side of the bed.
That leaves the possibility that his dimensions were taken from different points on the drawing, or that he assumed a different gap, or different board width.
When handed off to the wood shop, or an external company to provide the wood, I would assume it was basic, simple dimensions on the wood itself.

And again it would seem odd that the engineered width between USA and Canada were not the same, when the steel dimensions were the same.

See attached snip of the bed cross support (cdn)



Kirk

Re: 50-52 Truck Bed
 

I don't know if this helps, but maybe call Bruce Horkey at horkeyswoodandparts.com 507-831-5625. He makes and sells bed kits for our trucks. Nice guy