48 1/2 ton flatbet

[smitty city]

what are the specs for the flooring and sides of the flatbed?, are these beds factory or dealer options? any do's and dont's for correct restoration? any help is appreciated
thanks, mike

 

[alan]

when I did my 41 flatbed the only spec I could find on the wood was "straight grained hardwood" I used southern white ash, most of that generation of Ford truck were Ford flatbeds with a Ford script on the end, but logically there were local mfg making flatbed and also home builts. I have seen pictures with the wood painted body color, also black but I have never seen a factory photo of natural wood. send a pm with your e-mail if you want some pictures

 

[rotorwrench]

There were several manufacturers for beds up in Kansas when I was a kid but they were nearly all 1-ton or larger. They may have made custom ones but I have never seen one. Ford may have made a flat type bed that would fit but a large bed would mean larger loads so most were probably 1-ton capacity at least. F3 pick ups had a longer frame & box and would have carried a flat bed pretty well. I don't know about a 1/2 ton F1 though.

 

[Barry-ct]

These 2 scans I copied from the 1950 Salesmans Data Book and the 1952 Salesmans data book should help. It has dimensions, etc... They came from Ford with the script on the back. Where I lived years ago, my landlord had a 1953 F-3 that had the script bed and it wall all black.

 

[Barry-ct]

I don't know why one appears and the other has to be clicked on. Maybe the type of file format?

 

[smitty city]

thanks for all the input, you all are a great help
mike