Need schooled on da “Flareside” rangers yo!

[XLTsplash]

The guy that I sold the Ranger to removed the hood scoop and window louvers, Lower the truck and installed nice new tires and wheels. He gave the truck to his son.

 

[Lefty]

I had a 1997 XLT flair side for 9 years. I added splash stirpes and some other custom parts.

One very sweet ride.

 

[Lefty]

The guy that I sold the Ranger to removed the hood scoop and window louvers, Lower the truck and installed nice new tires and wheels. He gave the truck to his son.

It still looks good but I like your mods better

 

[pjtoledo]

it seems flare side predates splash by a few years, even though it looks like a stepside.
just to keep the blood pressures up:

LMC Truck: Bed and Tailgate Components
1948 Ford Truck Press Release (oldcarbrochures.com)

 

[pjtoledo]

well, maybe the splash did come first

Driving 1925 Ford Model TT in the mud - YouTube

 

[Mike92STX]

One of you guys that are going to do all that work to your truck bed, have a flare side bed without the fiberglass sides you want to get rid of? I was going to pull my bed off to replace the rubber fuel line that goes from the fender to the tank, and I noticed my bed is really rusty. Most junkyards only want to sell the bed with the sides on.

 

[Lefty]

One of you guys that are going to do all that work to your truck bed, have a flare side bed without the fiberglass sides you want to get rid of? I was going to pull my bed off to replace the rubber fuel line that goes from the fender to the tank, and I noticed my bed is really rusty. Most junkyards only want to sell the bed with the sides on.

There are repair panels for the Ranger bed.

 

[Mike92STX]

My sons took my bed off yesterday and I got the filler hose replaced. That was actually the easy part. My bed bolts were rusted and most of them broke. With the bed off I could see that the bed is mostly rust, the front passenger side was held together by the spray in bed liner, the bolt in that area stayed on the frame when the bed was lifted off the frame, a piece of the bed was attached with the bolt, 3" by 18". I need a replacement bed, I can put the fiberglass fenders on it so color isn't very important.
Lefty, where can you get those repair panels?

 

[superj]

Marketplace has a few flareside beds for sale in texas

 

[Lefty]

My sons took my bed off yesterday and I got the filler hose replaced. That was actually the easy part. My bed bolts were rusted and most of them broke. With the bed off I could see that the bed is mostly rust, the front passenger side was held together by the spray in bed liner, the bolt in that area stayed on the frame when the bed was lifted off the frame, a piece of the bed was attached with the bolt, 3" by 18". I need a replacement bed, I can put the fiberglass fenders on it so color isn't very important.
Lefty, where can you get those repair panels?

Amazon.com

 

[Lefty]

I put an oak bed in mine.

 

[Lefty]

Whatever you do paint it...and not with something cheap like Rustoleum. Try Rust Encapsulator from Eastwood and an 2k epoxy paint for a nice durable finish.

I took my bed off. Sand blasted everything but not too much, then painted POR 15, then 2k primer, then 2k clear.. It's been 2 winters now. The bottom side still looks new,

 

[Mike92STX]

Superj, will you deliver if I get one of those from Texas? I live in the north end of Illinois
Lefty, yours looks good especially for Minnesota. That's the drawback with these steel beds covered with fiberglass, they look good on the outside and rusting away underneath. I was just looking for that funnel shaped thing that guides the special tool in the lift for the spare tire, obviously I don't know the correct name for those parts so couldn't find anything. I guess I'll keep looking for a bed, maybe I'll get lucky and find a clean one.

 

[Lefty]

I don't know what they call that thing either.

There were two holes in my bed, but the rest was not that bad. That's why I went with the wood.

Perhaps you need not take your entire bed apart. Maybe you can just lay the repair panel on top of the old bed and bolt it down. Or else just find a decent junk yard bed somewhere.

Is your frame okay?

 

[Mike92STX]

I found a bed on marketplace that was noy too far away. It looked like it was in pretty good shape, but the guy had a buyer that was going to pick it up last Thursday and I couldn't make arrangements to get it that soon. On Tuesday I got a picture from my son of what looked like the bed in the back of a pickup. I asked what it was, and he said they had picked up that bed and were on the way back home. They have since removed the fiberglass fenders and it's not in as good of shape as I thought but still better than mine. Plus, it came with some new spare mechanical parts like a new fuel pump, master cylinder, several suspension parts and Weather Teck liners for the front. They are going to do some repairs to the bed and then we are going to clean it up and seal it like you did. Yes, the frame is in pretty good shape, I'm not sure why the bed is so bad unless the moister got under the spray in liner and caused the damage.