Bed Off Restoration

[Lefty]

i got those same ramps at a garage sale years ago. ramps are always useful. and they stack on top of each other to take less space.

i like garage sale tools. especially ramps, cherry pickers, engine stand because people usually use them once and than sell them because they are taking to much space.

Exactly! I spend less than $200.00 on paint, supplies, and the yard sale stuff. The ramps, creeper, and sandblaster could be sold again, or I will probably gift a friend.

I put about 15 hours of time in all together. Maybe this truck will be good for another 20 years.

As long as the bed is off, I'm going to work on the rear axle.

Then I want to work on the bed itself. I put in a wooden bed last year, but now i hope to make some improvements.I will post more pictures as soon as I am done.

 

[racsan]

my last set of ramps I bought (have 3 sets now) were homemade and very well built, for $10 I just couldnt pass them up!

 

[don4331]

Definitely interested to see where this goes. And yes, I’ve moved these beds with two people, but it’s a lot easier with four. If I had a concrete pad, I’d be inclined to try using an engine lift

My engine crane doesn't have enough reach to get to center of bed. And with load outboard of lift point, it was a little sketchy moving.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

My engine crane doesn't have enough reach to get to center of bed. And with load outboard of lift point, it was a little sketchy moving.

I have a little more than the average engine lift. Mine isn’t a folding one, it’s a heavy duty one. I added new leg extensions that have heavy duty like 5” diameter casters but the way it’s built, it’s no taller than the original height with little casters. I’m working on getting a longer lift extension. I pulled a 4.0 and auto transmission all one shot with it.

 

[racsan]

my crane folds and I didn’t have any issues. Granted I didn’t actually move the bed with the lift, just raised it and drove truck out from underneath then when I was done (fuel pump replacement) I backed the truck back under.
I did have a small compressor in the back to help balance the bed.

 

[superj]

My cherry picker is similar to this, but orange (harbor freight)

 

[don4331]

Ok, so I just needed an air compressor (or couple bags of sand) at end of box to balance. 'cause that engine crane is more/less exactly what I have. 3.0 and manual was no issue for it (other than garage door got in the way).

Most of time, my son and I just lift them.

 

[scotts90ranger]

I've pulled the bed of both Rangers with my engine hoist, take the cheater method and put a 2x4 under the bed rail and wrap the chain around that, works great... just test lift a little and find the balance point and go from there... Even the '90 with it's lift and tires wasn't an issue for whatever reason, my crane is the 20 year old 2 ton folding unit though if that makes it any different...

Last time I had the bed off my '90 I used my 10' tall and wide A frame with a comealong and a chain hoist from the bed rails though, I didn't get the balance right so added a ratchet strap...

Don't mean to muddy up this post, just throwing out ideas as I end up getting inventive mostly working alone...

 

[Lefty]

I have a little more than the average engine lift. Mine isn’t a folding one, it’s a heavy duty one. I added new leg extensions that have heavy duty like 5” diameter casters but the way it’s built, it’s no taller than the original height with little casters. I’m working on getting a longer lift extension. I pulled a 4.0 and auto transmission all one shot with it.

 

[Lefty]

Lifts and hoists have their place but not in my garage. It's just too small. Getting three friends together was the best part. We swapped stories. It was cheap, too. It only took a six pack.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

Lifts and hoists have their place but not in my garage. It's just too small. Getting three friends together was the best part. We swapped stories. It was cheap, too. It only took a six pack.

Lol, I don’t exactly have a garage at all. Well, I’m currently working on tearing one down and moving it to my property, but that doesn’t exactly count. Going to be awhile before it’s re-assembled and useable. Most of my work is done in the driveway at my parents (limestone) or up at my buddy’s place on the ground between his garage and the alley because nothing fits in his garage, lol.

 

[Lefty]

I've been busy since the last post, removing the two inch lift blocks and replacing them with one. I lowered the front end by about 1/2. The change might be modest but it saved me from buying new shocks, keys, and ancillaries. It also saved the cost of a front end alignment/camber adjustment.

My buddies came over again to put the bed back on. It was no problem to line it up and drop those bolts back in.

Instead of buying a bedliner I had made my own from red oak last year. This time I put a third coat of polyurethane on it in order to reduce UV damage. Red oak is a beautiful hardwood, but tends to absorb water. Poly is a necessity.

It's been a couple weeks, but this project actually took about 18 hours. No one really wants to do this job, but it is necessary especially on Ford frames. The factory paint was never very durable. It's entirely gone after 20 years here up north. A frequent visitor to the U-Pull yard, I've seen many Rangers of the same age looking pretty bad, even worse.

Now I'm driving an old truck that looks brand new.

People like the old school bedliner too.

 

[superj]

that wood bed liner looks nice. i always liked how truck beds had wooden floors back in the old days. that always made the truck look higher end to me.

 

[Lefty]

That wooden bed is a subtle nod to a grand old tradition that goes back a hundred years.

Since no one makes a regular cab pickup with step sides any more, I chose an old school billet look for the wheels too. I made a few retro touches on the front end too. The blackout head lights accentuate the traditional round, not rectangular. The hand made egg crate grill is similar to a lot of older Fords dating all the way back to the fifties . This particular model was an Edge, but I thought it would look more like a work truck with the tow loops on either side of the license plate.