Be careful what you wish for....
Let me first state emphatically and from the heart and from the brain I am not suggesting for a minute that you use this bed. It’s just what I found, the one that had “a little rust.” I wanted the tailgate and the lights and the wiring for my other project. When I was looking at it, it was very obvious I could buy the whole thing for the same price as the parts I wanted, so I grabbed it. Again, do not feel obligated in any way, but if this works for you, I’ll get it to Birmingham.
Basically the tape is where it’s rusted through, and the arrows are pointing at dents. Down here, this is definitely a throwaway, but I don’t know what your options are up there. I wouldn’t use it. I’m only giving you the option. I’m sure a better one will show up.
Hard to put in text or show in pictures, but although there are holes through the top rails, they seem pretty solid. The guy told me this bed was upside down on the ground for many years, and then he stood it on the end against the cab. When I tapped on the rails with my college ring and with a resin hammer, and by the way all around the bed, it had the correct “tap“ and “ring,” so I don’t think there’s any old bodywork in it.
The wheel arches are definitely rusty all the way through, but besides that there’s only a couple of blisters smaller than a dime on both sides under the tail lights on the side. Again, most of the metal seems pretty solid.
The only other rust is a thick surface rust inside the bed on the wall behind the cab. I suspect this is from when it was sitting upright and dirt and leaves accumulated on that front wall. But it is surface rust, but it would need to be sanded and skimmed to be perfect. The actual wall is pretty straight, and I didn’t find any other rust inside the bed.
I don’t know what your skills are and what you have available to you. I am not a body man. Occasionally, I have been a bondo man. My thought was, if you can do the bodywork or you have access to someone who can, you could cut the wheel arches out of your bed and splice them into this bed, and do patches on the rust on top of the rails. I just don’t know if it’s worth all the trouble. If you text me your email, I’ll send you more pictures off-line.
One last thought, a lot of what may look like rust is actually mud, good old Georgia red clay!
If you did grab it, and it was too rough for you, you could do a little resin work and a quick flip and put it in primer and sell it for more than you’ve got in it up there to someone who needs it more.
Again, no obligation whatsoever, and don’t look at this through rose colored glasses…
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