Jump to content
Model Cars Magazine Forum

1964 Ford F250 4x4 "Wrongbed"


Recommended Posts

Hello everyone!  I started this a few months ago and decided to share it since I have been able to do some work on it lately. I have done a lot of fabrication and 3d printing for this so I have a lot of pictures!  I Started with the Moebius 65 utility bed kit but the only items used from the kit are the cab, hood, and parts of the interior.   Here is a quote from the "Fordification" website explaining the story behind the different box used on these pickups for those unfamiliar with the "Wrongbed" story: 

"Ford would discontinue the 'unibody' truck around the middle of the 1963 model year (January/February 1963). The 'wrongbed' bed was available as an alternative to the unibody style starting in late 1962

All 1961-1965 F100 4WD and all '61-'66 F250 4WD trucks had a wheelbase of 120", and since the Fridge-style 'wrongbed' was the only separate styleside pickup bed Ford had available to fit that wheelbase, starting in 1962, these trucks got the 'wrongbed' by default when a styleside bed was requested.

In 1964, Ford increased the wheelbase on the F100 and F250 2WD LWB trucks by six inches each, meaning they finally had to design a bed which not only matched the new wheelbase figures, but also included body lines which matched the cab to fit the new chassis. And since they were designing new LWB beds to match the new wheelbase figures, they went and and made SWB versions of the new double-wall styleside bed as well. However, it was only installed on 2WD trucks and the '66 4WD.

In 1966, Ford finally offered a short wheelbase 115" WB F100 4x4, matching that of the 2WD wheelbase, so it too got the new Type 3 styleside box.

This new double-wall bed design was only installed on 1964-66 F100/250 2WD and 1966 F100 LWB 4WD. All other 1961-66 Stylesides except Uni's used the Fridge-style beds."  http://www.fordification.info/tech/wrongbed.htm

I Started with creating the box.

20200705_103630.jpg.6cc8c005bdf4165e08b394c211aca28f.jpg

 

20200705_144709.jpg.0f141d16739e30c930357aacbdeeac7a.jpg

 

I then made some tires and rims and did a quick mock up.

 

20200707_164311.jpg.9cdf7b1a61ce3507200b876eecc69348.jpg

 

 

20200707_164330.jpg.2dfa55636d1c2b720ce24a9daac9cf2c.jpg

 

The grill and header panel were designed several months ago.

 

20200707_164347.jpg.4c5b1d1ad4aaa6a7286970b868a47215.jpg

 

I made the correct engine for 64 which was a 292 v8 Y block with the motor mount on the front.  I also made the Borg Warner T98 4 speed transmission with the mounts on the bell housing.

 

20200802_165159.thumb.jpg.48f8589d0e31f66d0c322ea2ac84897c.jpg

 

 

20200717_190744.thumb.jpg.654c2692d4ae994113730bff2a759325.jpg

 

While I was at it, I made the Dana 24 transfer case.

20200805_232302.jpg.d9fc395ab13a4b679358213d5f6b007b.jpg

 

I looked through all of my Ford kits that had Y blocks to try and find the correct valve covers to no avail so made those too!

 

20201127_152133.jpg.f1c6ade68ef0f9fed2b22a000fa0f744.jpg

 

For the interior, I made a heater box to go under the dash and a different dash bezel, pedal assembly and shifters. I went with a 3 spoke steering wheel and horn ring as some (I believe the custom cabs??) had the 3 spoke wheel.

20200802_165446.jpg.c36592bb432dd8a6583da4fe2238bad5.jpg

 

On to some progress!  I ground down the kit gauges to prepare for my bezel.

20201127_151819.jpg.d741efdaa8e4fe4ce39c08b08e5dadec.jpg

 

 

20201127_152012.thumb.jpg.8b8b6def8d73bbbb48a1d43406cd11b8.jpg

 

 

 

20201127_152033.thumb.jpg.2e7c988b9738eb40505159cc48a6f72e.jpg

 

 

20201206_131456.jpg.0035b4c32c42d274c99bd3a00b35c5b5.jpg

 

 

20201206_131406.thumb.jpg.524eb8710cf52e7ece4a96ce3d09a8ce.jpg

 

 

20201206_131427.thumb.jpg.85f6e6008e05c3e22212d09bff27fb8c.jpg

 

 

20201212_155155.jpg.4d28c7d20fa9b766eef67518a8b1f19d.jpg

 

 

 

20201212_155226.jpg.f9e340f6777c6d8ed655133008382d68.jpg

 

 

 

20201127_151923.thumb.jpg.7fb3d89fbc9659b8fce118cf661b57d8.jpg

 

 

20201128_132521.thumb.jpg.3c13292da8cbad63dd838eca3211a8fb.jpg

 

 

20201128_182810.jpg.c983462e9a97abc1bffc06434ee5f1e1.jpg

 

 

20201212_155001.thumb.jpg.1377fc5333e8137fdc6803464789f7d9.jpg

 

 

20201212_155016.thumb.jpg.d43e0c116aface39afada30bb9aeac3c.jpg

 

20201212_155025.thumb.jpg.d624528b633eeeea0b4a91b429faae45.jpg

Another mock up to visualize how it is looking.

20201212_160057.jpg.83642f8a730f17f4ecd462542855a2bb.jpg

 

Thank you for looking!   Comments welcome!

 

 

 

Edited by bill lanfear
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Excellent work on this one Bill !  Great  period correct details and  period correct paint work. Only you could pull this off.  IMO,  a version of the  Ford pickup that  would never have been offered by Moebius.  Your creation of  period correct items, that  have been ignored by others,  never ceases to amaze me!  I'll be first in line when Rookie Resins come back.  Another unique piece you might be interested in is the  '63-'64  only custom cab ( without molding option )  door handle plates, which would look perfect on your '64 build.

s-l1600 (38).jpg

Edited by leafsprings
Link to comment
Share on other sites

10 hours ago, Danno said:

Stunning!  

Way to go, Bill!

??

 

4 hours ago, Painted Black said:

Cool build, never did like the wrong bed ideal Ford chose..

 

3 hours ago, avidinha said:

That's really cool! I remember seeing one or these 20-25 years ago and thinking the owner had put a different year bed on for wheel clearance.

Thank you guys!, I never understood it when I was younger but for some reason they have grown on me over time.  I actually painted a 1-1 63 4x4 for a guy about 20 years ago and talked him into putting a 66 bed on it.  I stretched the wheelbase 6 inches by relocating the rear suspension and didnt have to add to frame or anything.  All he needed to do was get a new driveshaft made.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

54 minutes ago, leafsprings said:

Excellent work on this one Bill !  Great  period correct details and  period correct paint work. Only you could pull this off.  IMO,  a version of the  Ford pickup that  would never have been offered by Moebius.  Your creation of  period correct items, that  have been ignored by others,  never ceases to amaze me!  I'll be first in line when Rookie Resins come back.  Another unique piece you might be interested in is the  '63-'64  only custom cab ( without molding option )  door handle plates, which would look perfect one your '64 build.

Thank you Tom, I have been brain storming on how to do those door handles.  Been thinking just BMF around the handle....maybe I will try and 3d print some, will be tough as they are recessed into the door.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I worked in the service and parts departments of a local Ford dealership  while in high school and college from '66-'72. That "wrong bed" started life with the '57 Ford F-series pickups, and continued to be used on 4X4's from late '61 until '66.  The dealership I worked for sold lots of fleet trucks and the local Reading body conversion up fitter would sell the "new" used pickup boxes back to our dealership for $50.00.  We had an off-site storage building where we must have had 50-75 of these boxes on racks that we used in the body shop to repair wrecked pickups, or sell to other dealerships and local body shops for $300!  Sometimes the color of the replacement box was a perfect match for the wrecked one. 

 

A.J.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 1/3/2021 at 6:47 AM, Jordan White said:

This is looking great so far! I really think you should reach out to Joseph at Fireball Modelworks and see if he would be interested in working with you to make a resin conversion for the '65 4x4 kit. This would be great to go along with his 1970 F250 conversion kit!

That would be a  great future  project  if things work out . Both have been godsends to us. The kit would require a complete frame as well, the unique 120" wheelbase is completely different than a '65  129"   2WD frame.

IMG_1076.JPG

IMG_1077.JPG

Edited by leafsprings
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, leafsprings said:

That would be a great idea. Both have been godsends to us. The kit would require a complete frame as well, the unique 120" wheelbase is completely different than a '65  129"   2WD frame.

My bad, I forgot that the 4x4 kit is a '66, which you're right that it has a different wheelbase than the '65. Granted, the frame could be shortened to the 120", though I guess I don't know how different the widths and layout of the two frames are.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Well I have an update for those following.  I completed the engine and most of the chassis.  All of the suspension and engine pieces were created on my computer and 3d printed. Of course Murphy's law kicked my but.  I change something for accuracy and wouldn't you know it, I have to change five other things to make it work!  I made a complete 292 engine but the firewall wouldn't let it fit very good and the firewall isn't right for a 64 so I cut out the bulge on the firewall that was giving me fits. Got the engine to fit nicely but when I mounted the front shock towers on the frame, the inner fenders wouldn't work.  I had to cut out holes for the shock towers.  I made some inner fenders that cover the shock towers but not 100% accurate for this truck.  They are beyond my abilities at this time to do 100% accurate.  I started on the headliner using the same technique I did on my 66 1 ton. Anyways, here are some progress pics.

 20201212_155420.thumb.jpg.af1ecf9dd688e9f42e1a8296483ce3f1.jpg

 

20201212_155438.thumb.jpg.e5015faeec3135bc9cca180e9ae7cfdb.jpg

20201212_172402.thumb.jpg.697bf0f9e243bba677ca011471b9192d.jpg

20201223_183907.thumb.jpg.a64d45aec69a3635e142e3cbd6040000.jpg

20210102_123350.thumb.jpg.7f09fdb7b6677fd7e84ca8fd6ad693ef.jpg

20210102_134347.thumb.jpg.10d8c7cb131e874800fccc4eb7e3dbac.jpg

20210102_134356.thumb.jpg.1aea4c8c2adcd03173cb5233a54c494b.jpg

20210102_134505.thumb.jpg.8972a4cb90f701355c479d0989e1807c.jpg

20210108_133102.thumb.jpg.1cf8bf4bea5fbed32b709616ec3c1724.jpg

20210108_133057.thumb.jpg.dac35774c75f9398911dd7b2b664944a.jpg

20210102_180430.jpg.7e1a48a6ae1508e93457031cbd1e0f9d.jpg

20210116_170342.jpg.e22dd5b8c4f88279c2d193429b3eeff1.jpg

20210116_170327.jpg.36a8d3c37b85010f9aae869cc699cd5c.jpg

20210117_140421.thumb.jpg.4e6de04eba50bce7509b36d7739c0b0d.jpg

20210117_152025.thumb.jpg.6bf70a97f706f23e994b057c2977e4cc.jpg

20210108_142549.thumb.jpg.dcf43045fc546cfc0427e9a33a8b214c.jpg

20210108_142614.thumb.jpg.e7f9b3ab2399bb306caf894f835e66a1.jpg

20210115_160927.jpg.02c07978c2fc5be36ab221032c325089.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...