Panther99

As a mini-resto project to get the son steered away from video games and some skin in the game for his first vehicle....we are trying to do some minor rust repair on his '97 F150 extended cab. We have removed the bed and have it flipped over for subsequent sandblasting/undercoating, etc. My questions are:
1. Does anyone make a repair section for the crossbars under the bed? We need to replace the one that is closest to the cab. Or, if not..has anyone just cut them off and welded in square tube steel with the same dimensions?
2. Found the bed bolt replacement kit (as only 2 came out intact), but while we have the bed off, we were going to sand blast/rust proof the frame as well. Has anyone seen a kit with all the plastic fasteners that hold the wiring, brake lines, fuel lines, etc? Basically all the little hardware used to hold everything to the frame?
3. Planning to sand blast until all rust removed, then epoxy primer, then either rubberized undercoating or spray on bed liner. Recommendations/opinions?


Thanks in advance for all the help.

Mr. Beef Gravy

This sounds like a great project for you guys.

I have seen a few patch panels for the bed from some of the better known auto body suppliers. However, if you are able to weld, then I would use square tube. I did this with mine. It was a lot cheaper and a lot better than the panels and patch stuff I have seen in the past. I also used a donor bed floor from a wrecked f150

I would not use the rubberized coating. This stuff flakes of and is in my opinion, not a long term solution. After sandblasting, I would use a rust inhibiting primer. It's usually sold at any auto paint supply store. Check Napa as well as they have their own body and paint supply shop

After the primer I would use a nice thick coat of flat black paint. Several coats. Then I would end that with a heavy duty paintable truck bed coating. That will keep things good for many years. That is what I did on mine.

Along with your gas tank and exhaust, don't forget to tape up all of your bolt and screw holes on the bed and frame. Easier to get bolts threaded and through.

As far as the wiring clips, there are several generic versions out there. For my supplies for that, I always turn to Amazon. They are cheaper than the auto part stores for little things like that.