FordTempoFan

Hey all. Earlier today I was involved in a minor collision, which I wasn't responsible for. Basically someone clipped my rear driver's side bed and put a pretty nasty dent in it. My questions for you all are, what are your experiences with body work for our older trucks? Mine is a 1990 F-150 XLT Lariat 4x4 short bed/regular cab, and it was in fantastic condition before this despite sitting at 192,000 miles. Its been a phenomenal truck over the 8 years I've owned it, and I really want to get it back looking sharp.

Problem is, so far at least, local body shops don't seem too thrilled about working on it given the age.

So, has anyone else had experience with body shop repairs for our older trucks?

What are some OEM sources for parts? I may just need the driver's side bed skin, and I've heard companies like LMC Truck are a potential option. Any experience with them or others? I'm in Alaska, so I'm already bracing for some brutal shipping costs.

Would it just be cheaper to find a whole used bed, have any rust taken care of, and then have it painted? Versus trying to find a bed skin for the one side?

Any advice or recommendations are appreciated.






As an aside, I'm not too interested in just trying to pound out the dent. Given where its at, I doubt it'll look as good as it did if I just knock it out. It crunched in the fuel door, knocked the tank neck loose, and turned up the bumper. I'm a bit picky, so I'm really prepared to spend a little extra to get it back to where it was at.

ToddS

LMC has a whole bed side for $249

http://www.lmctruck.com/icatalog/fd/full.aspx?Page=21