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9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 6:34 pm
by moparbob71
Hey all, I had a guy at my shop tonight buying some parts and he told me, after seeing my 67, that a guy in his neighborhood has a truck w/ a 9 foot bed. He said same style as mine( swepty) and the guy said it was a "texas special" huh? Anyone know what he's talking about?
later, bob

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 9:13 pm
by 712edf
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/VINTAGE- ... 4aa0d8b2a2

Here is a truck currently F/S on ebay that supposedly a factory 9ft sweptline bed. Trouble is this truck is the early style cab (61-65) but the bed is the later style (65-71), so something is not correct here. But that bed could have come from the factory on something. :thinking

I'm not up on a "texas special".

Bucky

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 9:26 pm
by PowerMan
9 foot beds from the factory were only stepsides. They are hard to come by especially in good condition.
I guess there could have been some sort of Texas edition sweptline..who knows :thinking
I did find a Lifestyle era stepside truck bed with a 'Top Hand by Dodge' logo on the tailgate.
Image

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 10:14 pm
by cudaboy
is that flathead 6 cyl engine correct on that ebay truck ????????

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Sun May 02, 2010 10:27 pm
by PwrWgnDrvr
cudaboy wrote:is that flathead 6 cyl engine correct on that ebay truck ????????
Yes.
The 62 FSM shows OHV slant 6 only used in D100-300 and W100-200.
W300, WM300 and all larger trucks used the flathead 6.

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 6:25 am
by moparbob71
How rare is a 9 footer? The one on egay seems pricey for something he obviously just pulled out of a barn( dirty, spiderwebs) Should I check out the on near me :thinking

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 12:47 pm
by soopernaut
moparbob71 wrote:How rare is a 9 footer? The one on egay seems pricey for something he obviously just pulled out of a barn( dirty, spiderwebs) Should I check out the on near me :thinking
You should definitely check it out. I've been researching Sweptlines for years and never came across anything about a 9 foot sweptline bed. Before now the only mention of them I've heard was Powerwagon John said he saw a picture of one but never actually saw the truck it was on.

The one on ebay looks interesting but there is no way to tell that it is or isn't a 9 foot bed and it didn't come factory on that 62. The wheelbase of that truck is 5 inches longer than a regular longbed 128" wb Sweptline but those beds are actually 8.5 feet long and perhaps it could be rounded up to 9 feet. It also has the early trim which would have never been offered with the oblong taillight trucks.

Top Hand was a package, along with many others, that Dodge offered in the late 70s and possibly into the early 80s. The was a model called the Texan but don't think anything like that would have been offered in the Sweptline Era. I could go on and on about the packages of the 70s like the Palomino, Rod Hall, Pick m Up, Macho, War Horse, Sidewinder, Midnight Express, Dude II, etc.

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 12:55 pm
by wally426ci
Bill, I almost let you slide but I must see a Dude II !!!

That sounds cool man.

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 12:59 pm
by soopernaut
wally426ci wrote:Bill, I almost let you slide but I must see a Dude II !!!

That sounds cool man.
It's probably not what you are expecting. I'll post it up in an hour or 2.

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 2:36 pm
by wally426ci
:Thumbsup

Sorry if its off topic.

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 3:08 pm
by soopernaut
Dude II
Image
Image
Image

Or how 'bout a Viking Special? Image

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 5:57 pm
by moparbob71
Dude2, that is a truck for Wally :dance That is coool. i'll start the process of trying to get a look at the Sasquatch truck :Thumbsup

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 6:34 pm
by 712edf
For what its worth, I sent a question to the seller of the 62 on Ebay asking about the originality of the bed. They replied that as far as they knew it WAS original. I believe they are wrong, simply based on the tailights.

There also is a 9ft Uteline bed (72) truck F/S on Ebay as well. Those are the only 9 ft I am aware of.

Bucky

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 10:18 pm
by PwrWgnDrvr
The seller promised to send me a couple pics of key areas that I asked for. Supposed to get them Tues or Weds. Once received, I will be able to determine the length of the bed.
I don't know how the std long bed can be called an 8 1/2 foot bed. The inside length measurements are 8' 2-3/4" at the deck and 8' 1-1/4" at the top of the headboard.
Im sure that ebay truck is going to be revealed as a cob job.

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 4:43 am
by wally426ci
That is cool stuff!! Thanks for the pics! :dance I guess I need to start shopping!

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 9:59 am
by soopernaut
PwrWgnDrvr wrote:I don't know how the std long bed can be called an 8 1/2 foot bed. The inside length measurements are 8' 2-3/4" at the deck and 8' 1-1/4" at the top of the headboard.
I measured my former 68 and the bed was 8'6" along the side rail from the front lip of the bed to the rear of the bed end cap. The bed floor was 99". If you measure from the center of the bed it will be shorter because it curves at the side edges making it longer. I hope that explaination is good enough. I have a drawing with dimensions but it is saved as a PDF and I can't post it here.

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Tue May 04, 2010 10:07 pm
by PwrWgnDrvr
My understanding has always been that the term "8 foot bed" is defined as the inside measurement of the loading area. Of course, the outer dimension will be a bunch longer, maybe even 8-1/2' as u say. But it certainly cannot carry 8-1/2' cargo, so it would not be an 8-1/2' bed.

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Sun May 09, 2010 2:10 am
by timebomb
soopernaut wrote:
moparbob71 wrote:How rare is a 9 footer? The one on egay seems pricey for something he obviously just pulled out of a barn( dirty, spiderwebs)

Top Hand was a package, along with many others, that Dodge offered in the late 70s and possibly into the early 80s. The was a model called the Texan but don't think anything like that would have been offered in the Sweptline Era. I could go on and on about the packages of the 70s like the Palomino, Rod Hall, Pick m Up, Macho, War Horse, Sidewinder, Midnight Express, Dude II, etc.

how are the macho,war horse,and midnight express different from a normal dodge truck

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 1:15 am
by demulsion
timebomb wrote:how are the macho,war horse,and midnight express different from a normal dodge truck
More than you wanted to know: http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/sho ... ost5927825

Re: 9 foot pick up bed?

Posted: Mon May 10, 2010 2:02 am
by timebomb
demulsion wrote:
timebomb wrote:how are the macho,war horse,and midnight express different from a normal dodge truck
More than you wanted to know: http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/sho ... ost5927825
thanks man that cleared up a lot lol i like the one that was called a californian