71 D100 SHORT BED UTILITY QUESTIONS

[LAWFISH]

Hey Swepty guys- I'm buying this and I'm told it came ordered like this. Oddball 1971 Dodge D100 with this utility bed. SHORTBED.
I have been looking for a short bed project to build a hotrod truck out of now that I can no longer afford muscle cars since I sold off my last two Cudas to help build a ranch. I have been a mopar guy since the late 70s. I own a 67 Power wagon short bed 3/4 ton, which was a special order rig in its self.
This truck here is my attempt to find an increasingly hard to come by short bed and then find the correct sweptline bed for it
The guy I am buying it from cheap says it came original this way as he has had it for decades and got it from an airport where it was there utility truck as ordered since new.
The current owner is guessing its a stock short bed length but has never measured the wheelbase. He is assuming its stock. I will take a chance since its an auto/ 318 and runs He SAYS it has nice rockers and rusty floors. I think I have a line on a short bed so That would give me what I need. Looks like one of the fenders is toast. Just thought I would ask and see if anyone has seen stock short bed half ton utility bed like this ?

[soopernaut]

I'm sure you could have ordered one like this. I did see a salvage yard truck with a SERT number on the VIN plate for a service bed. It may or may not have one even if did come from the factory that way. If the wheelbase was changed you could probably see a splice in the frame. The factory didn't build a shorter frame so it would have been cut if modified. There are some trucks that had the wheelbase extended by the factory and you can tell looking at the frame, plus they usually have a SERT number.

[dodgeboykim]

I was looking through a 70 Pickup sales brochure today and they're are pictures of the stake bed trucks and an available tow truck option. If other bed/service box options were available then its hard to know positively.