He Restored A 1948 Ford 1 1/2-Ton Cabover Truck And Built A Beavertail Bed For It

He Restored A 1948 Ford 1 1/2-Ton Cabover Truck And Built A Beavertail Bed For It TRUCKS Modifications 27-6-42 I restore and rebuild everything from cars to antique tractors as a sideline and needed a truck to transport machinery. So I restored a 1948 Ford 1 1/2-ton cab-over truck and built a beavertail bed for it. The truck had a grain box which I removed. The beavertail end of the truck bed angles toward the ground at about a 30 degree slope so I don't need a hoist, just two short ramps. On the back end of the bed, the U faces up, providing a lip for steel ramps to drop in. The ramps are made from sections of truck frame and store in a box under the beavertail. I converted a 1979 International 78-passenger school bus into a "multi-task" machine. I can get my wagon and four horses in it and still have room to haul seven people with me. And it's great for delivering the cars I restore. I bought the bus for $1,000. I cut off the back door and replaced it with a heavy-duty ramp made with green treated 2 by 6's set on edge. A steel plate attached to the ramp covers the gap between ramp and floor when the ramp is down and slides forward over the floor when the ramp is raised. The ramp/door is raised and lowered with an electric winch that runs off the bus's 12-volt electrical system. I mounted the original back windows and a door in a plywood wall that separates the cargo area from the passenger section. (Loren Smith, RR 1, Box 105, Spring Valley, Minn. 55975 ph 507 352-4106)

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