1959 W100 questions

[azguy]

I’m looking to reactive my venerable 1959 Power Giant. The logo that was on the front door when I bought the truck indicated this W100 started out as a U.S. Geological Survey field truck. It is equipped with a front mounted Model 5L Tulsa PTO winch (yep, it works). At some point before I purchased the truck the L6 engine was replaced with a 318. Because government agencies sometimes spec’d vehicles differently from the public market, I have a couple of questions. 1) The bed box rests on two 4X4s shaped to the main frame members and it had a single piece plywood floor bed. There is no sign of slats/metal strips having been installed. Is anyone familiar with this kind of bed configuration? 2) Where was the stock gas tank located? The existing gas tank is mounted near the rear of the truck under the bed but there is what appears to be a filler hole on the left side of the cab. Also, is there anywhere a hood spring (1 3/8” dia. by 8” long) can be purchased?

Thank you very much for any information you can pass along.

[Pismopowerwagon]

What a cool truck, it has similar patina to my`58. Not sure how to link my build but it is in same section.

I have the rear mounted stock tank that fills on the right side behind fender, and I have a tank behind the seat.

My bed was diamond plated way back for a welder so I cannot help there.

Keep the pics coming.

[azguy]

arid land patina

Thanks for the info on your gas tanks Andy. I took a look as your posts and the trucks have much in common although the patina on mine is a rare high desert, low humidity variant.

[Leon in PA]

The 2 wheel drive trucks got a gas tank that was inside the frame rail and had a filler spout that went thru that hole in the cab. The 4 wheel drives got the tank in the rear so there was room for the transfer case.

Mar-K sells precut bed wood and all the necessary strips.

I have that hood hinge spring, it might be easier to replace the hinge than just doing the spring. Not sure which side I have.
Leon

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

What a nice truck! Can you post a picture of the bed? I have seen quite a few of those but not terribly familiar with any that used wood to mount the bed. Ron in Indiana may chime in here he has a wealth of experience with this style of Power Wagon.

[Ron in Indiana]

I believe your bed has had the bed strips and wood replaced at some point. As long as you have the crossmembers you can order new bedstrips and wood from Mar-K Products as Leon stated. Leon is correct on the gas tank also. If you do puit the bed back to original condition remove the 4x4's and get the bed mounting pads for under the cross members.

[Matthew Welcher PWA]

Thanks guys for lending your knowledge.