At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

I have my truck finished up to be the fast driver that I wanted it to be. Very happy with it. HOWEVER, it's a long bed. While I love my truck, and that long bed has been very useful around the house, I have a swb frame that I can build now and swap everything over. I initially wanted a swb when I first started looking, and it would be a LOT easier putting my 700r4 into, but I'm just not sure which way to go. Is it really worth all that work just to swap to a swb? What do you guys think?
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Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

It boils down to personal preference. But LONG BEDS are where it's at. Short beds look... well... short. There's just something about a long bed truck that hauls ass. Trucks were never intended to be hot rods. So when some one takes one (like me! check my long bed build.) and makes it into a pavement pounder... it screams coolness.

I've never understood the purpose of a short bed for any reason. But that's me. :)

Gary

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

Short bed all the way!!!! :metal:

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

You will get a lot of different opinions on this question I am sure. I like long bed fleet-sides and short bed steppers, that is just me.

Also it depends on what you want to use one of these old trucks for. Converting to a swb truck is a lot of work, but if that is what you want go for it.

I have a '67 swb stepper we built with parts from a bunch of different trucks to be used as an occasional driver. I am lucky to have a couple of 1 ton duallies to use to haul and pull stuff.

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

Long bed! You can't get a full sheet of plywood in a SWB.

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

Go with a SWB if your truck is used for pleasure. If you need a "work truck" buy a newer LWB model to supplement that. My 40 year old SWB truck is retired...all it hauls are beers, babes, and bbq's. I don't look at 67-72 trucks as work vehicles any more. If you use your 40 year old truck for work, leave it a LWB.
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Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

Well said

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

I cut my long box down to a short box. They just look cleaner in my opinion.
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Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

You have a 350/TH350 now, how is a 700r4 "LOT easier" in a SWB?

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

SWB are my favorite anyday... But ive got a thing for LWB steppers:) I just dont like the LWB fleets. But as a SWB owner, it looks nice to me, but then theres the space and all the work you have to do to it. Like the guys above^^^ If you use it for work and purely work, keep it LWB, but if you do on and off small work, id say go for it!!! SWB always for me :metal:

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

Hey,

Just my 2 cents, I like the lwb fleetsides...since I own one. But, it really just comes down to personal preference. Both long and short's are cool...shorts are really popular. I like 71-72 lwb's and 67-68 short's to be honest.


Chris

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

I cut my short bed down but if I had to do it over again, I would have gone a different direction and left it a lwb.

There is something about a lowered lwb with good wheels and paint that is just bad ass. Patina or suede, low and slow... :metal: Of course, it could be that you see so fewer LWBs that have been restored. Nearly every "nice" 67-72 I see is a SWB and many of them likely didnt start out that way (like mine)

If going for more of a stockish look, I prefer the SWBs.

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

All good points. While I am very much on the stock side there are some trucks that catch my eye as "right" and Mike Bradbury's is one of them.
On that note the bobber (rear 8.14") look has an appeal to me also and I think it would make a good first step for someone thinking about doing a full cutdown (frame and bed). To me it would make a great trailer hauler in C10 or C20 form. The shorter tail really cleans up the lines IMHO.

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

Long beds are cool, but they definately need the right wheels and stance. I was wanting to cut mine down but now I don't think I am going too. It looks good now that I've bagged it.
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Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

Long and low is my vote
http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/e...wn/image-9.jpg
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Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

Lowered long beds look just as good as short beds when the stance is failed in. However I chose to convert my long bed to short as well. I found a swb frame for dirt cheap and dove at it. I agree with the others on it depends on what you will use your truck for 80% of the time. Daily driver or work truck. Mine will be daily driven with hauling a couch or refrigerator every now and then. But not on a weekly basis
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Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

If mine was like this one, I would not be converting to swb. Nice dime:c2::c2:
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Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

^^ That is one mean looking truck! I'm restoring a long bed right now, and I'm gonna leave it like that. Don't get me wrong, I like shortys as well, but I'll buy one if I want one.

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

I say chop it, pretty soon long beds will be rare and mine will be worth more then a short bed. :)
I love my long bed.

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

I've had both. I definitely prefer SWB. If I need to haul a sheet of plywood, I put my tailgate down.

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

I just put a flatbed on my '72. She was made to work, and that's what it likes to do. I do most of the work with my '66 though.

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

Cool :metal:

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

I perfer a long bed... but with that frame, why not make a rat truck? Besides new parts for suspension and brakes ( safety first ) Get pieces from a junk yard. You know " a piece from here and a piece from there". Have crazy fun with it....
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Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

Yeah, I'm sure nobody cares. I'm just kinda in one of my feel good, ready to fight moods.

Re: At a crossroads. Go swb or stay lwb?
 

If done right, and a frame swap qualifies IMO, a SWB will bring more money when you sell than a comparable LWB.