Fix or replace my bed?

[Lattimer]

So, I have swb fleetside with its original (as far as I can tell) bed. My original intent was to fix this bed up as I restore the truck, but now I'm second guessing myself.

Bedsides are in ok shape, light surface rust along bottom edges, cracks around the stake holes (from probably having a ladder rack or some such) and a bunch of dents. Both sides have dents down low, one side hasa dent thats been fixed with way too thick bondo at some point, one dent up high on one side. Area around the tail lights is pretty beat up, needs a lot of small dents fixed to look smooth.

The bed floor is rough, one corner was rusted bad so I pieced that back in, and the corners by the tailgate are rusted through. Its pinholes, but I haven't tried to see how far it goes. The floor is also wavy from way too heavy stuff landing between the supports.

The wheel wells are sound but pretty beat up.
Front panel had some rust that I cut out and pieced in, and one of the underbed supports was rusted away, so I put that back. Bottom flange where the floor bolts to one bedside was rusted away, so I replaced that also.


I had intended to plug the stake holes and smooth the bed rails, fix the rust, and then get the bodywork done on it. However, I was looking at the bed kits from Southern Kentucky Classics, and I can do a whole bed kit, minus tailgate (I have a new one already still in the box) shipped for about $2300.

My body guy is saying I have at least $1500-2000 in bodywork to get the existing bed ready to paint on the outside, which is doing nothing for the ugly bed floor. That's after I fix the stake holes and patch the rest of the inside.

Having made a number of costly wrong turns in the last 20 months of this project, and doing double work so many times, I'm wondering if I might be better off buying the new bed. I figure I can get a few hundred from the old bed, put together the new one, and drop it off for paint. The bodywork at that point should be pretty minimal for the driver restoration I'm doing.

On the other side-----I have a ton of time already in the stuff I have fixed on this bed, and I feel like I would be throwing that away. Not a new thing, as I said, I'm made a lot of wrong turns so far.

I've got over a year and a half and about $30k into the truck now, and it drives nice (very nice), but now I need to make it pretty.
So, opinions welcomed!!!