Hello all, I'm the not so proud owner of a 1960 F250. It has a 351m and a c6 tranny dana 60 rear and all the stuff. PO put in a flaming river power rack and pinion and pretty much ruined everything he touched. All of that I can account for, like the bedliner on the outside of the cab and and the craft store hammer tone interior. But when the deal was being made(trade) I asked five or more times "are the cab mounts good? are they in good shape? rot or gooey?"" no , no no he said. Well when it shows up the first thing I do is look at the mounts, bust! All 4 are toast.

So the deal is done and I'm in for a pound. I do like the truck, it seems to run well, just a few minor things need to be fixed and were good. My initial plan was the c-notch the rear and drop beam the front. Well that's out the window. The rack won't let me drop the front and with the work I need to do to the cab I'm about a 3 months behind already. I've searched but I cannot find replacement cab mounts, where do I start? I'm guessing I need to pull the cab? Any suggestions? Remove the doors, glass and interior? I figure the bare cab will weigh in at about #400 lbs .

Or is jacking it up and blocking it to slip in new mounts possible? The floor has some patches and the rest looks presentable. I do not plan to restore it just fix the rust , add a dual power master cylinder, spray it in rust primer and drive... I'm going to leave it stock height for now, it has a new 31" tires and ugly white wagon wheels. not my style but for now will work until I can get some stock 8 lug steel wheels.

thanks

bob

 

Well, LMC has them, there quality is not always the best though.

LMC Truck Parts - Page 22

You should be able to jack up the truck and slip new mounts in there. The fun will be to get the old ones out! Enjoy!

 

good thanks, any thoughts on the rears? I'm surprised I missed those.

 

I'd call them tomorrow, I think the rears are included.

 

classicfabrication.com your on-line source for floorpans for your classic car seems to have better prices? but no pics. I'm guessing "cab braces" are the correct term for cab body mounts.

 

Here are a few pics of the project.

I'm pretty sure that tow hitch is homemade scrap , There was some lettering on the side and it's very well made. Can anyone confirm before I ditch it?

And is classic fabrication a good place for cab braces?

 

Nice truck! I really like those vintage turn signals on the wrecker.

I don't think cab braces are what you are looking for. They are the steel parts welded to the bottom of the cab just above the rubber. However, if your truck has spent it's life in PA, it sure could need at least the front ones. They really trap the mud in there!

 

Actually in the Albany area and south carolina prior to that. 'll try and take some pics tomorrow. I have nothing as far as the fronts go according to the pics in lmc. Kinda like a big "L" and the rear looks like it was a boxed channel? The PO fixed the floors and added pressure treated block from the top down to make up the gap.

The bed side are decent and the bed floor has a piece of plywood and strips that make it look decent. All of the supports are good but the first one is rough. I though about removing the wood but floor is buckled pretty bad from the looks underneath.

bob

 

lack of metal

 

Well that is definately a lack of metal. How are the gaps on your door. Are they at all even up and down the length of them. When the cab starts to settle, it starts to pull the door openings out of square. If there is new steel above the rotted openings, you should figure out how to keep the dirt from packing back in there. Normally the old rusted sections are removed and then new floor pans can be welded into place. You may end up "tearing out", more than you expected before you start "putting back in" !

 

it's had to tell, the back gaps are OK but the fronts are off, but that could be the front fenders ect.. The tops are good and there's a little I can get from there cause the belt line is off a bit. Agreed on the work involved. That's why I was curious if it would be easier to pull the cab... I'm kinda at a crossroads here. It's no show truck , just a driver/beater.

bob

 

I wouldn't pull the cab. Just take the seat out, gas tank maybe, etc... and start cutting out the rot. The top of the firewall has that great built in shelf where you can place a jack post under to lift up the cab to free the remains of the cab supports. When you pull the cab, it is easy to get it out of square if there is not a solid bottom side. It can be done like that as many have but if you are after a driver, which I prefer as well, lifting up the front of the cab is sufficient. You can still access the frame to clean it off and paint, just a little more of a challenge. By no means any offense to you frame off guys, but not really needed for something to drive in the North East!

 

Thanks, and actually the frame is in really nice shape. It almost doesn;y look like it belongs to this truck.. I guess once the front is done move to the back. PO already "patched" the floors. I guess I just chop that out put in my braces and add new floor?? I do have a welder but I will most likely bond in the panels where I can...

 

Sounds like the PO caused more work than he saved. I would weld the floor pans in as that is what is holding up your truck above the cab supports. Still use seam sealer after welding but just little 'ol me thinks they should be welded in. How are the cab corners? Bed will need to come off to repair those if needed. I made pieces to replace the inner cab corners out of flat sheet metal.

 

I think the old ford truck frames were made of kryptonite. I have had a lot of them and no matter how bad the body is, the frames just need a light cleaning to paint. My buddy was really proud of his old d***** powerwagon, but he gave up on it and sold it for parts when he found the frame rotted almost in half between the cab and box. (I 'prolly' would have scabbed some long fish plates on it and called it good, but that's just me). Now he's looking for a ford. Anyhow looks like you're on the right track. I'm with Spur about fixin' em to drive, and most of us here like a GOOD fix, not just laying the good over the bad. Don't forget what Neil Young told us long ago..... "Rust never Sleeps".