Hi Guys and Gals,

Newbie, I'm interested in purchasing this 1956 Ford F100, Looks nice and solid, with rebuilt 350 windsor,( rebuilt 72 Torino tranny, 72 Torino Rear end, 72 FRAME), redone interior, nice stands, fresh paint. He said during painting he sand it down on the body, but not to sheet metal.

My question for you guys, is a 72 Torino Frame, Tranny, and Rear commonly used for the F100? What the is the Plus why they use this set up? What the negative on this set up? If you I do purchase it, my plans are to Pro-touring it, with Coil over front and rear suspension, Mustang II front, Disc brakes all around, 9 in Rear 3.73 and later down the line for EFI crate motor and C6 Tranny overdrive. Can I put this set up on this existing 72 Torino frame? Or will have to look for an original F100 frame? How about the value of it with 72 Torino frame, will it be less desirable? value? Also are most 56 going to have rusts, no matter what without restoration? Your help and opinion will help me make a better decision, Thanks in Advance

 

As far as I know, Torinos were a unit-body car, not possible to do a "frame swap".

edit -- oops, for 72 they were body on frame.

 

72-79 Torino/LTD II was a full frame car, but it is not a truck frame. No way would I touch this mess with a 10 foot pole. If you want a truck to do the mods you listed, look for a better example that hasn't been hacked and pieced together by some moron. Car frames are flexy and floppy and have no real structure. They are a mount for suspension, not a strength center. They are not suitable for building a truck project on.

 

52 Merc, interesting insight, you a make a lot of sense. I would never thought of that, I was thinking it would make it handle better, since Torino is a sedan frame. WOW! what do I know, Any other opinions and knowledges will be great also,

 

Got any pics?

 

 

 

The 72 Torino used a perimeter frame. I would look real closely at how the 56 body was attached to it. Have you driven it? A perimeter frame depends on the body for a fair amount of rigidity.

 

I am going to venture a guess that it doesn't have a complete 72 torino frame. Probably a frt clip graft.

 

I had a 60 f100 with a llt/torino sub frame in it,worked fine,its what we did back in the day,,

 

That was a popular swap years back. The frame is cut off just forward of the firewall and the donor frame is welded in. There are lots of these around. My truck has a 70 LTD front clip, motor/trans and a 72 Torino rear. It was that way when I got it. There are some done with other frames like Volare.

I have no issues with my truck but I would inspect it closely before you buy it.

The pics look good... Welcome to FTE!

 

Post some pics of the frame

 

There is something inherently wrong about purchasing a running truck that has everything done on it...with the intention of tearing it apart and rebuilding it. Especially a red BBW. Buy a pro touring chassis and build your truck up from there, used cabs are available and all the rest of the truck is readily available in the aftermarket. Just out of curiosity, what is the seller asking for this truck?

 

ALBUQ, I didn't get a chance to see it in person yet, he's 4 hrs away from me, so before I head out, I wanted to see if it worth wild.

Avf100, if it just the front clip of the Torino, that will work for me, this way I'll just switch to Mustang II clip, as long as the rest is F100 frame, I wouldn't want the frame to be welding on to the body, sound a little too Frankenstein for me, beside I want to take it off for future restoration.

GMbusa, he out of town till next week, I did ask him for some undercarriage pictures, he can't do it until then, but he said the frame 150ft end, not sure exactly what he meant.

CharlieLed, will I'm looking to work on the project little by little, maybe I'll be satisfied before I do a full pro-tour application, This way I'll be able to use it as I go, A complete pro chassis frame project, is quite $$$$ then you got dump all the $$$$ to get your first drive, asking price $33K

My other question for you guys, since I've been searching for this 56 F100, spoke too a hand full of deals out there. Seem like a lot of these trucks are rusted out, replace repo parts or used parts, either the Cab, Bed, Floor panel, Sheet metal patches, Drivetrain and etc, are switch from original truck, Is there a Real surviver in one piece? Or it is something you have to except if you want one? What would be the Best Drivetrain and Suspension upgrades? What the best way to go, look for a full build used one or a Solid starter and work from there as you go?

I want to Thank all you guys for the warm welcome, and helpful info

 

Wow that's a nice truck to redo! I'D just drive it the way it is! Most clipped front ends the front half of the truck frame is cut off then the other front clip is butted and welded and fished plated in place, just about every part is reproduced on these trucks so parts are easy to get.