I think I need new cab mount arms. My body man is not sure. Sometimes my bed seemed to lean to one side but we think that is because the cab leaned to the left.

Here are pics of the back of the cab and the in relation to the frame. Right now it looks like there is equal distance between the frame and the cab. But shouldn't there be more space between the two?





I think there should be more clearance. Here are pics of truck over the years from the rear:







The arms they sell now are cast iron like the ones that the bigger trucks used as opposed to the pressed steel o f the F-100's. Would new arms lift the cab higher?

 

Abe, if the rear cab mounts have never been replaced, I would SWAG they are deteriorated and should be replaced. Crawl under the truck with a good light and take a close look at the rubber bushings. I suspect you'll see they are deteriorated and it should be obvious. I would bet 'grandpa' never changed them before you got Old Betsy
Personally, I find the original arms are up to the job as they've been doing for 60+ years. Just replace the rubber bushings unless the arms are rusted to the point of loosing integrityy.
Edit: Just measured the cab to frame on Blue, the '49 F4 which is most likely different. I got 5/8" one side and about 9/16" on the other side. Measurements taken from the lower lip on the cab and I believe the lip is longer on one side than the other. All bushings and cab mounts replaced two years ago. Check all the frame mounting points where they are riveted to the frame in front. There have been reports of cracks in these areas. I found one on Blue and on M. G., the '56.

 

You could replace them with the adjustable arms.
1948-56 Ford F-100 Cab Mount Arm, Adjustable
That would give you the most flexibility to get everything aligned properly.
I just replaced my bushings and called it good. The cheapskate I am, I just used heater hose as a bushing as well. They fit great. We will see how it works over time.

 

Thanks, Ray. Grandpa for sure did not replace the cab mounts. I think I scavenged a pair of cast iron arms from a big truck in my favorite junk yard 17 years when I fixed up Old Betsy the first time. I will have to look for them in my parts on the second floor of my garage.

For sure the rubber is hard and cracked. If I am rebuiling the old arms I might aas well get new ones with new rubber already in....

 

I will not get Sy's adjustable arms! That is def going toward the dark side!!!

I am cheap too but I will not use heater hose!!

 

I love the way somebody has cut/ground the bottom of the cab joint to stop it banging on the chassis. Awesome!......

 

Even with new arms, there really isn't a large gap between the frame and body. I do agree with everyone else though that it would hurt to replace them if they are that old.

 

Gotta be careful about the dark side. I figured since you added that dome light, that you might be open to this.

The heater hose looks good though.

 

The "somebody" in this case is the frame. When a cab settles it contacts the frame and rubs...in this case the rubbing seems to have been going on for some time.

 

I considered that for a while, until I looked at the second photo of the r/hs of the cab, which looks cut and across half the width of the cab. It also looks like it has been drilled first, may all be a coincidence, but looks fishy from here.

 

When I replaced the left rear mount on my cab it raised it about 1/4". It had been resting on the frame.

 

Abe, I rebuilt my arms in 1992, I think. It was around then. (The cab was actually sitting on the frame) I used the bushing kit from Dennis Carpenter, but I'm sure they're all pretty much the same.

I'm sorry I don't have a measurement, just this one grainy photo from the more recent tear-down. It looks like it's closer to a full inch.

 

Yep, a lot of strange things are done by POs...here is a pic of the underside of a 50 Merc coupe that I bought years ago. It came out of a barn in N. Dakota...I knew that the flathead was gone but the car still set level when they unloaded it off the transport. Seems that the farmer may have broken some front springs over the years and found it easier to use some fence posts to fix the problem...

 

A few of the photos show that the line formed by the top of your tailgate isn't parallel to the top of the bed front panel. I don't know what could cause that except for bed cross-members or the rubber shims under them being out of wack. Either that, or by chance, you've been parking on an incline in those photos.

 

Nope, no one cut the back of the cab. The PO was my grandfather and he bought it new. I have owned it since 1977.

The rear cabcorners were replaced in 1999. So I think what you are seeing is the misalignment of the cabcorner patches and the original back of the cab.

I would think that the cab should have more space between the cab and the frame.

Harrier Joe, I must say your "bushings" look good.

I think the cab leans to the left (unlike me politically). Before my windshield was replaced in 1999 rain water would seep in the cab at the left end of the windshield but not the right...

Thanks for all your advice. I gotta either find the cab mounts i have in my stash or buy new ones from Mid Fifty.