I'm looking into changing my 42 1 1/2 ton, 134" 4x4 Truck with a single rear into a 122" pickup with an 8' box. Has anyone done this? I think moving the rear forward is the way to go. The rear seems to be slightly narrower than the front. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Greg

 

Greg,

I'm contemplating doing something similar with my 48 F-3. I don't know exactly what the differences are between your 42 1.5 ton and my 48 3/4 ton. The original wheelbase of my F-3 is 122 and I want to shrink it down to 114 which is the wheelbase for a 48 F-1. I haven't started the project yet, but I think what we want to do is similar. Since F-3 long beds (8 foot beds) and running boards are so hard to come by, I will use an F-1 shortbed and F-1 boards. So far, in my research I have found that the shortening process will involve taking an eight inch section out of the F-3 frame somewhere between the cab and rear spring hangers and another few inches (not yet determined) from the end of the frame beyond the rear end. Hope this helps a little...

 

Vern, I think the frame is flat on my 1 1/2 ton so I thought that moving the hangers forward 12" would be better than cutting the frame. Taking a section out of the frame worries me. What do the rest of you guys think? Finding that big pickup box with the big opening rear fenders and running boards is going to be hard. Greg

 

Greg,

I guess if you don't have a kick up over the rear end, then it would not matter if you just moved the rear end up. I think I would do the same if my 48 frame were flat. It scares the bejeebers out of me to cut it in half too. Is it possible that an 8 foot bed off of a 48-52 F2 or F3 would work on your truck? If so, that might be easier to find...just a thought.

 

Vern, My main problem right now is getting my truck home. It's about 120 miles away. I'm going by memory as how the frame runs out behind the cab. A later style 8' box might work but the fenders would'nt look right. If I could find some running boards and big fenders from a 42-46 or47 1 ton then the box might not matter as much which year I use. Hopefully someone on this forum knows or has seen this before. Greg

 

hey there guys if you decide to cut the frame you may want to cut it on an angle top get a stronger job when done

 

Mine will be cut like a 'Z' to gain as much welding surface as possible and then I will use a metal plate on the inside rail to strengthen it further...

 

Never weld the ends of the plate used to stregnthen the frame. Welds create a stressor along its legnth so if you weld the plate from top to bottom the frame is more likely to break there. The best method I've seen for the stregnthening plate is to use bolts on either end and then weld the top and bottom only. Remember that one tiny crack can cause aa entire weld to fail, but one broken bolt leaves the others.