Please help with tips and advice. I'll be posting and learning and you can track the progress too. I have a small gallery here with only 2 picks, but that will change.

I am looking to do a 4X4 Chevy Short Bed frame swap and need help and tips and advice. Please feel free to contact me or yell at me for going Chevy (my other car is a 68 Mustang GT/CS so don't hate me)...Forward me picks, tips, links, ideas, advice or words of encouragement.

It's been my dad's dream to have this baby back to good for 25 years! It's my turn to help him out.

 

...Welcome to Ford Truck Enthusiasts!

See you on the boards. ….

 

Welcome to the site !

You might have posted this in the 48-60 truck forum for more & experienced feedback?

or maybe someone can move it there for you ?

 

Ya, just this one time...for you Dennis.

-Matt

 

well personaly id would definatly do the 4x4 it will look flat out mean. but i would put on a ford frame as that way you would have a ford 9 in the rear and a dana 44 or somthing similar in the front, that i don't like chevy parts on fords but i guess it depends on what parts you have avialible and what you want to do. whatever you do it'll look cool

 

I agree with using a Ford 4x4 frame as it has closer frame design than probally the chevy. I put my '51 on a '78 F-250 2wd frame and have written a whole article on it. A 4x4 chassis of the same vintage would be done the same way. To read it CLICK HERE

 

I will say this, If you are doing this for you dad and he has had this for at least 25 years I would try to restore it to factory. But what I may not know is that he may also want you to do something like that. So don't take what I say to heart. Just my opinion. If not I do think that would look cool as a 4x4. I don't know about the frame but from what I hear a small block chev is easier to fit than a ford,(maybe that was the 48-50 body style) Anyway if that is what you have at your disposal or what you want the do that. Their is no point to building your truck the way somebody else wants it. For instance I wouldn't paint that hot pink but if that is what you wanted I would probably make a comment that it looks good but you will never see mine painted like that. Do what makes you happy.
But keep in mind opinions can help alot or lead you to something you may like better.

 

In the excitement of getting a neat old '54 a couple of years ago, I was full of ideas about what I might do to it. Initially, an IFS seemed like a good idea. Then it didn't. I learned an awful lot just hanging out here and getting to know the guys by what they write and what they know. Believe me, they know alot.

I still drop by to read things and I still learn. If you are going to restore your panel then you should read Earl's comprehensive breakdown of a frame off restoration. He's one of our moderators and one of the best guys around.

You might want to browse the tech articles and read stuff written by John Niolon. John is in no big hurry but his articles are well documented, well written and as entertaining as they are informative.

Other guys here are singularly well informed about EVERYTHING about these trucks. Guys like Handsome Bob Ferguson collect it then write it all down in tech articles. If you've waited around 25 years I'd suggest looking around here for 25 days to get the scoop.

If you have the resourcefulness and determination of Nathan who did the frame swap-- in spite of much expert advise that it was too difficult or not worth it-- you'll certainly end up with what you want. No matter what it is.

I don't spend much time on the welcome wagon, but since you are a Jersey boy and sometimes I get homesick -- well, welcome. Look around. You'll enjoy the ride.

hospitably, himmelberg

 

Don't ruin a nice panel with a Chevy 4x4 conversion. Good panels are hard to find as most suffer from severe rust. IMO restore to all original, is what I did to my 55. There are too many Fat Fendered Ford Street Rods out there.

Fred

 

Nice looking panel-interesting grill-is that a 51/2? I prefer the lowered look, but it all depends on what you want to do with your panel. I'm also relatively cheap, so using what you have or can get at an economical price is always a consideration. You will catch a lot of grief using the Chevy parts, but you'd be surprised how many "alternative power plants" are found in these old Ford trucks. You are ahead of many with a gallery already set up. Post more pics and let us know what you decide to do.
Good Luck!

 

My Dad was thinking Chevy 4x4 b/c we have on at our disposal and it had a good bit of work done to it. You guys are going to help out alot! I think that the truck will look great, no matter how we do it... and yes, I believe the grill is from a 51 or 52. It has ben cut, welded and put on this beast. I can't wait to get started on this truck! I'll post picks as we go and set up a better set of gallery picks. This truck gathers more attention stuck in the driveway than most cars/trucks do when they are tricked on road!

 

I'm not into 4x4s so I think it would be sacreligious to do that to a beautiful panel truck. Take a look at my gallery to see our 56 panel, a street cruiser/racecar tow vehicle. There are just too few good panels left to cut or beat one up. IMHO. Why not sell it to someone who would appreciate it as the best looking truck Ford ever built, and use the money to buy a jeep or 4x4 pickup with a cap on the back? There is nothing dimemsionally in common with a Chevy 4x4 or any other 4x4 truck chassis and the F100 body. IMHO Mating the two would be extremely difficult unless you have a lot of fabrication experience, without ending up with a "Grave Digger" clone.

 

well the best thing you could probly do if you want to convert to 4wd would be to take meuserments from your frame, like width axle pisition stuff like that and go to the junkyard and whatever and find a 4x4 frame that meausures the same then you will have to move or biuld mounts to mate it to the frame but that aint all that hard. my 59 cab is sitting on a 61 frame. hope this helps, and lastly build the truck you and your dad want to build an do what makes you happy

 

Lots of opinions flying about...might as well set mine loose!

Use what you have available to you. That's the heart of this great hobby...guys taking what they have and turning a pile of "junk" into something great.

I'll shed a tear or two if you put a chevy frame and power train in her...but you've got what you've got.

All I can say is: Think about how you want to use the truck before you go diving in. It may look cool, and it may seem cool in your head...and even when you're done, but it would suck to get it all done and then go "yeah, it looks cool, but I can't really do anything with it."

 

I already own a pretty nice Wrangler Sahara for 4wd purposes and my dad has a small lift on an XJ (Cherokee). We don't need a 4x4. He wants a good, reliable driver (ok, semi-reliable), with some safety in things like PS, PB (discs), 12 volt. This isn't going to be concourse show car or have 25K dropped into it to make it some high tech pimped machine. At least I hope not to drop that kind of cash! ;-)