Mine had a flip front end that I disassembled and returned to original configuration (fortunately it had been bolted together, so I just had to weld up the holes.) I still have the chrome hinge pieces if you are interested.
Email me if you want to discuss a flip front further.

Removing rusty carriage head bolts
 

This is my first post. Hello my fellow Canadians, How’s it goin eh? and to all our American friends How Y’all doin?

This may seem obvious to you veteran resto guys but it wasn’t to the journeyman mechanic and journeyman auto body tech I was working with at the time. My son and I were working at getting the body off the frame of a 52 Mercury M-47 pickup. This is the Canadian equivalent of a Ford F-1.It is basically the same except for the badges. The body was pretty much toast and we were going to swap a body on from a 49 M-155 (Ford-F-6 in the US).

The problem was the carriage head bolts that attached the running boards to the supports and fenders were so rusted that they spun around and rounded out the square holes. It was suggested, by the mechanic that we cut a slot with a cut off wheel in the carriage head and hold it with a big screwdriver. Even with two guys working at it this it wasn’t even close to working. Plan B was the Saws-All; nothing doing , took way too long and was a lot of work. Plan C the torch; also took forever and required lots of hammer and chisel work.

What I finally realized was one small tack with the Mig welder on the edge of the carriage head would hold the bold so the nut could be turned off. Actually half the bolts snapped but that was fine by me. A quick cut with the cut off wheel on the tack weld and your done. Got em all off in about an hour.

Cheers.

Good tip, and welcome to the forum!

Welcome aboard and thanks for the good tip as it`s a real problem getting the running boards off once the bolts spin around.
Be sure to fill in the location field in your profile and check out your local Alberta chapter soon: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum79/

My entire front end was put together "temporarily" by a PO, with 3" carriage bolts! At least 10 years before I got it. All rusted. Took me 1 1/2 days to pull them out!! Had to vice-grip on the end of the bolt, then loosen the nut enough to get a deep socket on, then the vice-grip on the other side of the nut, then off. Was afraid of the torch, and couldn't get a grinder into a lot of them...took a LOT of cursing!!! Didn't even have my welder yet...

Stupid PO's!!

R

Those wipers that will not come off....
 

spark plugs
 

I had to take the heads off after 10 hours of fighting with them. I had heat, big easy out with a 1/2" snap on breaker bar. Came out easily on the bench with heat I think.

Working with epoxy putty
 

I had a gas tank leak and couldn't remove the tank at the time. I grabbed a tube of two part epoxy I had that the package said it could be used to patch gas tanks. The leak was on the side of the tank and gas was seeping out. I used some coarse sand paper to clean the area. I mixed the epoxy and tried to apply it over the leak but it wouldn't adhere to the tank. After trying a few times, and having gas dripping down I decided to mix the epoxy with some of the gas, it got a little softer and also once it got gooey it stuck to the side of the tank. The epoxy hardened in about the same amount of time that the package said it would and it hasn't leaked yet. I did the same when I used epoxy to do a repair on a radiator, it wouldn't stick so I mixed it with a little of the coolant that was leaking out and it stuck.

I don't know if I just got lucky, or it this actually helped, but it seemed to work for me.

Hey guys, I'm goin to try to post a link to another site for tools to make and such. It's GREAT, go the link and after lookin at all the pages go back to the main page of plans to make tools.

Metal Meet Forums



:-X25

Another thing besides Tape to stiffen up a swivel is to use Rubber hose.

Most of the big drag racers that tear down their engine after each run have a dedicated spark plug wrench with a solid 24" across T handle long enough to clear the fenders. give the bar a slap to loosen the plugs and spin them out and in. A more permanent stiffener for universals is to slip a coil spring over them. tighten the last coil on each end to keep the spring in place but still removable if full flex is needed. Select the spring stiffness that gives the bending stiffness that works best for you.

Poor man's frame table.
 

I have been getting ready to install my new rear suspension components and trying to figure out how to get everything level and secure without having to build a frame table. I have noticed that some of you use jackstands to accomplish the task but they seem to have limitations.

I found 2 different size RV levelling jackstands. They have long screws with pads on top and are infinitely adjustable within a specific range. I figure I can use them to install my suspension pieces with the taller ones supporting the frame and the shorter ones supporting the diff. It seems that it might be more stable than shimming regular static jackstands. It also should allow me to level more precisely from side to side regardless of how level the floor is.

I will photo it and post photos in the next few weeks of my attempt. I am hoping to be able to dial in the frame rake a little more accurately too. I just need to make some little saddles to fit over the round flat heads of the stands.

Add a couple bags of sand or similar weight to the frame over the jackstands to help hold it down. Don't depend on the frame weight alone to do the job, especially if welding on the frame is in the plans.

Straight lines on curved pieces
 

While rebuilding my front cab corners, I found I needed to make a straight cut on some rather angled and curved pieces. I also needed to transfer that same straight line, to the cab corner patch, as well as the existing cab corner, to line them both up after the cut. I took a laser, used to mark the wall for picture frames, etc, that has a magnetic base, and stuck it to my vise on the workbench. I then used it to mark the existing sheet metal, then placed the patch and marked it, without moving the set-up. Worked great!!! You can find "cheap" lasers, Chinese knock-offs, for about $10, if you look. Here's a few pics...

http://crbest.com/bodywork/pagefive/32.jpg

http://crbest.com/bodywork/pagefive/33.jpg

http://crbest.com/bodywork/pagefive/34.jpg

http://crbest.com/bodywork/pagesix/19.jpg

R
See my bodywork HERE

That is a great tip.... I am getting ready to cut off my top and replace with another and this solves one of the biggest issues. Where did you get the picture level?