1951 Ford truck, Chevy 350 engine/automatic, 72 Camaro front end.....Just got the truck....I knew it had the camaro front end but didn't notice the severity of how they accomplished it. I plan on it being a work truck some day, so i dont care to much about how the frame and engine mounting looks as long as it works good and isn't going to snap in half....Any ideas how to fix it....I was think about welding square bar higher and over the control arm then using a universal cross support with engine mounts and welding it to the square bar over the control arm...thanks for any help

 

Sheesh! What a mess! I'd be afraid, too. It looks like they just grafted the crossmember section only out of the Camaro into the stock frame. The way that a Camaro subframe is normally installed is to completely cut the stock frame off somewhere around the firewall and graft the GM subframe's rails into the the stock rails. The front section of the stock frame is then grafted back onto the Camaro subframe to retain the front crossmember and frame horns for mounting the core support and front bumper. Camaro subframes aren't that expensive or hard to find. If it were me, I'd research the correct way to install it, chop that mess off, and start from scratch the right way. I know that you aren't concerned about appearance, but that isn't the issue here. It's safety. I see the potential for stress risers and frame cracks all over the place on what you've got. A tiny, unseen frame crack in that area could really ruin your day if it opened up at 75 MPH on the interstate.

 

Man that looks like a seriously shoddy install - I'm no expert on subframe installs but I'd guess that would grade a 0 out of 10...

 

Well if it was me I'd ask for my money back and go buy something else that wont get you or your family killed. If that is out of the question then I would replace the frame with something that I would feel safe to sit in, let alone start and drive. Maybe find someone with a original frame or front section to graft on untill you can fix it up to your liking. I've seen some pretty shady stuff but that is just plain scary...

 

Welcome to the board!

Wow, what a mess. I agree with whats been said so far. I think I'd either try to find a stock frame to put back under it or do the Camaro sub frame swap the correct way.

Bobby

 

You always hear guys say they went with sbc because they're cheap. Looks like this guy took cheap to the extreme.

I'd tear it down and graft in a new front end. I sure wouldn't drive it the way it is.

 

some of you new guys might not know this technical term... but this is a perfect poster child for the term..

that thing is "cootie-bobbed"

axe it off and start over... I see no salvageable resolution to this.

(you can do a search on cootie bob for an explanation..

later
John

 

That has to be the scariest IFS install that I have ever seen! I'll have to agree with what has been said, chop it all off and start over.

 

I would just start all the way over. scrap everything and buy something engineered for the truck or look into finding a complete roller chassie from another truck.

 

Thanks everyone......i guess i"ll be searching the junk yards...."sigh"

 

Whew! That is ugly! Start over. I wouldn't trust that down the driveway much less on the highway and unless you find another frame you're committed to a frame graft suspension with that hacked up frame...

 

That's unbelievable. Before you start just driving to all the junk yards, give craigslist and the HAMB a shot. I've seen quite a few frames in the last couple months here and there. There are multiple search programs, but I use one called www.searchtempest.com. You can set a radius around your zip code and it will start giving you the results in a target-like fashion with the closest ones first, etc. If you can't find a complete roller chassis, I agree with everybody else. Chop that rat's nest off and start over.

 

WOW !!!! Am not able at this time to make a comment on that mess . It would be too blount & direct . I believe all the others have given you many excellent ideas on how to correct that abortion .

 

What size Ford truck is that? Looks like an F-1, maybe an F-2? What else has been done to the frame, like to the pedals and crossmember at the trans? It may be easiest to do a full frame replacement with stock, but there's a lot of small stuff going to be missing. What a shame......

 

I recognize that work - Clutzenhiemer & Gobweld - I have a 48 chassis that had been "Fixed" by them. - Can't be safely Undone.