Boxing the frame is a pain in the backside. It isn't technically difficult if you have a plasma cutter and are a decent welder, but it is time consuming and does take a fair bit of planning.

 

glad to hear, cause mall crawler was the first thought I had.

on my trucks I cut away just enough of the top brace that i could slide the crossmember out after removing the crossmember and crossmember to brace bolts. doesn't work too bad, but pb blaster does a good job too!

 

I am sure if Ford could have left them off in their design, they would have. Just think about that for awhile. Probably one less assembly line worker to install them, and a couple dollars saved on thousands(maybe a million from 80 thru 96) trucks. They all have them.

 

yea lol these 4 speeds cant hold up to my foot lol, but ok so if i weld the extra braces onto the crossmember i build it should still slide out ok?

 

Again, look at what the factory did. They bolted the upper braces to the lower crossmember, maybe you should consider doing the same thing. If you look, they riveted the other braces in the truck, but those on the tranny have bolts.