Hi, just came into the Ford world with my purchase yesterday of a beautiful 1978 f250 supercab short bed. Im a loyal cummins guy but theres something to be said for these old Fords. Anyways, I have a few questions.

1. I stole this truck, paid 5.5k for it and it really is as nice as the pictures make it look. 100% rust free, built motor, 4x4, 4spd, you name it.

2. The bad: the frame was "slightly modified". Its an f100 frame that had all the f250 hardware put onto it. All the hangers/leafs/steering box/everything. Only thing f100 about it is the frame rails. In doing this, he cut some crossmembers out and notched the frame where the steering box goes so it would fit. He has to shave down the pitman arm and that concerns me. The other thing he did, which i found out after I bought it, was he took the first foot and a half of a 78 f250 frame and literally put it inside the frame from the f100. So in theory its actually stronger than factory. He didn't splice the frame or change any of the geometry. Drives tight and straight as an arrow.

3. It just concerns me and I would prefer a stock frame. So heres the question:

Can I swap a 78 f250 regular cab long box frame with the frame of this truck? Are they the same dimensions? Or do I need a f250 supercab frame? I know swapping the bodies on these trucks is a piece of cake so I figured this wouldn't be too hard to do.

Whats everyones $0.02??

 

Shaving the pitman sounds like a huge no no. The rest of it could be ok-ish just depending on how it was done. More detailed pics and I'll tell you what I think.

Where are you located?

There's a good chance I'll have a 78 f250 regular cab long bed 4wd frame in my way very soon... It's not perfect though. I'm located near Washington DC, if you might need it pm me.

Nice truck, by the way.

 

I live in Michigan, half hour north of Detroit. Yeah the pitman arm scares me big time. My other option is sell it for more than I bought it for and use that money to buy a true f250 supercab. Its just the body on this is probably worth the $5500 considering how nice it is...not including the fully built 400 and all the other bells and whistles.