Back to the truck.

Last night I removed the front fenders, inner fenders and what I'll call the front valance (still learning my F100 lingo so my apologies if that is wrong).

Overall besides one to two stubborn odd placed bolts it came apart pretty well. I'm still surprised this thing is pretty solid.

Put another notch in the "pro column" for a new chassis also. Found the passenger side frame by the shock is bent in. Perhaps that is why the front fender had that large dent in it. haven't talked myself out of repairing it yet, but the list is stacking up so I'm still thinking about a turn-key chassis.

 

Pulled the box last night....took about 45 minutes....I didn't bother messing with rusted hardware, I just cut them off since I'm going to be replacing all the hardware anyway.

Picked up a Gantry Crane at Harbor Freight a month or so back. Figured I'd use it for the box / cab on this truck, plus I do enough with other cars where it will come in handy.

I'll build a cradle to support the box from underneath when I install the new one, but for stripping the old stuff off this worked well. The old box is solid but not a straight line on it so I'm going to be replacing it.

QUESTION: Found an odd spot on the frame in the rear close to the driver's side of the cab (see the last pic). Is that normal or is this another section of bent frame?

 

Not normal. I wonder what caused it?

​​​​​​If your cross members are good, you can buy just the bed, two bed sides, front panel and rear cross member, from Mid West Early Ford for $700. Freight would be a problem to SD. I picked mine up at a show they went to to Save the shipping.
.

 

Yeah, it didn't look normal to me either which is why I asked...Thanks for confirming.

Yes, from a first look, the cross members look fine (from the bottom, I haven't stripped the wood out yet), just surface rust, but I did not see any damage to them. Thanks for the tip on the parts

 

Whatever a previous owner hit, or was hit by, put a buckle in the frame at the front on the right side, and also transferred energy to the center of the frame on the left side. Nothing too serious, and nothing that couldn't easily be straightened by a competent frame shop. If you decide to keep the frame, you'll want to have it straightened before making any welding mods, like an MII front end. Right now, I'd guess the truck would dog track going down the road, just a bit.

 

Fully Agree

 

I am a bodyman by trade and am a little baffled at how the top of your rear appears so stretched but no apparent damage to the bottom . Nothing that is a real deal breaker as mentioned it could be squared up before m11 and boxing .

 

QUESTION: Since getting a frame straightened is new to me cause all my experience on older classic vehicles is unibodies only, I assume if I went the route of getting the frame straightened I should bring the frame to the shop stripped of everything, and deliver just the bare frame right? Or do you think the shop prefers the rolling chassis?

I feel like a bare frame only allows the frame shop to manipulate it better but again, I have no experience on that.

Thanks

 

Answered my question

Got a hold of a couple local body shops that do frame straightening for older classics. They prefer a rolling chassis so they can get it on the rack and because they don't normally have jigs for the older frames to hold it like they have for the new vehicles.

Both shops were pretty comparable with rates...one was $85/hr the other was $90/hr, they both figured a minimum of 5 hours based on the photos I sent but they both also said it could longer since older frames require hand measuring where as new vehicles they have lasers they can attach to meet there reference points. The scary part is they both said since their equipment is not set up for older chassis, they cannot guarantee it will be 100% square or straight....they figured ~95%.

This is getting interesting (from my research)...

• Frame Straightening = $850 (I'm figuring 10 hours to tweak)
• Mustang II Suspension = ~$1,500 - $2,500
• Rear 4-Link Suspension = ~$2,500 - $3,500
• Front Disc Brakes = ~$1,000 - $2,000
• Rear Disc Brakes = ~$1,000 - $2,000
• Brake lines = ~$100 - $300
• Fuel line = ~$100 - $250
• 9" rear end = ~$650 - $850 (new seals, gaskets & new third member)
• My labor = 25 - 40+ hours (sand blast frame, box frame, IFS & 4 link, paint frame, install brakes)

Total to Redo my stock chassis = ~$7,700 - $10,450 plus my 25-40+ hours time

Total for New turnkey chassis = ~$12,000 - $17,000 (Fully boxed chassis includes IFS, 4 link, 9" rear w/ 3.70 gears with 31 spline axles, 4-wheel disc brakes, brake & fuel lines with a 6 yr/60,000 mile warranty, just needs paint / powder coat)

Question becomes.... Is the ~$4,300 to ~$6,550 extra for a new turnkey chassis worth not dealing with the old chassis.

Looking at it that way (at least in my mind - which is a scary place to be occasionally), the extra $4,300 to $6,550 is money well spent given the peace of mind knowing it's a new "square" chassis and the geometry is set up right on the suspension where I don't need to question if I did it right or not, along with nice modern drivability as well as not having to deal with the hassle & frustration of prepping the old frame which may not be 100% square to start with.

And yes, I know ~$4,300 - ~$6,550 extra is a lot of money...but so is spending ~$7,700 - ~$10,450 in costs PLUS my labor to bring my old chassis up to par especially if I screw it up and have to redo stuff or find other issues requiring additional $$$ or if I have to scrap it all together.

Opinion welcomes

 

I like that you're doing your homework. Part of the decision, it seems, will depend on how confident you are in your workmanship. If you have someone to help make sure you're on track, make sure your measurements are right on, etc., perhaps that will help.

Using your numbers, I see you're deciding between $7,700 and $17,000. Now we're starting to talk real money. The $2,500-3,000 for a good front end kit comes with disc brakes, so you got some savings there from not 'double dipping'. A 4 bar rear link kit shouldn't come anywhere near what a front end kit costs. Should be well under a grand. Add for coil-over shocks if that's the plan. A 9" with a rebuilt center and disc brakes should come in under 2K. I think with careful shopping you should be able to build the stock chassis the way you want it for pretty close to your low end estimate.

Straightening the stock frame shouldn't be that big of a deal. Don't let them jerk you around with that hand measuring crap. These frames are really simple and straighten easily. They are all square and symmetrical. It will take them more time to set up their laser equipment than it will to do the job. A simple tape measure will let you know where you are. If they tell you they can't be sure they did it right, find another shop. That tells me they don't know how to read a tape measure. Try checking with a big truck alignment shop. They're used to working on frame vehicles. You might also stop by an automotive paint shop and ask if there's someone they know that might be able to do it as a side job.

Finally, you will have the same time and materials invested in prep, sandblasting, painting, disassembly and reassembly in both the new and the old chassis'. The new one may come 'turn key' but you'll need to take it all apart to prep and paint everything, then put it all back together. That part's a wash.

 

All great points, it's nice to get input on stuff like this.... Thank You

Honestly, I'm still not decided one way or the other, if someone told me I had to chose today, I'm not sure I could.

I'm confident in my skills, and I like a good challenge. I guess more info will come when I pull the cab and see if there are other surprises.

 

You're welcome! That's what we're here for, happy to help.

Another thing I meant to add before is with the new chassis, you'll probably want to fully assemble the entire truck before painting the frame to be sure all the mounts and holes are correct and all your welding is done. There's bound to be something you'll want or need to modify or change.

 

Definitely...Thanks Again

 

Is the center section of the rear end housing punched in ? That was a heck of a stump if it is.

 

When I saw the front buckle, I was confused. With the frame all tied together, I wondered where the energy of that bend went. Now we know. Not sure how it got there, but it makes more sense than just that single buckle.
As to the frame, I'm would even classify myself as a novice on this stuff, but I'm glad to give my opinion.
It comes down to two issues; money and the type of work you want to do on this truck.
There is great satisfaction in taking the original parts and rebuilding them. With this option you will always have the concern of parts failing. Although with your skill level, that concern is greatly reduced.
With the turn key chassis, you are guaranteed parts that will last a long time and you will spend less time working with rusty parts that want to fight you.

What story do you want to be able to tell with this truck?
If I had the skill and money I would do one of each. But I don't, so I'm staying stock.
I don't think there is a wrong answer, just a determination of where you want to spend your time and energy.