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Looking to frame swap my 77 2wd onto a 4x4 frame. Wanting opinions on this frame. Not doing the swap until the fall. Until then I will be restoring whatever frame I buy and prepping it to last a long time. Do you guys think this is worth patching up? It is a 79 4x4 f150, so is perfect for the swap. Just wondering if it is worth passing up on and waiting for another to pop up or if safe to patch up.
If the frame is paper thin in a lot of places, I'd say find another one. If it's only a few holes, it is not difficult to patch one side and fish plate the other, so long as your welding skills are up to par.
However.....again,.if it is super thin crispy crunchy flakey across the entire frame.....find another. There comes a time where time and labor outweigh savings in a case like this
I think the real question here is, how experienced is the OP at welding and fabrication. I've seen a number of frame repairs mostly on big trucks in the oil patch. Properly done it is completely safe and legal.
I'd NEVER consider fixing that frame or buying a frame that needed weld repairs and I have 40 years of fabrication and welding experience. Just not worth it IMO. I'd move on to another project before doing that. You might want to reconsider and think about it for awhile. Maybe sell the 2WD truck and buy a 4x4. You'll end up spending the same amount of money in the end and likely more especially if you buy something thats been sitting in a field for 25 years. Trust me on that. Just my personal opinion but 2x4 to 4x4 swaps are best when owner is already in possesion of a both vehicles and the 4x4 has a rusty body and 2x4 with good body. Or at a minimum a solid 4x4 chassis already in possesion because 2x4 trucks are less expensive to buy.
What frame? If it were a spot or so fix it but, this one would render so much work that if you started from one end and worked to the other, it would be all new when you finished. Even in your area, there are better frames around, this one is just not safe.
Can it be fixed... sure it can. Is it worth it...not by a long shot. So much of that frame has turned to rust, to fix it you will be basically rebuilding the whole frame,plus you will have a truck with a network of frame patches and that will severely impact it's value, the cost and time to fix it is not anywhere even near economically feasible or sound. There is nothing to even salvage off it, not spring hangers not cross members, nothing it is all rotted. To be honest the next stop for that frame is the scrap yard.
As another person who can weld and fabricate confidently enough to fix that I'd pass and save myself the time and headache. Time is money, and that frame will cost more time than the money you'd spend on a different frame.
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