Hey y'all,

This forum's been a big help to me over the years on my various OBS projects, but I finally signed up to ask a question on my most recent project which is a '97 F350 Powerstroke. The PO bought it at auction after a rollover. The cab was damaged so he grafted/spliced a good cab to the bad one at the A pillars and through the floor. The splice vs a cab swap is a whole different story/debate, but the body lines seem okay so I'm sticking with what he did.

My question is, he did a pretty odd job at making the rear cab mounts work (see pic below). While it does seem pretty stable, I don't like the workmanship or how close they are together. Does anyone here see any issue with me measuring the gap between the frame rails and the cab where my finger is and putting some universal mounts there (like these)? I suppose I'd drill a hole in the frame to accommodate the mount. Any advice on cab mounting is appreciated.

Thanks,

Joe

 

From the previous work done, looks like anything is an improvement.
If your planning on using this truck on the street, don't.
If its an off-road thing, do what ever, just don't have me as a passenger.

Where I live, the moment you modify the frame, yes drilling a simple hole is modifying the frame, it becomes salvage for parts.

There is no way, ever, that thing will be street legal.

Good luck with an inspection.

 

Well, since I'm not driving to Canada to pick you up as a passenger or ask for your local DOT inspection I'll just continue down that path of not scrapping my truck.

 

You asked if anyone see's any issue, and yes, I see many.
If you don't like the work the previous owner did, why even bother buying the truck?
Well, if your going to do it, you have a bunch of options, and I don't think just putting a universal mount where your finger is, is a solution.
Why?, because you'll probably be drilling a hole in the cab, putting the mount in, and the cab floor sheet metal is all that is holding it there, no cab mount, very weak.

I would think the best solution would be to look at the original cab mount holes in the cab, and get the proper frame hardware and put it back the way it was designed.
Get something like this, bolt to frame, bolt to body:

 

Well, we know you can't sell it to wwhite.

Looks like swapping regular/extended cabs on these usually means cutting the frame, so you may be in for more than you want trying to make this work. I'm also questioning whether this cab is worth modifying the frame to match. The workmanship I can see makes me wonder what kind of sins are hiding under the carpet and the Bondo. IMO you'd be time and money ahead swapping on a clean cab that fits the frame vs cutting into a good frame to fit a cab that may give you problems later.

Do you have a bed that fits with this cab/frame combo? Or is that going to need modification, too?

If you're married to the cab, I would consider moving that nearest crossmember under the cab and drilling your mount holes in that. Four little holes in the frame instead of two big ones. Looks like the rear cab mounts are supposed to be a little inboard on these, though I don't see the mounting holes on your crossmember. (Edit: Or that bracket wwhite posted, that looks much easier.)

 

Is it for sale, must have missed that?

 

Now we're cooking with gas! Thanks for the tips guys and those make logical sense. I like Wwhite's point on the cab mount, which would be more stable and like factory.

TMM, I really appreciate the links to the other threads. Moving a crossmember is where my head originally went as well, but I'd feel safer doing it if I was able to score another crossmember rather than moving one. Your point is well made about 4 small holes over 2 large ones. Also, I'm on board for hitting the factory mounts on the cab, vs welding new ones in. The post on replacing mounts/bushings is a good reference.

As for the truck, it's a story longer than what's worth sharing, but in short, the 7.3 has less than 40k on the clock and I was able to pick it all up for less than the cost of the motor; brakes and drivetrain and excellent. My intention is to put a flatbed on it, like the PO was going for, so it justified keeping the std cab. The PO passed away mid project so nothing was finished to the point of bodywork or carpet - all the work and welds are exposed for me to inspect and go over. I believe I'll have less time into fixing this grafted/spliced cab than I would in swapping one and making it all function with the 7.3's wiring/firewall. At the end of the day, I'll still need to tackle the cab mounts.

Many thanks and I'll update with what I end up doing, unless it's dodgy in which case I'll keep it to myself.

 

Was that a longbox truck? With a reg cab on the frame that would leave room for an extra long flatbed which would be very useful.

 

I would emulate the factory mount setup by fabricating a new cross member and bolting that in under the rear of the cab. Then add OEM style bushings between the cab & new cross member, utilizing existing cab mount points in the sheet metal. With how flexible the frames are on these trucks, I wouldn't want the cab mounts set too wide, as that will just twist the cab more than it already gets twisted when the axles get crosses up.

 

Hows the floor look around the tunnel? The reason that i ask is the rear cab mounts look to be f700 or f800. The are close together because the long frames flex so much. If the tunnel is pretty flat then this is what I suspect.

 

Also the bugger trucks have that taller piece that the mounts are on.

 

This is an internet picture

 

Thank you, Humphrey! I looked at it again last night and the cab mounts are indeed in those locations. I didn't realize the larger trucks were different, but it makes more sense now.

At this point, I feel better knowing that the mounts are on the right spot, but would prefer something closer to factory for the way it's secured. I'm running out to a scrapyard this week to see if I can get a cross brace/member from an OBS F150 to attach the rear mounts to.

 

The 1/2 3/4 &1ton trucks have different piece on the cab....they set lower to the frame .