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Thanks, the stock crossmembers are staying place, I'll be boxing the frame in the middle and the back once I get the new crossmembers in.
When I bought my 55, the PO had cut out the crossmember for the cab mounts. The frame was cracked and needed repair. The original crossmember wouldn’t work with the Coyote engine anyway.
I ended up lining the original frame and boxing it almost full length. It is much heavier now, but it is probably one of the strongest F-100 frames out there.
They capture the rubber "doughnuts" at the front cab mounts, and weld under the floor panels. The vertical turn downs were also spot welded to the rocker panels on my 55 F100.
Spent a bit of time tackling something that I've been avoiding...
Keeping the patina on this truck is important to me. Some think it's a "cop-out", and the easy way out - and I understand that.
But it isn't always easier. Pulling this giant dent has scared me for a year. There's no room to swing a hammer, I can't weld multiple stud pullers to it and I can't torch it. All things I could do if I was bodyworking it.
So I grabbed a 2x4 and started prying. When that stopped working, a crowbar, and when that stopped working (and bent), a giant railroad crawbar that barely fit into the cab.
While I'm not done yet (I can do some hammer/dolly now) it's definitely way better and I surprised myself a bit.
None of this is easy, and I get why people get overwhelmed and give up. Hang in there, if I can do this with no experience and a 2x4, anything can be done
Can anyone say slide hammer? Seriously, I know you have to drill holes, but those are easily taken care of with a welder. As for that fender, I would remove it to get the worst metal moving in the right direction and then bolt it back up so it doesn't lose its shape for final body work.
Spent some more time on the truck today, several things I don't know... I'll try 1 at a time - thanks in advance
When disassembling, the front clip, I seem to remember being able to undo 3 of the 4 bolts holding each fender on, but the bottom one I had to cut off. It was probably inexperience and rushing, but I don't think I could get a wrench on to undo it. Now that I need to mockup, what's the story with the bottom nut/bolt for each fender?
The top 3 can be accessed in the cab, but this guy...
So, got a lot done today, putting pieces back on to test fitment
But I have about 3 inches between the cab and the running boards...
Not sure why... They seem to lineup on the back fender pretty well, and the front cabs mounts are on and bolted down, have I installed the rear cab mounts wrong? Even if, seems like a lot to make up...
A cab skirt fills the gap between the bottom of the cab and running board. Mine were degraded plastic, and broke when I took them off of my 1955. You should be able to buy remanufactured at a place like LMC Truck parts, and others. A metal retainer strip attaches them to the bottom of the cab.
