was wondering if anyone has ever used a mini truck frame for their f100. i have a 54, and looking at the frame rails, they appear narrow like an s-10 or ranger. the wheelbase may also be close. maybe an x cab could work? i don't trust my welding skills enough to cut my stock frame and add another. but i think i could fabricate new body mounts with little problem.
any ideas?
thanx

 

Was wondering the same thing! Industrial chassis has the dakota front end that takes standard dakota parts and they claim all the geometry isthe same. Had my brother measure the rear end on his 92 2 wheel drive and that measurement is also very close.

 

These guys have done it and a pretty good job at it.

I frequent this board alot, I was also wanting to do that to my driver, but I have too many projects as it is already ....

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthre...rue#Post281948

One guy "porknbeaner" on the HAMB swapped 53 on an S10....do a search and you should be able to find it...
I got several pics he sent me also on the 53 to s10 swap. Let me know if your interested I can send them to you.

Rey

 

Just a word of warning here. Clark (So What) is a better than average fabricator. He has done more than one of these. I think Choptop would agree, Clark comes up with some good stuff. Just because he can mount an old Chevy truck on a newer Chevy frame doesn't make it easy. It looks like there is more to it than just fabbing body mounts. There are radiator and trans Xmembers to deal with... Some steering column and shifter issues... There is certainly the ease of slipping a sbc in the rails and is that what you really want for your old Ford?

If you want to improve your ride and braking, check out all of the options listed in the IFS and rear end stickies for an economical approach. If you want to play with your truck and have an extensive "rebuild" onto a newer frame, then I applaud you. There is a rolling frame in Ft Worth not far from my daughter's place for 200 bucks. You don't know how close I came to getting it for another project... not my '54.

Don't want to cast any gloom here... just tossing out my worthless opinion. Then, too, I am most interested in this type of thing... if you go that route I'd sure follow your progress with the keenest interest... to the extent of helping you write it up. Best. himmelberg

 

thank you for the advice. i am interested in those pics choptop.
i know this won't be a simple swap. but if i can get decent suspension and brakes all at the same time, then i may go that rout. i'm still not sure what engine/tranny combo i want to use. that will deff make my decision easier.

 

Hey 54effie, sent you an email.

 

A buddy of mine put a 53 IH on an S-10 frame. He did get a pretty nice driving truck. He also cursed it for a couple years. He has done quite a few rods and said he wouldn't do another frame swap ever. He could have done aftermarket mods to the stock frame and saved hundreds of hours of fabbing. Kinda depends on whether you have a lot more time than money. The frame swap should be considerably cheaper.

 

I've been working on my 51 that has been mounted onto an '84 E-350 chassis. Fabricating body mounts were easy. Although I'm not a fan of the Ford twin I-beam, I didn't want to go through all the alignment effort to put a front clip onto a frame. The 84 chassis was originally an ambulance with a 12 foot box on it. I had to shorten the frame about 30" to fit the wheel wheels on the 51 plus about 24" off the frame at the rear because it had a very long overhang.

I retained the whole 84 rolling chassis including the power brakes, power steering, 460, and C6. I had to notch the back of the cab and widen the bed to fit over the wider frame, but the objective was to have a heavy duty 1 ton truck with an 8 foot pickup bed. The later model trucks have the steering gear and tie rods at the front of the crossmember so I was able to use any generic steering column and with the help of a couple of U-joints the steering was easily connected. The brake booster and hanging pedal assembly were used off the 84 and modified to fit under the dash.

I assembled the entire truck and then disassembled it part by part and repaired/painted them. I just finished the cab and have set it back on the frame.

The most difficult and time consuming part was the body work. I had to re-radius the front wheel wells to fit the 16" tires better, because the F8 had 20" wheels.

I'll try to add the latest picture to my gallery as it was last night with the cab back on the frame.

Keep in mind, I'm building this truck to pull a 24' gooseneck trailer with antique tractors and crawlers. If it was to be a street machine, I wouldn't have put it on such a large frame. The cab and front were originally an F8 fire truck.

Ken McWilliams
Dayton, OH

 

my dakota idea not getting any love or what?? I would much rather use anything besides a bow tie !!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

ameriken, that sounds like a big project your pulling off. i'll have to check out those pics. when you cut your frame, how did you make the cuts? vertical or at an angle? just curious which would produce a stronger joint when welded.

i'm guessing the dakota swap dosen't get mentioned much because it hasnt been seen in the magazines or shows alot. i'm sure in time with more people trying it out, it could be just as popular as the mustang 2.

 

here's one more rock in the road... what about the brakes ??? what size rotors does an s-10 have ?? I know the MIIs were small and everyone of us had to go to the granada or big chevy rotors to have adequate braking... that's something else that has to be considered...

never done a frame swap but looked into it pretty hard... a late 80' model exploder is also a candidate and it's a ford product... might be a better alternative...

add $.02 to the total please..

later

john

 

Probably just ignorance for most of us. Using a Dodge chassis is no more or less taboo in the minds of many around here. If the measurements are close you can be sure someone will try it soon. If it hasn't already.

 

Hey 53Choptop

I am a new user , week ago bought a 50 F47 pickup. since motor and rear end are shot , I am considering chassis swap, with either Ranger of S-10 chassis.
I'm looking to daily drive this beast and want maximum braking and ride.

I would be interested in your chassis swap pics.

My email is tip49@shaw.ca

Any info would be appreciated

Thanks