I've done a few Brand X truck frames to make them a short bed. Anyone tried it with a Ford? Looks like it won't work but I'm sure someone knows more about it than I do.

 

I am planning on shortening a '69 LWB frame to put my '61 SWB Uni-body on. I will have to take a total of 18" out of the '69 frame to make the wheel bases the same. It appears that the place I wll be taking the 18" from is just behind the cab.

Gene

 

I have a `65 LWB that was shortened to about a foot shorter than shortbed wheelbase. A stepside bed about the length of fenders only was going to compliment the cab. As most projects it never happened. Now I acquired the left overs with no motor or tranny. Just cab, a frame that was too short for any useful purpose fitted with a rotted out raised flatbed. The truck had been vandalized, so it needed all the windows, dash pieces etc. I cut and spliced a `54 frame from jusst behind the cab back where the main crossmember goes at the forward spring mounts. It is now a complete very close to original, for a shortbed stepside, truck about to breathe life once again. If you want to do any frame length changes this crossmember is a good place to hide the welding and still keep some strength.

 

The details are a little fuzzy but, I did this back in '85 to the frame and to the box. It was on a '64 F100. I am pretty sure that where the box is concerned, I cut out 14 inches in front of the rear wheels,overlapped 1 inch for a total of 15 in front of the rear wheels and cut out 4 inches behind the rear wheels, overlapped 1 inch for a total of 5 inches behind the rear wheels. I cut the frame between the first, most forward box bolt and the second box bolt. I cut the frame on the diagonal to add inches of weld to the joint. I also ground the outside of the joint on the frame flush after welding and added a diamond shape piece of steel welded in place over the joint for extra strength. My nephew ended the life of that truck in a collision in which he was broad sided at 60 MPH. The frame held fine. The box survived also. So did my nephew. The box is part of my current project which is a converted "65 crew cab short box, 1/2 ton, 2 wheel drive truck. The box I shortened 17 years ago fit perfectly on the factory short box frame.

I beleive the fram e was shortened 15 inches in the middle and the back 5 inches of the frame were cut off. Hey, this was 17 years ago. Do some measuring on a buddies truck to verify my numbers. If my numbers are offf, they are off by inches, not thousandths.

Tale lots of measurements befor cutting. measure from wheel center to wheel center. Also do cross measuring from points that are consitant prior to cutting the frame. For instance from the bottom of the left rear to the bottom of the right front shock and so on. This will verify that not only has the frame been shortened correctly but also that it is in alignment and will not dogr track when completed.

If your brake lines are still good, you can roll them in a circle over a coffee can to make up the length diference. That worked for my original project.

truck4d

 

These are the answers I was looking for. I have built drag cars all my life so it won't be a challenge, just wanted to know if there was a straight area to work with. Ordered the lowering kit today, gotta get the SW bed this weekend... ahhhhh fabrication.