On Sunday I was working on removing the cab from my 77 F150 frame and was attempting to do this all by myself. I was able to lift my cab with some 2x4's, long tow strap, and my engine lift. After jacking it up I placed the cab on 12 cinder blocks (3 on each corner of the 2x4 frame) and I then lowered the front of frame with my floor jack. I noticed that the front shock towers and cab mounts looked pretty close to hitting the cinder blocks, so I was carefully manuvering the frame with my garage floor jack between them. The blocks were just far enough apart for the frame to slip by them, but in my careful effort to guide the frame between the blocks I did not notice that my rear wheels had just left the flat level garage floor and were beginning to go down my driveway which slopes toward the street and my wifes Dodge Grand Caravan!
At this moment I was on my knees holding onto my floor jack handle just in front of my cab that was perched on the 12 cinder blocks and I had all I could do to hold the truck from rolling down my driveway into my wifes minivan. I had placed some boards in the driveway earlier to keep the truck from rolling down the driveway into the road, but I felt if I just let go of the jack the truck would not stop at the boards, but jump over them on its way to the collision into the wifes van! I'm thinking, boy is she going to kill me and I will never hear the end of this one!
So I start yelling for wife and I think I had to yell 6 or 7 times before she finally head me and comes a runnin'. She thinks I dropped the truck on my self or something from the way I was yelling! When she gets out there I tell her to get behind the truck and stop it from rolling and like the good wife she is she did just that. I released my death grip on the floor jack handle and I run around to the back of the truck and we slowly let the truck roll back to the boards I had left in the driveway. I suppose I could have just dragged behind the truck holding onto the jack handle to slow its decent down the driveway, but I think it would have taken me along time to remove the brown skid mark from my shorts and the garage floor.

I decided I was not going to push my luck by trying to move the truck cab off the cinder blocks myself and I broke down and called my brother-in-law to help me. It was never my intension to try and move my truck bed and frame down the driveway by myself, but at the time I had all my attention on the front end and not the back end. I should add that the bed of my truck was loaded full with all kinds or spare parts just to make matters worse.

Here's are some pictures which document my near miss experience. Please do not try this experiment yourself....I am a professional and I know what I am doing.....NOT.... DOH!!!

 

sounds like a good ol-time....workin on a ford

 

So when are you installing that electric winch bolted to a support in the floor for jockeying truck chassis' up and down th driveway ?

I shuddered the more I read.......usually I'm the king of comedic skits

 

A few bolts on the floor and a come-along would seem to be a wise investment.

 

If you think your drivway is steep you should see mine. Glad everything worked out OK. Your front cab mounts look just like mine did when I lifted my cab. The mount supports on the cab itself were fine but the frame mounts were in bad shape like yours. I had a shop rebuild the frame mounts like new.

 

I would love to have a lift, but if I bought one I would not have any money left for my projects!

 

The engine looks good, http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2966...52948230txHikn

What are the plans for the cab?

 

please please change the way the cinder blocks are stacked! place them with the holes in the vertical position it is the only way they have strength!

 

chet_cowan is correct, the holes should be facing upward and should have some type of 2"x10" x 16"+ over the blocking holes, then the 4"x4" post to support the cab.

 

The cab is not really that heavy actually it's more bulky than anything. I don't know the actual weight, but I estimate it at less than 600lbs. The only thing left on the inside of the cab is the dash, steering column, and the front and rear glass. My brother-in-law and I took it off the blocks all by ourselves. We just lifted one side of the cab and took out two of the blocks and then set the cab back down and we just repeated the manuver on the opposite side and continued until we had the cab sitting on the pallet that I rigged up w/ four 3" casters to keep the cab mobile while I complete the frame.

While the cab is off the frame I am going to replace the cab corners and the lower back edge of the cab. I already fixed a hole in the passenger side floor board and cab support. After that I am going to remove the glass and strip, staighten, prime, and paint the cab and other sheet metal. I have not even decided on a color yet, but I really want to keep this project simple (if you can call this project simple). I am leaning towards a single stage paint rather than the base coat clear coat system. I was not planning on doing a frame-off restoration on this truck when I purchased it from a friend for $250, but one thing led to another and here I am doing exactly that. I have already rebuilt the engine, transmission, front suspension, and brakes. The thing is I all ready had two other restoration projects started before I took on this 77 F150. I am also restoring a 54 GMC 1/2-ton truck and a 71 Pontiac LeMans Sport. I am a sick man who does not know how to control this restoration hobby of mine. I have been treating this illness w/ lots of hand cleaner, band-aids, and cold beer. Luckly I have a very understanding wife.

 

Just a goofy note - And ALL this "projecting" is going on IN the garage ? I'd like to see the back yard. I'm in the hills and am using my '75 F-250 SC as a hunting blind at the moment. It needs the engine rebuilt, the donor F-150 sits beside it. Bambi's 5 aunts keep eating my garden just after sundown, then head into the back yard for apple dessert. 3 of his uncles visit in the morning, just before sun-up. ( Next time wear Goodyear shorts. )