I just got done taking the rear spring shackle brackets off the frame of my 51 f1 and....RUST has eaten through the frame right behind the brackets....what am I suppose to do??...I can't really afford to get a new frame. Man this sucks

 

reed1951 , Did you consider cutting out the bad and replacing with new?? How are your welding skills?? Dont throw the towel in yet , it can probably be repaired , something to think about anyway..

 

Frank,

Don't get discouraged, it's not the end of the world. There are other frames out there that won't cost that much. The major problem might be finding one nearby. There are few guys on the board that are attemping a complete frame swap onto a newer chassis and aren't going to need their frames. Also, there are a quite a few guys who have parts trucks that are willing to sell the extra frame cheap. Place an ad in the swapmeet area and see if you get any responce. Check eBay, they show up once in a while and usually only sell for the price of scrap.

Good luck,

 

Well I was thinking about getting the frame fixed (putting in new pieces and welding them in) I'm just wandering how much it will cost. My dad knows a guy who does it so hopfully he would cut me a break and not charge so much. As for me welding, I would love to but I don't have a welder (mig) and plus I havent welded since high school (6 years ago). It just stinks, I just keep running into walls ya know. But I'm not going to give up dont worry

 

Hey Man , Ask anybody who tears into one of these old rigs and they will tell you , You never know whatcha got , whatcha gotta do till it's torn down .Thats just the nature (or natural) name of the beast ..it si over 50 years old !! It just needs some attention..dont let it get you down!!! actually this may give you a break,..if you need it!! Dont let it beat you..Never Give In!! Were here to give you some feedback!!

 

Am I correct that the damage is behind the rear shackles? How far behind? The frame behind the shackles is there just to hold the bumper and the last crossmember, which only supports the bed. In other words, this is as good a place to have to repair as it gets! It carries relatively little load. If your bed is off, it's an easy fix for a welder, shouldn't be very expensive.

 

Frank...

first thing... don't panic... don't get depressed... it's nothing that can't be fixed...

If your frame is sound structurally other than small areas behind the brackets, it's not a major repair to cut and replace the damaged parts... you can take this



and with a little fabrication and a good welding person (that would be a weldor)

it can be like this



Even if you can't do the welding yourself (which I didn't either) you can do the grinding and fitting. With a cutoff wheel or a plasma or even a hacksaw sometimes, you can get nice square holes cut out and then cut nice tight fitting patch panels.

Then take the frame to the weldor or vice versa and his actual time welding is greatly reduced ( and the $$$ reduced). The tighter and cleaner the fit the easier it is on him and the better job you'll get.

You can save some serious $$$ by doing the grunt fitup work yourself... If I can do it... you can do it... it's just jigsaw puzzle stuff. I don't know what tools you do have but a 4.5" grinder is less that 20 bucks at H.F. and the disc aren't very expensive.

Ask your dad to take you to his friend and talk to him about the repair... take some pictures with you if he hasn't seen the frame yet. Ask him if he'll do the welding if you do the prep... He might even work out a deal where you can use his shop/tools to do it... Lots of experienced welders and builders will help out a newbie if he shows an interest in learning. it's passing on the trade or paying forward a favor that someone did for them... You might be pleasantly surprised.. If nothing else offer to barter some shop cleaning time or slave labor for the work... lot's of cat skinning ideas if you stop to think.

I promise one thing... you'll find lots more of these little surprises while building this truck... I sure did. But, treat each one like a small obstacle that you can overcome or work around and it will be much easier... One small bite at a time. Good Luck and keep us posted

later
John

 

i looked at your profile,were in tn are you.i live 20 mile's north of knoxville.i would be able to help if you are close.don't let it get you down.fixing stuff is easyier then quiting. i get dishearted sometimes and walk away from it for awhile. tracy

 

I'm in the exact same boat, so yer not alone. I will eventually replace and repair the frame as soon as I get some donor pieces. Boxing it all in afterwards is one way to garner some confidence that it'll stay together, lol.

 

Thanks guys for the support guys I appreciate it a lot. I will try to put some pics up tommorrow of the damage. Hopefully it can be fixed like the one in the pic above. the damage is one quarter size hole next to crossmember, then the damage I fount today was hidden behind the spring shackle brackets (couldnt see the damage till I removed them) Oh and 1949f1 i live in bristol close to the bristol motor speed way

 

i have a 51 shortbed frame that i am not going to use let me know if you are interested in it and we can work something out

 

I sent a message to your inbox

 

I'm interested.

 

oldschool and reed - Please go to your Personal Profile and enter "where I Live". It will then show up on your post headers. You can get to "Edit Profile" by clicking on "User CP" at the top of the forum page.

If you live close enough, the frame deal might happen. If you live on the other side of the country from each other, any talking about it is a waste of time.

Just a thought...

 

Reed, it sounds like your damage is minor and can be fixed. Read Johns post again, then go for it. I had damage that was big enough to put your hand through and was able to fix it. If boxing is an option in that area, repair it and box it.