no designs yet...but its gonna be small and simple with the bed part only slightly wider than the frame...id like to incorporate some channeled places to mount my dirtbike...but more importantly i will be making storage compartments under the floor of the flatbed for tools, chains, and spare parts...the bed will probably be raised off the framerails about 8 inches to allow for extra space for the storage bins and fuel tanks....it will be something i can add on to later, because i will be running OBA eventually, rear mounting the radiator, and probably have a 5 or 10 gallon water tank for the windshield washer im going to make out of a pressure washer tip....first i was going to build this truck to just be an all out bogger, but i keep thinking about building a multi purpose rig out of it....that way i can hit the trails and some rocks too, and be prepared for almost anything....heck, the old sno-fighter might be getting a plow on the front of it this winter, my boss sold his 4x4 but still has the plow...i told him mine came factory with a plow, he called BS so i showed him my build sheet...lol.....i may be clearing parking lots with it this winter who knows...

 

I'm thinking of building a flatbed to replace my bed, but i'm not sure on a good design.

 

ok, i snapped some pics of the rear body mounts...remember, this is a 76 F-150 SC on a 78 regular cab longbed frame, so obviously all the body mounts didnt match up... the front four were just fine after i replaced the rotted mount tower for the front cab mounts...but since the frame is narrower than the 76's was, i had to improvise....what i did was i got the rear cab mount towers of the 76's frame and bolted them to the body..i measured every possible corner to make sure the cab is straight, then i had to cut and drill some thick plate steel to fill the gap between the mount and the frame...im probably going to make some shims to go on top of the frame, but a few people have told me it should be fine with the four bolts it has holding it on....what do you guys think??






these are my front cab mounts and 9/16ths bolts i used, i think they will hold just fine...







somebody please give me high steer arms for christmas!!!!

 

I think you will be fine without shims.

It nevers hurts though.

 

There should be a rubber mount on the front 4 body mounts like the rear one. Than the body lift sits on top of that. I know it will screw with your masurements, so you will have to make a short spacer for the rear mount too.

 

ok, got myself motivated, talked my bro into bringing a drill and some bits over so i could move the rear axle forward....i wasnt sure how it would look moving the axle up 10 1/2 inches, but i think it turned out pretty cool...i moved the axle so i wouldnt have to make a rear drive shaft, simply put, it was free.....plus it shortened my wheelbase to 124 1/2 inches, should give me a little better turning radius......the crazy part about moving the axle was how i ended up squaring it all up...when i got the axle hooked to the ujoint, the top front hole on both hangers and both shackles lined up with factory holes in the frame that are in the exact same places on both sides, we just had to drill them out larger so the bolts would fit....we used a cherry picker to hold the rear of the truck up just enough to take the weight off the springs, that allowed us to just roll the axle forward easily holding it in place for measuring and drilling...its been over 4 years since a driveshaft has been hooked up in this truck, damn it feels good to have PARK again!!!! Here are a few pics:




not to sure about my shackle angle, was thinking wrong when i put it on and forgot to compensate for it dropping when the lift was let down..seems to pivot decent when weight is applied on the rear...





i put the radiator in it tonight, wired up the alternator, made a dizzy and coil harness out of three junkyard ones i picked up...i put a battery in just to see if it would catch fire or something, low and behold nothing fried, but the only thing i could get to come on was the headlights..lol...now its time to do some electrical work.....

 

You might try a wiring harness from Painless Performance.

 

I would LOVE to have a painless harness, and someday down the road i will...for now the one i made should work fine to get some juice in the coil...now i gotta figure out the NSS wires so i can get some juice to the solenoid...one friggin thing after another!!

ITS ALIVEEEEEE!!!!!!!

 

Painless must make a bunch of money. Hundreds of dollars for a couple cheap wires lol.

That doesn't prove its alive. You could have just set up shop lights in the dark. I think I need some mudding videos.

 

baddass, i currently own the next reincarnation of this truck. now it is on a extra cab frame sporting a diesle

thread hyjack over

 

Damn u got me....lmao....it only proves im not totally inept with wiring junk....i just dropped a battery in it to see if it would burst into flames or maybe get the starter to spin, and since i had my dash apart i lost my headlight switch "stick" thingy, and the lights are stuck on till i go to the junkyard again...but to my dismay the starter solenoid isnt getting power and i have to chase down the neutral safety switch wiring on the cab...

 

,

 

Here's an idea:
Just hotwire the solenoid. There's three posts right?
Battery Cable - Starter Cable - Ignition Wire

Just take a small wire from the positive on battery and run it to the small wire of the solenoid. That'll crank it regardless won't it? (Won't fire unless key is on.)
You might try this just to see if you can get er to fire up.

Oh and to shut your head lights off you might just pull the windshield wiper rod out and put it in the headlight switch? Just a suggestion.
One more thing; you might have a fire extinguisher on hand while wiring. I need to go pick one up actually. I drove 120 miles to go play in some snow, and about 119 miles of the trip my DD caught on fire. Lol, luckily there was lots of snow to extinguish the flame.. but it really worries me.. what on earth causes a transmission to ignite?????

 

lol, ive seen it happen!! probably had some tranny fluid start leaking on the exhaust, tranny fluid can burn pretty hot on a hot pipe!! oh the windshield wiper rod isnt removable, the **** comes off of it, but on the headlight switch the whole stick comes out so u can remove the dash panel...i dont know what ford was thinking there... im not too worried about it, im going to pullapart in the next day or two for other stuff...... i know the motor runs, im just working out the wiring bugs from a cab i never used myself, im pretty sure i know where the NSS wiring is jumped at, i just gotta get my azz back to the truck which is on the other side of oklahoma city (35 mins away) and git 'er done...its been about 20 degrees around here lately, and i dont have a shop to work in, so it may have to wait a week or three....

 

I'm like 95% sure the rod comes out aswell as the ****. There should be a button on the bottom of the switch. Press it in and the rod comes out, at least they do on my truck.

I think it could have been something to do with the vent on the transmission. There was A LOT of wheel spin. Bad tires in snow.