Has anyone done this? Is it truely nessesary. Or at what horse power, or turque level should this be done?

The other is on vehicle storage. I have 2 51 ford trucks in my garage, and yes my wife has allowed me to take over the whole garage, but ecause it is not temp or moisture controlled I want to make sure I do everything I can to prevent corrosion and rust. I thought I read that i need to cover the floor with plastic to prevent moisture from the floor itself. Is this true?

 

Um, I think you forgot something - like the first question. What are you wanting to know if you need to do?

As for the damp garage, I think that covering the entire floor with plastic is a very bad idea. Difficult to work on and you'll just trap the moisture underneath it. This could create mold problems and possibly force the moisture out to the walls of your garage. Beyond that, I've been storing my vehicles and working on them over the winter in garages with concrete floors for years without any problems. When the temperature changes, things tend to sweat a little, but it's not like a rain forest or anything. I mostly notice it when the shop is cold and I fire up the heater. Make sure that you keep any bare metal protected so it doesn't flash rust but I don't think I'd worry about it beyond that. It's highly unlikely that your garage is damp enough for any serious corrosion damage to occur. Unless it has a dirt floor, any covered structure is going to be much easier on your trucks than leaving them outside.

Welcome aboard and let's see some pics of your trucks!

 

Sorry. I was refering to boxing the frame. My father inlaw has talked like it something that is a must. To me it just seems like a lot of extra work that may not need to be done.

 

Nope youdon't absolutely have to box the frame. If you re engine with something over 350 horses or high torque you may want to think about it. Also, if you are pulling the thing apart you might want to do it just because, but it really isn't necessary

Putting plastic on the floor will cause nothing but problems. It will actually supply a surface for water to condense on that is in the slab. After 60 years of driving and exposure, unless you are planning on storing the thing for over 10 years, or have a spotlessly clean frame off restoration already, the corrosion that is going to occure already has and being in a garage for a year or two will not show much difference.

There are dehumidifiers you can buy that are fairly inexpensive if you are really worried about it - I wouldn't be.

 

Depends on what engine you plan to put in it. I have learned alot about my 49 f-1 and the frams will twist and bend. So if your planning for some Hp I would box the frame, I did and my truck has a 400 Hp 351 it made a big difference.

 

The frames on these old trucks were designed to twist and flex and still perform well when kept near stock. Boxing plates are needed when upgrading to IFS and much bigger engines and to strengthen frames that have seen better days. When welding in boxing sections care must be taken that the frame is set up level and square all the way around or you could end up with a permanently twisted frame.

 

Well I guess it it all depends on which engin I put in. I have a 48 Flattie V8 and a 351 w. I was thinking on the flat head for nostalgia, and a redone flat head is a thing of beauty. The 351 would be bored out slathered in performance parts, and made nasty and fast. I also want to say that you guys on here are great. I have read a ton of posts and if you could you would be in every single posters garage showing them personally how to do something right. Being new to all this I feel that none of my questions will be stupid. Thank agin for the answers to my questions.

 

Hey man your truck is what you make it. My truck is a resteration on the inside but under the hoods is a diferent story. Truth is that I would have done a flat head to if my truck would have com with the engine but it was just a shell. I just really wanted an old looking truck with the new truck upgrades.

So make it your own man!
Good luck and ask lot of questions

 

The only stupid question is one you have and DON'T ask! If you want to build a "nasty fast" truck, then you are going to have to have a lot of time and money invested, not only in the engine, but in chassis, suspension, brakes, steering, tires etc, etc etc. A project that is not for the faint of heart or thin in the wallet IMHO.
The best idea is for you to decide how you will drive your truck most of the time, and do your build from there. Having a vision and direction planned will keep you from wasting time and money redoing previous steps that turn out to be unsuitable for a later change of purpose.
If you are new to this (as you seem to be), I would highly suggest you keep the mods simple and basic, concentrating on reliability and safety as well as drivability and appearance. You can always sell a drivable truck later to help finance a high performance build once you have more experience under your belt, but if you jump in over your head you will likely abandon the build without finishing or enjoying it, losing whatever you have invested up to that point. Trust me when I say that any build is going to cost 4X as much and take 6X as long as your most conservative estimate IF you can do almost all the work yourself and have a shop you can dedicate entirely to the project for all that time. If you must hire out work, the cost and time needed will go up exponentially. Not trying to scare you, just telling you the realities of this hobby. We have all BTDT and have the greasy T shirts and scars to prove it.

 

What the heck is BTDT Ax?

As far as boxing. I think it should be done every time. I have a 56 with a 390 in it. The guy who originally put in the 390 didnt box the frame and he cut out the transmision mount to make the C6 fit. Needless to say the frame warps when you drive it. I can literally feel the car roll and flex with every turn.

Be on the safe side.

-Dave

 

BTDT= been there, done that

 

Been There Done That. Yes the frame is flexible, it was designed that way so it didn't beat itself or the occupants apart when driving on rutted dirt roads and across farm fields. It is called a ladder design because the frame rails are parallel and the crossmembers form the "rungs" of the ladder. If you cut the rungs of a ladder it loses structural integrity and become very flexible. The PO of your truck cut out a major rung when he cut the tranny crossmember. How is the rear of the engine/tranny supported??? You need to tie the two sides of that crossmember back together in a structurally sound manner or add an X member to bring structural integrity back to your frame immediately if not sooner, that is NOT a safe frame. All the boxing in the world wouldn't help your situation, sorry.

 

What AX said. As for the garage thing, I would just invest in a dehumidifier that has a water outlet that can be tubed to go outside of the garage, and let it run continuously, or at a desired humidity level if digitally controlled. Mine's a GE 160 pint.

 

I already have a replacement frame. Came with my truck I'm just going to start putting parts onto it as I restore them.

The tranny is sitting on a home made support held up by two bolts on each side...

I'm not driving the thing around needless to say! I only drove it the 2 miles to the DMV for them to tell me I cant title it as is...

 

oops, wrong thread, lol. nevermind.