OK, so I bought my truck back in April. Only 75K on it but there was a good deal of rust in the back half of the truck... particularly the final 2 feet or so of the frame including the bumper area.

Here are some pics of when I got it and discovered the rust problems:

Passenger side (rear):



Drivers side (rear):

.


It's kind of hard to tell from the pics but basically the damage was a follows: The passenger side was in worse shape than the drivers. As you can see from one of the pics it's rusted out almost completely around the bumper bolt. Really only the bottom part of the frame was still attached to the remainder of the frame.

Compounding the frame problem is the tow hitch that was on it. The bottom part of the frame was bowed outward and and really bent up. There were some very strong tow hooks attached to the frame. It's as if someone hooked up chains to each side of the hitch and just pulled it apart (think pulling the frame sideways from both sides) which eventually cause the bottom part of the frame to flare out.

After contemplating several repair options I saw Franklins thread: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/4...me-repair.html and got inspired. I started scouring craigslist and I noticed a guy selling a lot of parts off an 89 F-150. I contacted him and told him what I was looking to do to my truck. He had been parting out the 89 for a while and said he could help me out. He sold me a frame (with a beat up body) for $30. Got really lucky. The frame had some surface rust but it was in much better shape than my truck. Here's some pics of me towing it with my truck:







Continued in the next post....

 

So I brought the truck home and took the bed off. Fortunately due to it being parted out a lot of work was already done.

Here's some pics of the bed removed and my old man working on heating up some of the bolts. I decided to use 2 of the crossmember pieces off the donor truck as they are in better shape than mine. It'd also allow me to clean them up, prime and paint them. Just an FYI, rivets are the devil. The best way I've found to get them off is with an angle grinder. Make a + sign in the head and then chisel off the head and knock it through with a big punch and hammer. Even then it can take some persuasion.





Now that all the easy stuff was out of the way it was time to cut the frame. Grab your sawzall and get to work:




While I was taking off the frame I thought it would be a good idea to reuse the shackles and brackets off the donor frame. The front brackets on my truck were fine but the ones on the donor in the back were in better shape. As anyone knows who's done this getting the bolts out of those springs is a bitch. You'll need a torch and maybe and angle grinder or sawzall. Not to mention the rivets that hold the bracket to the frame. Ughhhhhh


Cont in next post...

 

So you towed it with the truck that has the rusted out frame and the hitch thats ready to fall off? Guess that's one way to test it out.

 

So I took all of the pieces I had just cutoff and cleaned them up with a wire brush attachment to my drill. Got off as much rust as I could, washed them, and then hit them with a coat of Rust Mort which is supposed to seal in the rust. I then primed them and painted them with some cheapo flat black rattle can paint from Lowe's. Sorry didn't take pics of the parts yet.

I also ordered some leaf springs bushings from Energy Suspension. I first went to Napa but they only carried the wrapped time and the springs on the donor truck were the molded in variety (no metal sleeve on outside of bushing).

Now it was time to work on my truck. I jacked up the frame and pulled the bed off. Only one bed bolt broke. I had to weld nuts on the bed bolt head because there was no way to prevent them from spinning when you removed the nut under the frame. I left the welded nuts on and will hit them with the angle grinder to get them off once they're installed. here's some pics of my frame without the bed. It's not pretty:











Also the passenger side shock bracket had completly rusted through. Horrible design by ford by not putting a hole in the bottom of these so they can drain. i took one of the donor truck and drilled a hole so it can drain. Unfortunatley the frame was rusted quite a bit and you can see holes in it in some parts. I'm getting a plate made and will bolt it to the outside to give it strength. A PO already did this on the drivers side sans hole in shock bracket which I'll drill out before I put the bed back on.



Cont next post

 

So to repair the frame I've decide to take the piece of donor frame I cut out and make cut it down the center taking out just under 3/8". I then had the two pieces tack welded back together. This allows the donor frame to fit inside my current frame and will allow me to bolt it up to my frame. Basically just huge, perfectly shaped plates to strengthen the frame up. This is pretty much where I'm at now. All the parts are cut and ready to go in except I need to remove the rust on my current frame and then prime and paint it. While I have the bed off I'm going to be replacing the rear brake hose and installing a new rear fuel tank and sending unit.

It's coming along nicely and I'll update this thread as I move along.

 

Yes. The hitch was pretty solid. Like i said the bottom part of the frame where the hitch attached was healthy. It was the sides and top part that were pretty banged up. The donor truck had just about everything removed so it didn't weigh much (engine, tranny, transfer case, seat, brake drums, fuel lines, all parts in the engine) were out. It literally was a frame with a body attached on wheels. It held up fine but I didn't go above 45mph for the hour drive home.

 

Looks like you're doing a good job. I would use some braided stainless brake lines to replace the rubber ones. IMO they last longer with less expansion. What are you going to coat everything with to protect it from future rust? Are you just going to paint it, or are you going to use an undercoat of some type? keep up the good work and updates (with pics).

 

MORE! First time I've seen pictures of your truck Smashclash, and I must say its a beaut.

 

Was your truck a short bed? I am just wondering why you didnt just switch frames if yours was so rusted.

 

I'm brushing on this stuff called Rust Mort. It's basically a rust converter type of product. It's pretty much a clear color with water like consistency. I want to say it's something like phosphorus based. After that dries I hit it with some rattle can gray auto primer and then a top coat of rattle can black. I know it's not a por-15 type of solution but I think it should hold up and last a while.

I ended up going with rubber hoses cause that's what Napa had in stock. Plus I already replaced the front hoses with rubber ones a few months ago before I even knew metal ones existed.

 

Yes my truck is a shortbed and the donor was a long bed. I don't have enough experience or equipment to convert everything over onto the donor frame even if it was a shortbed.

 

Good luck with it I hope it holds up for you. Got a sharp truck there.

 

After spraying the paint on, you might think about spraying some type of undercoat or bed-liner type material on it, for a little more protection. After all, they do use a little salt on the roads where you live, don't they?

 

It's a shame it rusted out like that, it doesn't even look like it's a rusty truck.

Great work, can't wait to see the finished product.

 

If you can patch a frame as you are doing, you are more then capable of swapping a frame ...

Resources to do so is another story!

Sure do hope you are planning on Z cutting them sections together and not leaving them straight vertical cuts.

-Enjoy
fh : )_~