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Newbie 56' F100
Hey guys..I recently acquired a 56' F100 that I plan on restoring. I wouldn't mind some suggestions, opinions, or some references to some great material before really get started on this project. Personally I'm in the process of building a high output 302, and plan on dropping a Mustang 5 speed. My biggest concern is the frame. I'd like to either beef it up or swap it for something else. Anyone know of any frames that fit up with minimal fab? Like I said, comments, suggestions and reading material is well appreciated..also a starting point? I've already removed the inline 6 and 3 speed transmission.
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Originally Posted by Bostsox85
(Post 12941198)
Hey guys..I recently acquired a 56' F100 that I plan on restoring. I wouldn't mind some suggestions, opinions, or some references to some great material before really get started on this project. Personally I'm in the process of building a high output 302, and plan on dropping a Mustang 5 speed. My biggest concern is the frame. I'd like to either beef it up or swap it for something else. Anyone know of any frames that fit up with minimal fab? Like I said, comments, suggestions and reading material is well appreciated..also a starting point? I've already removed the inline 6 and 3 speed transmission.
- find a suitable doner frame from a newer vehicle - Buy a prefabbed frame - Rework your current frame The big question is what is your project plan? How much do you have to spend? Are you looking for IFS setup? How do you want the f100 to ride? At what height? |
Yes I'd like to have a IFS and bagged eventually. This will be project over years and I'd like to do it right so money isn't an issue. I'm a mechanic so free labor on my part ;)
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Hi! and welcome!
First let's get on the same page AFA terminology to get you the best responses to your questions: A restoration is where the vehicle is returned to original factory condition using all original spec parts, so it is like it just rolled off the dealer's showroom floor. Purist restorer's frown on any upgrades or modifications. Sometimes referred to as lightsiders. There are a handful of restorers on here that can quote the original parts manual and numbers like some quote the bible. :-missingt A resto-mod is where the exterior of the vehicle is retained as stock, but mechanical and/or safety upgrades are done. These trucks are often used as daily or second vehicle drivers. This is a popular and large group on here. Often referred to as darksiders, but are more like light to medium dark.:-drink A hot rod or mod is one with extensive modifications which may include major body modifications (top chop, sectioning, extended cab, etc.), high performance and/or racing modifications. These trucks are more often intended as show or race vehicles. These are dark to very darksiders, a smaller group on here. }> A rat rod is one that has been heavily chopped up and "adorned" with random parts pulled from farmer's fields, junk yards, and scrap piles. Rat rods are not well appreciated on here unless extremely well done with taste (very rare). Most consider this type of use a sacrilege of one of our trucks. This classification includes mounting a body on a high off road chassis, mud bogger, etc. :-X15 Basically this is a very friendly place and even if/when we jokingly poke fun at each other over such things as engine make (most here bleed blue no matter what, but us crossovers are fairly well tolerated, just don't ask many questions about modifications to other manufacturer's engines, or start/join a debate on the relative merits of another make). There are a lot of info and resources available here, and most common questions have been answered dozens of times, so use the search and especially the advance search function first. The search function will become available to you after I believe your tenth post, so make a number of short posts telling us about yourself, your truck, history and how/why you acquired it, your plans for it and why you want to make changes/mods, your experience and skill levels, etc and especially post some pictures of your truck, we LIKE pictures! I'd suggest going to your user control panel (user cp in the left end of the blue band at the top of the page) and add your location so it shows up in your posts, there may be some members nearby to you you can network with. To answer your first questions: Why do you think your frame needs strengthening? The Ford f100 frame is quite strong and a good platform as is or to add modifications to. The only times the frame may want to be strengthened is if a IFS or full independent suspension is added, or the truck will be used primarily for drag racing and powered by an engine of 600 hp or more, but in that case a lot of other modifications will likely also be necessary/desirable. There is no other frame/chassis that works well as a frame swap. There have been a number attempted, but very few actually completed. It's much more complex and labor intensive to produce something that would have been easier and better accomplished using/modifying the stock frame. Many novices get bogged down in making major changes, often beyond their skills and/or finances for no good reason other than they saw it in magazines or it was labeled a "must do" by well meaning but actually clueless friends and aquaintances who have never done a build themselves. |
Well, that was rather helpful. I didn't realize it was that in depth. I don't know what category I'd fall under but I''m looking to build just a weekend cruiser with a little bit of power and a smooth ride with a few new age mod's like IFS, front and rear discs, bags for ride ability.
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If installing an IFS the frame is typically boxed from the front crossmember to the firewall (actually requires less boxing but the longer looks better) to give a surface to attach the crossmember and spread the load. If bags are planned (VERY expensive to do properly if you actually plan on driving the truck, front alignment changes with ride height compromising handling and tire wear, the computerized control software is still a work in progress. IMHO bags are more suited to carry groceries in than riding on. :D) then the rear of the frame is going to require "C ing" which will include some additional boxing to restore the frame strength and structure in the C'd area as well as raising the bed floor over the rear axle.
Actually the beam axle with rebuilding and quality shocks can ride and handle as well as 90% of an IFS @ 1/3 the cost and a whole lot less work. With a IFS your 302 is going to require a rear sump oil pan and oil pump pickup to clear the IFS crossmember. Sounds like you are in the mid darksider restomod category. :-wink:-X22 |
I would go with the original frame. It is much easier to beef one up with new members and boxing plates, should you find a reason to do so, than to try and make a beefy frame line up with the body.
Most modern frame swap attempts I have seen end up with problems with engine placement. You end up modifying the cab and the frame to avoid more work?? Besides, legally, the frame is the vehicle. You can put a 50s body on a 2003 explorer and it is still a 2003 explorer. Edit: If I didn't have access to an original frame. I would build one myself than try to borrow one. So many headaches modifying one when you could just put one together. If i was rich I would just buy this and be done with it. http://www.fatmanfabrications.co/pro...9-ford-trucks/ But it is overkill for street. |
Welcome Aboard Bostox! You want to work with the
F100 frame that came with your truck - just beef it up a bit. We installed a No Limit IFS on our 1950 F1 - That gives you disc brakes & a modern suspension & power steering. It's pricey but nice - our's was $2500 including the new brake plumbing, master cylinder, etc. A lot of guys go with Heidt's IFS. I'm not sure what we are based Ax's classification but we sound fairly close to what you are looking at. We replaced our engine with a 351W with an Edelbrock Top End & an AOD. Our rear axle is an 8.8 in. off of a 2001 Explorer - 3.73 gears for easy highway cruising. Good luck over there! We have lot's of members on here from Kentucky. Post some pics when you get a chance. Ben in Austin 1950 F1 |
Bostsox85
Welcome aboard. Our trucks are easily (depending on your skill sets) modified. Stock engines and drive trains have some difficulty trying to run at current speeds and distances but small block (or Big blocks) fit with little to no sheet metal adjustments, some transmissions require firewall mods. Folks on this forum frown on things other than FORD but hey do what you want, but most of all ENJOY driving your 56.:-jammin |
Wow, lots of great feedback. I really appreciate it. I guess I could tell you a bit about myself and how I got this truck. I'm a 27 year old recent graduate from Nashville Auto Diesel College who specialized in heavy equipment mechanics. While I was in school, a friend of mines dad had the ever-so problematic 6.0. We ended up talking him to do letting us do a 5.9L Cummins swap. We had just over a week to finish this and to put it plainly we bit off a little bit more than we could chew. Also, it's not mandatory to pull the cab on a 6.0, although I wish we went that route. While we were there I scoped out this 1956 f100 stashed off in a far corner in the garage we were working in. I was joking around and asked his grandpa how much he wanted for it. I've always had a love for classic cars and trucks and have always been a big Ford fan but I figured this truck was out of my price range. When he popped off and said 500, I jumped in my truck to find the closest ATM. It's got some surface rust and the floor pans need to be replaced but overall not too bad. It didn't have the original inline 6. It looked to have some sort of air pump near the left side of the head. I'm guessing an early emissions control device? I would really like to get it finished mechanically before I ever start on body work and exterior. I have 2 302 blocks and 2 sets of heads but been debating on going big block. I mocked up the 302 and felt like the engine bay made it look like a kids toy.
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Hey Bostsox,
That looks pretty solid - You did very well for $500! The wood bed kits are available for under $500 or so... $1500 if you replace all the metal which doesn't look necessary in your case. That 302 might look small but it get's very crowded down on the driver's side. Wait till you put that IFS in there & try to hit that rack with your steering column. Or run headers through that same place. A lot of guys put in big blocks but I'd say 289/302/351W are the most popular - you can get plenty of power. Ben in Austin 1950 F1 |
Welcome to the disease that is old Ford trucks, nice 56 for $500, gotta be happy with that.
Most any engine can be fitted with proper planning and a can do approach, but certainly some are easier than others. I am fitting a Quad cam Lexus v8, and its a fairly physically large engine but still fits well, lots of guys have fitted the 4.6 modular Ford and more Coyote swaps are cropping up nowadays. Your skills and resources are perhaps your most valuable asset. Good luck and please keep us updated. cheers John |
Could we see some pictures? Here is how.
Quote: Originally Posted by 76f350spercamprspeal Welcome to FTE, Best Damn Forum EVER! ------------------------ Here's How to Post Pictures: 1. Login to FTE. 2.Click User CP (In the Top Left Hand Corner) 3.(On the Left, There will be a list, The 5th Option Down, will say "Pictures & Albums) Click That. 4.Then, Click Add Album, Enter a title, and description, if ya want to. 5. Click Upload Pictures, Then click Browse, Locate the Files of your truck. (You can add 3 files at a time) 5. Click Upload. 6. Add a description to the individual pictures, then click save. 7. Add more files if ya want. 8. Click The Picture you want to post, it will give you two codes at the bottom, Right Click The Second one (It say's BB Code, Then Say's [IMG]http:blahblahblah...[/IMG]) Then, Once that is highlighted, Right Click, Then Copy, Then Paste it into your post. You can add up to 30 Images in one FTE Post. If, Ya need any help, Don't hesitate to ask. Quote: Originally Posted by old_dan You can also go to the "Garage" tab and start an album right here on FTE. After you post pictures to an album, we can look in your album, but you'll also be able to "insert a picture" by pasting in a link to the picture in your album. It seems awkward, but whenever you "insert a picture" to one of these threads, the forum is looking for the picture somewhere on the web (which is always available) rather than from somewhere on your hard drive (which isn't always available). Quote: Originally Posted By Jolly Roger Joe Welcome to FTE! Go to Image hosting, free photo sharing & video sharing at Photobucket and sign up for a free account. Then create an album for your truck. Upload any pics you want to post on FTE to that album. Have this album open on your computer when you want to post pics on FTE. While you're making a post on FTE, select the pic you want to post from your Photobucket album. When the large version of the pic is open, right mouse click on it and select "View Image Info". The image info will be highlighted and will look something like this: The best photos and videos | Photobucket Copy that highlighted info (right click / copy). When you have the spot in your post where you want the pic to be placed, select the "Insert Image" icon at the top of the post (looks like a mountain) and paste (right click / paste) the image info you copied in the highlighted box (just shows "http://" when it opens). Your pic will be placed in the post. Hope that helps. Here's a tutorial Bob put together: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/67...-pictures.html |
Bostsox, My "classifications" was mostly a tongue in cheek response to many :-newbie posters saying they were doing a "restoration" when in fact they are planning many upgrades and mods. :-X24
Frame swaps are the #1 question on here, we answer that one (usually politely) at least every couple of weeks. It sound easy to most who have never tried it, just drop the body in place and go, without a complete understanding of the myriad of issues and amount of work involved. Just look at ebay listings for a week or two to see the number of people dumping their failed attempts. Our trucks were built with a robust but simple in design frame that is nearly flat and parallel front to back. Most all later frames are neither flat nor parallel, having a significant kick up in the rear to clear the later design suspension. Further, the engine position, seating position, controls, and wheelbase/axle positions do not match. Almost all IFS installs require major fabrication and/or welding. |
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