82 year old rusty frame

A little bump... The thread is named after my frame so here is a pic of it kinda tacked together.

I have to move it to clean the garage up for a party for the kids this weekend, us men folk tend to peruse out in the cave near the beer.
So much more to do to this thing! Besides welding and grinding there's still making rear upper mounts for the upper arms, rear bone mounts, slotting the left side for pedal swing, gas tank and battery mounts, upper and lower plates to connect the x together, trans mount(I'm gonna use biscuit style on the trans sides, font pan hard bar mounts, etc, etc, etc!


"I need my mirror boy"

 

So I'm trying to do a little mock up to get motivated, check some stuff, and condense a scattered pile of junk into a smaller one for just a while.

I didn't set the cab on tonight cause A it's heavy and B it needs to have the floor taken out to get it about 2" lower so the belt line and bed top match in a fashion I like. I'll try to figure it out tomorrow but it has to be put away by Sunday. I might remake the bed floor to get it lower still. I also don't like where the rake seems to be headed. I took apart the spring pack and pulled the front down but it is looking high to me so far.

Again this is just slapped together with tape and wire. Maybe I might need the axle dropped when I finish it or just give in and buy one,(i like using henry parts to try and compensate for my engine,trans, and rear end combo) i don't know. I'll try and post somethin with the cab and grill shell resting on it later.


"I need my mirror boy"

 

You see why you mock?

Bed's too high, front of cab has to come down, not enough rake, and maybe the back tires are too close to the cab, not to mention the lower 3" inches missing from the cab making it look goofy. It looks right now like it needs a hair cut but I'll wait till everything is straightened out first.




"I need my mirror boy"

 

And I think I might narrow the bed a couple inches now.


"I need my mirror boy"

 

What size and type of rubber are you using?

 

I agree more or less in your summary of what you need to do, but here's what I think.

Give the chassis more rake, by raising the rear. set the cab on the frame and jockey the bed and cab around until they look right. I'm thinking raise the rear of the cab, lower the bed while keeping them parallel with each other until they look right.

A lot of these pickups made up from parts look wrong because they miss the look of Ford's original. If you can try and mimic the stance of an original ford pickup despite it sitting on the "wrong" frame that will be about as good as it can get.

Get the proportions right and everyone will pass complimentary comments, mess up the proportions and everyone will see it as just another f*cked up Rat Rod.

Her endeth the sermon.

Mart.

PS any sign of the new welder yet?

 

The rear are U.S. Royal 7.60 15s on 5.5 wide Mercs. The fronts are Firestone dirt tracks 500 16s on 4.5 Fords.


"I need my mirror boy"

 

Ok Mart here goes a long-winded return sermon, not a debate just conversation.
I don't know if you know of Aaron Blatter's black 32 midboy PU out of Ohio. It was featured in StreetRodder a couple years back. His truck is the closest I can think of that has the overall look I'm after without building a "copy". Here are some differences just in stance and proportion. He has a flat front member, 5" drop axle, Durant super low front spring, round rear crossmember, SoCal reversed I spring, 7.50 16 rears, the cab is channeled 3" and chopped 3", his bed is a little longer and it's top is lower relative to the cabs belt line although it is unchanneled on the frame.
Now I know your gonna say that is a completely different setup. But wait, I'm trying to get " similar results" not the same, but in deferent ways. Example, I didn't want a flat front crossmember or a 5" drop. That is the main reason I swept the front rails up approx. 2". I don't really care for the look of front rails kicked up but felt I could hide this with the body channel. I don't want my front as low as his but close. Another thing is I don't like the front horns notched(mine are cut on the bottom for clearance) this is where I thought mine will end up sitting taller there. My axle is probably equal to a 3.5 to 4" drop. Not sure on this.
So my grill shell is dropped 5" to compensate for the rise in the font rails and cab channel. The hood has to meet up to these to pieces in the Henry intended fashion. As I've mentioned someone cut 3" of rust from the cab's bottom and fab'd a floor that I am going to send to the scrap heap. I might anti channel the sides when I replace the missing panel material to get the amount of frame coverage I'm after, remember I'm hiding a reveal and bow less frame here.
As for the chop, I want to use restraint on this. Basically a twofold reasoning here. First there's always the cramped quarters problem. second there is trying to skate a fine line between Hot Rod and farm truck. I think chopping has the greatest effect on this. I am pretty sure if the clippers come out it will not go past 2".
The wheel base is 103". This came out of the front body pieces running their course with their respective starting positions and the bed's little rail support bracket thingy. I wanted this above the axle centerline.
The bed is shorter than I would like. I saved as much length when I started to correct someone previous alterations(there will be a ton of body work to come) as I could. It is longer behind the axle but not enough, oh well. Now it looks like I messed up because the bumper is not sticking out past the tailgate area enough for my likening. I may add to the rear horns or just go with the spreader bar.
Back to the rake issue. The rear frame is kicked up and C-notched what i feel is typical. I don't care where the flattened crossmember is in height or that my 32 spring eyes are not reversed because I'm making my own shackle mounts off of the radius rods once I establish ride height and rake, I'm pretty excited about this part. As it sits pretend right now there is 3" of clearance between the axle and C notch. Maybe this has to come up but I don't care for the space between the tire and bed rail relative to its stubbyness just yet.
P.S. People don't put body filler on their axle tubes, rims, frame rails, bed insides, and inner doors on Rat Rods. I will be doing Gallons of this. And I have the welder money just want to make a calm decision.


"I need my mirror boy"

 

Lookin like a truck!!

 

Welder is on the way. And so is FlatheadPete's new shift Knob good luck to the both of us.

 

I'm glad I haven't finished my axle yet. I'm considering giving up on it. I'd say it only equates to a 3" drop even though I read somewhere it is like a 4".

I might just have to wait and get a more common 4" drop axle. I really don't want to lift the rear back up to get good rake. I hate admitting defeat in regards to salvaging old real ford parts. Of course there will be new alignment issues. If I went with a 5", which I think are visually un-pleasing, I could probably get the tie rod above the bones. A 4" would put it right into'm.


"I need my mirror boy"

 

Although it appears to be sitting flat it actually has the frame rake I had calculated. And drops even a whole 1" from the back of the cab to the front bone mount where the front rails begin to climb.

Monday ill try to rig up the cab with its proper positioning before passing further judgement, an 1" or 2" does really make a big difference. Maybe clamp on a cab corner patch. The space under the bed and the frame is going to mostly be filled with a combination upper control arm and bed mount. But I had long ago intended to cover this area with a cowl patch type panel will see.

Oh yeah, I'm going to have a hell of a time extending the doors. On the inside they're missing at least 2" of their lower structure that someone cut off then filled the bottom hole with a wood piece and folded the metal corners over, ugly.

"I need my mirror boy"

 

weight of the engine + trans is going to make a BIG difference in the front height. you need to simulate the weight before changing up too much.

 

Yep, I have most of the front leafs removed and its pulled down to a frame rail to spring spacing that looks very common. The rear is pretend and I will make it arrive at this location through spring mount positioning and running typical spring stacking.


"I need my mirror boy"

 

Just my opinion; but lower section of the cab really looks too short and out of proportion to what we are used to seeing. Maybe try taping some cardboard on the lower edge of the cab extended to stock length, give it some rattle can primer, and then look at your positioning. Probably still have to channel the box to match cab height.

 

Rich can you believe that someone had probably intentions of using the cab like this after they "weed whacked" it? Luckily I have two original cowl sides, a bunch of replacement ones, two door skins, and three cab corners to fix this debacle, there's fools out there you know?
I'm thinking about putting 4" back on it but 3" is what is missing, counting the piece of strip welded to the bottom by some hack.


"I need my mirror boy"

 

And some good news boys. I have my new welder!


"Daddy runs Shine!"

 

Hooray!

 

Aweeeee-some ! Another point, other then better builder because of welder........don't sweat the small stuff. Rat rodder woulda' used a rivet gun. You're 8 pages in building your hot rod. Proceed! This will end well I know. I've learned that much, this far ! Happy holidays.

 

Thanks KC! Always so kind with the words. Just finished customizing our "fake" tree, what a waist, I mean what's the excitement in that? It won't even catch on fire. I like old wood, popcorn with cranberries, big bulbs with cloth insulation, and ornaments that cut your feet when stepped on.


"I need my mirror boy"

 

Our fake tree stays in the closet until xmas eve.... one of the wife's family traditions. Bah humbug. So what kind of welder did you end up with?

 

Nothing to write home about but I am strapped for cash afterall. I'm trying to save for the Tig Jump. So for now I just went up to a Hobart 190. It's build quality seems to squash the AutoArc junk I made the mistake of getting last. It's 50% more powerfull and is 230v. It's such a bummer not being able to afford what you had been spoiled with using in the past.
I'll let ya all soon if it sucks too.


"I need my mirror boy"

 

Lol. I'm awaiting a good review as I got the 140 on Black Friday. I am getting gas soon, but it runs ok with flux core. I need to run it kinda near the end of its range; ie about 90ish (amps?). Hopefully you have good luck with your 190, and I hope to see good progress!


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-Ben LeBlanc

 

Not much of an update here but... I've tried on Tuesday before going to the gym and today to return the empty bottle of welding gas I bought the other day with not making it before closing time. What a bummer! I just want to tack some bracing in the cab so I can cut the floor out.
I've also started to make rear upper control arms out of model A bones that I traded that shifter knob for. Thanks FlatheadPete! Their gonna be cool.


"I need my mirror boy"

 

New welder is leaps and bonds better than the old turd.

This is my first weld with no adjustments. It is not awesome but on track. I got worse and better as I fudged with it but only have welded two bungs in so far. Need a lot more time with it and I've always had a hard time welding around small tube trying to twist the stock as I go.


"I need my mirror boy"

 

Looks pretty good!


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There is always a new learning curve with each different welder that you use. You will dial it in to perfection soon, I'm sure.

 

Looks good. Don't worry about the weld, you'll get the hang of it in no time.


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Looking good man!