So, I have my next project truck. I'm still fairly new to these old trucks, and alot of what I see here on the Ford is different than what I see on my 33 Chevy. I'll be posting up some questions here, keeping it all in one thread if I can. First question: How is the bed supposed to be attached to the frame? Right now it seems very loosly attached, and the brackets in the rear flex quite a bit, letting the bed rock forward and backwards a bit. I'll snap some photos under the bed and frame later today. I got the fenders, hood, and radiator/grill all bolted up this weekend, everything seems to fit!
The original bed hangs off the frame in the back, the bed bolts to the frame and there should be 2 pieces at the rear of the frame that attaches to the frame and the bed. HRP
On my 32 pickup there are brackets that bolt on the rear frame horns to support the back, then bolts that go thru the rear body mount holes and the bolts that bolt thru the frame just behind the cab. Seems very strong.
I might be missing some of those bolts. I'll take a closer look and snap some photos later today. Thanks I also have a hand full of brackets and things that I don't know where they go. I'll snap a photo of those too.
Here's the brackets that I don't know where they go. The red brackets in the middle, there are 4 of them, all identical. At some point, I know there used to be a small block chevy in the truck, but I'm told he was in the process of putting a flathead back in, so some of these parts might be related to the smallblock install? I don't know. From what I can tell, all the suspension and driveline is factory style (torque tube axle). I don't have a motor or transmission for it yet. That's a 6" ruler for scale.
The red brackets in the middle are running board supports, The box in the upper left corner appears to be a map pocket which went on the right kick panel. The other brackets are a mystery to me.
I can't seem to find a photo online that shows how they get mounted, but thanks for the info, I'll fiddle with them under the running boards, I can probably figure it out. thanks!
As pictured in your photo the brackets are upside down. They will fit into the channel of the frame where marked with the arrows and the circled area will bolt up through the floor pan. The remaining hole takes a bolt from the bracket spot welded to the ‘board.
this is a picture of the rear box mountthis is a picture of how the running board brackets go in the frame hope that helps Sent from my iPad using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
the bed is definitely missing a few bolts on the front end, I think when I replace them it will be pretty solid. I have the rear axle on some tall stands, and I have a much better view of what I'm working with. There's a few pieces that have been cut on the frame that I'm wondering about, I'll take some photos of those and get some opinions on what I need to do about them, if anything needs to be done at all. i'm having a bit of trouble getting the running boards bolted to the frame, I need to push the running boards closer in to the frame, but when they are bolted to the front and rear fenders, I can't push them in quite far enough. Before I start filing out the holes to oblong them, I'm going to loosen the bolts on the fenders and see if that helps set everything in to place. This will be a fun project, I'm sure I'll learn a ton
Question #2: What's this thin cross member in the middle here? The center section of it has been cut out (not sure why). Is this a part that United Pacific, or some other company makes a replacement for? Or simpler just to make a piece to connect the two again? I assume it just continued straight across, is that correct? Also, during transportation, somehow the torque tube got raised up and wedged above the main cross member there, haha!
The cross piece would be where the front edge of the gas tank would sit, which also doubles as the seat bottom. Then at the front of the cross piece the lower ledge is where the wood floor would sit into and mount.
Thanks! I'm probably going to have a fuel tank in the bed of the truck, to keep things simple. So I guess for me all this piece would be doing is providing support for the floor, so I'll probably just make a piece to connect the two, straight across.
That cut part is one of the subrails. You have the subrails that run down the side and this is one of the crosspieces.
Question #3: The window cranks in both doors do roll up and down, however the passenger side window is very stiff to roll up, need to use two hands, one on the crank and the other pulling the window up. I suspect that if I were to clean the crank mechanism sufficiently and oil it, it would probably operate reasonably well. The only access to the inside of the door that I can see, is the small triangular cover. Is it possible to sufficiently clean and lube the window crank mechanism through this access panel? Or does some cutting of the door need to be done to gain access? I haven't actually started cleaning it yet, but that's probably going to be one of the first things I do once I start working on this truck. Figured I would ask here before I start going at it.
Yes most of your guts are accessed through the small opening. You can also remove the top panel. I’d guess your window slides may be worn or out of position too. The crank mechanism isn’t too hard to remove to rebuild the whole setup. I hope a little lube does the job.
If the slides do need to be replaced, is there any difference in the parts between the car/sedan and the trucks?
yes, you can make a piece to go straight across. Perfect. This piece is riveted to the front seat riser panel under the seat and makes that area stronger. The floor pan under the seat is attached to this crosspiece with rivets too.
I removed the gas tank and made a new seat riser that mimicked the roundness of the gas tank. As for the gas tank I used a '32 passenger gas tank nd mad a access cover in the bed of the truck. HRP
The bracket with the 2 holes on each end is the inside reinforcing bracket for the side mount spare tire bracket.
You may be correct. I never had a 1932 ford pickup, but I remember a bracket like that was used to support the spare tire arm for a side mounted spare.
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