Has anyone here any lengthened the frame of a F1 or F100 Ford? I've had some ideas running through my head, and I've thought of maybe lengthening the frame of my 54 F100 project, around 6 - 8"s, sectioning/shortening the running boards to the length of the cab, and running a custom "rack body" flatbed, with maybe some saddle tanks behind the cab under the bed. Essentially, it would be like a bigger style heavy duty truck, but F100 sized. Any thoughts on this?
...I'm just about ready to do somethin real similiar, I'm starting with a 48 Ford cab and front sheetmetal for a 1/2 ton and mounting it all on a 3/4 ton 48 Ford frame, which in effect makes it a longer frame/wheelbase than a 1/2 ton. I'm building my own flatbed frame from steel with a wood deck. You mite do the same thing, or just lengthen your frame the 6-8 inches using another chunk of frame rail from a parts truck, just be sure to gusset or box the joint area. To keep my truck low, the flatbed frame will sit rite on the framerails with the rear tires sticking up thru the deck with fender tubs or boxes covering them.
Most guys want their long bed frame shortened to a short box, not sure why you would want to go the other way. Value wise I think you would be losing if you made a short box truck a long flatbed unless you had a specific use for it.
I can't say i've heard of anyone wanting to lengthen an F100 before. I know that around here tri-five F250s and F350s sell for NOTHING. It may be more feasible to start off with a longer truck. OR... you can try to find one of those trucks find out exactly where the difference in the frame is. It's more than likely located under the front 3/4's of the bed. If you wanted to lengthen it, i'd say you could probably Z cut the frame like you do when you shorten one up, just make a longer Z piece to fit in there and guesset the hell out of it. -Chris
Sounds like you want to lengthen behind the cab. I lengthened the frame on my '59 F-350 dually 5" in front of the cowl area. It was done to fit a '96 5.9 turbo Cummins and 6 speed trans. For the body, we made 5" filler panels to go between the fenders and doors by cutting up a spare door that was rusty on the bottom. that made the job easier. Front end now is a tilt style but, you can also open the hood normally if you just want to check fluids, etc. It is going to see a lot of work pulling my 4 car ramp trailer all over the USA. Steve Hosting- 1st annual Pontiac/Buick/Olds Fall Fest sat nov 28 Phoenix www.pbofallfest.org 8th annual Nostalgic Show & Go! Sunday April 11 www.nostalgicshowandgo.org make plans to attend
I'd like to see what the rest of the truck looks like applekrate, especially the front end. Do you already have the sheet metal mocked up? -Chris
Maybe you could find a more suitable vehicle to start with. Lengthening the frame is easy but fabricating & welding the "grafted" pieces to the original frame so that the frame is "safe" is hard to do. My Dad had a 1950 Ford F-5 that started as a fire truck before he replaced the fire truck bits with a boom & P.T.O. winch. He used it to move stuff around the farm. That frame was fairly long. If I recall correctly, the F-5 cab was close to the F-1 cab in size, it's the front fenders, hood & grille pieces that are much larger.
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I should probably add, that my 54 right now sits as a bare frame with the cab on it, the frame is really really solid, the cab needed the cab corners replaced, which i'm almost done with, so it's not like I would be hacking up a driveable and complete truck. I would like to lengthen it behind the cab. Another frame from a longer heavier truck is an idea, but I'd like to keep this as budget friendly as possible and time and welding equipment is what I have plenty of, and my main goal would be to keep it F100, just longer, you know what I mean.
Yes, the front end and sheet metal is mostly finished except for final bodywork and paint. I could not find the pics with the tilt front end on this computer as i am using a new one. Right now the truck is sitting with the front end off. My '61 Safari is on the priority list for now, trying to finish it. After the Safari is done, I will get back on the '59 Ford and post pics. Steve Hosting- 1st annual Pontiac/Buick/Olds Fall Fest sat nov 28 Phoenix www.pbofallfest.org 8th annual Nostalgic Show & Go! Sunday April 11 www.nostalgicshowandgo.org make plans to attend
Find a 3/4 ton frame, stripped down bare frame is preferred, the wheelbase is only 8 inches longer than the 1/2 ton frame, then shorten it behind the rear suspension by an appropriate amount if you want it shorter. More HD frame too, plus you can take out a few crossmembers. Then put your 1/2 ton suspension on it along with the cab and doghouse.
I'm doing something similiar on my F-3, I moved the rear axle centerline back about 8 inches to center under the flatbed i'm using. then i added about 1.5 feet to the rear of the frame... couple pics to give you and idea....... you can see the rear axle isn't under the frame hump......
I bet there is a guy out there that would be glad to trade his long wheel base truck for your shortbed. I shortened a 56 f250 once,I also changed the front hubs,brakes and backing plates and rearend to f1 5 lug, then had to get a bed and running boards.
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