Well at the request of a few I'm going to spend a bit of time and create a thread of what Ive done Here are a few pictures of when I brought it home, it had sat under a tarp for 5 years but already had a 302/AOD transplant! I have looked at several trucks over the past year and was lucky enough to find one as solid as they get!
I purchased a 3 inch drop axle from Sid's, put new KP's and bushings in and away I went! Im also down to 3 leafs in the front but with shocks on it rides ok. I built my own tie rod and draglink with 5/8th inch Heims (dont expect them to last too long but these things drive like tractors anyways) Picked up a steering stabilizer from the local parts house and built some brackets to install it. I just pulled an axle flip in the rear with a small notch
I fabbed my own caliper brackets from a set of roundy rounder universals that i picked up for 10 bucks a piece, I'll post a CAD drawing of them when I get some spare time if anyone else wants to build their own! Did the 77 F150 discs, A13 inner with A2 outer bearings, 72 Impala calipers and pads, speedway GM brake lines, Willwood adj proportioning valve with the built in switch, 77 F150 Master with all new brake lines All in all I think Im into the entire disc swap for about 320 or so...
Ok and what do you suggest that I do? cut the bed and put an obnoxious 2x3 rec tubing notch in? We put the bolt in notch kit in my buddies long bed chevy about 2 years ago and its held up fine, Im not too worried and thanks for your concern. You would be suprised at how solid it actually is... There are a lot of notched F100's on here, some even notched up front. (which does scare me)
Got the truck back on all fours, I went 275/60/15 in the back on 8's and 225/70/15's up front on 7's...Overall Im pretty happy with it them Spent a few minutes with a buffer, the old paint is going to look pretty sweet when im done. Not looking for a show stopper but a driver to run around in
I boxed the inside of the frame rail (3/16" plate, the cut out portions are 1/4 x 2 stock that I broke in our 80 ton ironworker at the office) from the shock mount to the first cross support in the frame, its all fully welded I promise! I just didnt take a picture of it...
Still. All fuckin around aside, that shit is wrong. There is not enough wall to support that kind of cut. He is right. Fix it. Fix it right. I did a axle over on my 63. Same frame as yours exactly. I have 1/2 the notch you do and I have 3 inch drop blocks on top of the axle over! Super low. Ass end is further down than the front. That's how I want it.And yes, if you have it lowered far enough to warrant that kind of notch, then you should cut the bottom of the bed out and do it right. No reason for half ass rat rods. is there? If it is for a bolt in kit, then show us the after photos of the notch. Either way. Show us the after photos. Want to see if it is as bad as it looks.
Sideline quarter backs. Leave it Jake. I've done plenty and have never had a problem. I'm doing a JAG front suspension upgrade right now on my 61. Choptvan is a worry wart. You'll be fine.
He said he put a bolt in a buddies not his. :roll eyes: I'm calling BS on it being fine. Look at that notch, if you think that is safe/ok then you need to rethink building anything that sees public streets.
I agree with the guys who say it needs more work on the C notch. Looks like there's room for a piece of heavy flat iron above the frame if you don't want to cut the floor. A foot or so long, and wider than the frame flanges, would make a lot of difference. It could be an inch or so thick.
I'm calling BS on it being fine. Look at that notch, if you think that is safe/ok then you need to rethink building anything that sees public streets.[/QUOTE] I fully respect your opinions and am open to suggestions, What do you think I should do? How would you go about fixing what I have already done? It's better to be helpful than just stating you see an issue which must be corrected ASAP. Im looking forward to your suggestions because I would love advice from the best car builder in the US... I agree that the notch is a bit bigger than it should be, it isnt even tagged/drivable so now is the time to fix issues before they arise. Gosh you think mine are bad at least I didnt use a piece of 6" steel pipe! lol
Good GOD the HAMB is full of fun and exiting stuff today. OP, you cut the all of the frame away save for a sliver of the top flange and you think that is safe and correct? Actually, yes. You can do a conservative bridge notch with some real frame strength and not have to kill the usefulness of your truck.
Well Im good for it and I appreciate the input! Even as crude as it may come across Im a good sport and really do value others opinions. I've never notched a truck before and seeminly I've made a mistake which I am willing to admit. I'm just not sure how to correct what I have done and simply stating "you must fix this now" doesnt help much.
For your stance a 3" deep notch is plenty. This is a 5" notch I did years ago. Popped up into the bed by just 3" My personal truck has a 3" deep notch and clears just fine.
I agree you need to box in your C notch on the back and inside with some heavy plate for safety issues, but with that said the truck looks really good. I will take it off your hands.
My uni is sporting the same setup with less than half the frame notched, and 1/2 inch pipe across, and 3/8 plate welded inside 2 foot in front and back of the notch. There's enough room above the frame and below the box to put something on top, and box the sides. Hell, even if you have to go into the bed to put some 2x3 or so on top the frame, doesnt mean you have to chop out the entire bed, just enough to strengthen it up. To me, that cut leaves just enough to hold it together, like that last bit of muscle holding in your tooth thats about to fall out, Wiggle it a bit more and it comes out....
First off if you look that was aimed at your buddy solos10. Might want to watch the context. You're going to need to do something to strengthen the frame above that notch. Looks like there is room, I can see a few inches above the frame to the bed floor. The hard thing is it being a uni you can't just take the bed off and do it. If there's not room you can always raise the bed floor a couple inches if you don't like having lumps on the sides. You can joke about the "whole best car builder in the US" thing, but I know better than that.
@elpolacko - I would ride in your truck; jakes, not so much (though, as of his last post, he does seem willing to learn). The scary response is solos10 - he says it looks fine
More like professional that does not want to see such a kick ass truck broken on one of those " shit happens " threads. I simply requested that we see a pic of it now. No harm done.
elpolacko, do you have any pictures of the 3" notch that you did? FYI everyone, I didnt start a shit talking forum...can do that elsewhere! This is more drama that my ex!
here is what I did. Boxed on the inside, pipe notch. And again, runnin 3 inch drop blocks with PLENTY of clearance after this photo. Will see if I can find a more recent one with the bed loaded and the space between the notch and the axle.
Um. Well. Sorry I guess. Just trying to help save a cool truck before its demise. See the pic I attached above. This is a good way. Have a nice day.
Strangely I don't have pictures. This is the closest I have in my old collection, I just shot this one so you can see the pan I made to cover up the hole. I use this truck as a truck. I haul motorcycles, yard waste, parts, vendor equipment and so forth.
I think that's the post that set things off... Looks very much like what I did on this one. Though I still wan't real confident in it and ended up making a piece from 2x3 to reinforce it. Sat in there and sliced it to bend it to conform to the frame rail. I wish I had all the pics from that. I only have what I put in the original thread and then didn't finish updating it.
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