1963 Ford Unibody Truck build

Here it is all of it together and tig welded in. My welds are not quite Brian Bass quality but not bad for an old Lincoln cracker box converted to a scratch start tig. I need Millermatic, taking donations....

 

Looking good nice welds. What tig and mig are you using. I will need a new welder soon and I'm interested in what everyone is using.

 

It looks really good from the back i'll snap another pic next time I am out in the garage. A little bit of clean up on the bottom of the frame then I flip it over and start the rear suspension.

 

For a scratch start buzz box tig those are some fine welds. Liking what I see so far.

 

I have an old coffin style/crackerbox 240 Arc welder that I converted to an air cooled scratch start tig. Its good but no arc control. You have to set it and strike and arc and vary your weld with speed and filler rod. It does the job but not a pretty as a foot controlled unit.

I also have a Lincoln 240v mig welder that I got from Home Depot. I was a little concerned at first but man it has been a workhorse for the last several years. I would recommend it.


I have a 240v Harbor Freight Plasma cutter that is OK but if you have another 3 or 400 to go with the price buy a name brand.

 

I appreciate it. I have been using it for alot of years now and cannot justify dropping the coin on a Millermatic.

 

Shooting for Brian Bass welds. This is from the Texas Playboy build

 

Here is the pic from the back that I was looking for:

 

I did'nt get too much done last night. I removed the tranny crossmember and was able to save it all in one piece. So I have a complete 3 piece 1963 F-100 tranny cross member if anyone needs one:





All complete

 

I also smoothed out the rest of the rough areas on the bottom. I need to fill the rest of the boxing in where the crossmember was and a couple of more braces on the very front original engine mount crossmember and with luck I can start the rear suspension for the second time. I plan on having some time Friday night so hopefully will get it ready for the suspension.

Here is the frame right side up for a change:

 

Talk about starting from the ground up. That’s quite the frame it looks great. Now all you have to do is install a few more things and you will be done. Well I guess all you have to do is install everything and then you will be done. Thanks for the pictures.

 

You know the saying, now all that is left to do is everything.

I think once I get the rear suspension set up and it is a roller then there will start to be more notable progress.

Getting that done and the new trans crossmember and motor mounts will get it ready for the body to come back and go on. Should be all down hill from there. haha yea right!!

I am not trying to kill myself on it just get done what I can when I have time.

 

I got some work done Friday night. Had to fill the boxing in where I took out the old tranny cross member:



made a templet and cut it out

 

Got it all in and straight



And welded it in then did the same on the other side

 

I was not that happy with the welds but this will never be seen

 

Looks good to me. I believe that strong is better than pretty.

 

Well I havn't made any progress. I pinched a nerve in my back. I hope to get some work done this week as its been doing a little better.

 

While I was letting my back heal up a little bit I built a cool little welding cart out of scrap I had laying around. Got tired of dragging bottles and moving welders etc. all over the garage.




check out the $10 tungsten sharpener on the top!!

 

Got the front suspension re-installed and I am going to get the rear 4 link mocked up

 

Hey Cranium. What did you end up using for the front clip? If thats the short uni in your avatar that you were talking about the front end looks pretty narrow. Did you use a mustang II? If I had to do it over that is what I would do.

 

Awesome! I gotta be honest though, I thought the unibody truckes were like the falcons and mustangs as in they had a bolt in front frame but the body had frame rails built into the body. Not a full frame. Very cool and makes me want one knowing I can cut into them a little bit easier and modify the frame. Your rear frame rails look really nice!!

 

have you been doing all that welding with a stick welder?

 

Nope, the unibody is standard body on frame but the cab and the bed are one piece. I appreciate the kind words on the frame rails. They took long enough!!

 

Hey N847,

My old Lincoln stick is converted to an air cooled tig. I also have a Lincoln mig welder. I used to use the old crackerbox as a stick when I first started this stuff but the tig makes some pretty decent welds once you get used to it.

 

Well I got the rear end all mocked up, measured
Up and in place. I even had my wife out holding the tape measure. We'll I didn't
Want to do it again so I welded the rear in place so that next time I can start the 4 link set up. It was easiest as I am by myself most of the time so getting it all correct might be difficult next time.

 

PICS

 

Cool...I've heard of that was possible, but thats the first time I've heard of someone doing it. I was shocked at the quality of your welds with a stick welder! Nice work...keep it up!

 

It welds pretty good but it gets really hot so sometimes you have to stop an drink a beer and let it cool off. Also there is no foot control so you have to vary the weld with speed and filler rod size. I'm no master at it yet but it works and makes some decent welds.

It's pretty good at doing small projects on the bench but the longer welds is where it gets tricky. Lots of beer breaks so the welds go down hill as the night goes on. Haha

 

I have been using my mig alot lately but have a few things coming that will require the tig.

 

I'm no welder, my brother is a TIG welder so when I need real work done i call a "real" welder...LOL but I have a flux core generic welder in my garage that does my dirty work ok. It also over heats, and my wife says I just like the excuse to take beer breaks! One of these days I'll get my self a nice mig welder and hone my skills. Till then I will rely on my brother!