Thread: 1964 Ford F100

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Originally Posted by 40FordDeluxe

Tech, how thick or particle board did you use? 3/4"?

Yep, with the little towers of shims spaced at 12 inches, it is a pretty rigid arrangement. When you go out to work on the project, you get a really good feeling about it, knowing that the floor is level front to back and side to side. I used an aluminum 48" level to span across the little towers, which you can get as close as 0.003" to each other in height by gluing squares of copy paper onto the top of each tower, after you get real close with the thin cardboard. It goes without saying that you begin at the highest point in the garage and build to the lowest point.

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Originally Posted by 34_40

...ps, it was good to see your "handle" pop up there Wes! We don't get to see you so often anymore.

Thanks. I'm just happy that I still pop up somewhere every morning.

I don't post much as the VR project is on pause while I work toward building the garage/shop. However, I do lurk around here reading a lot. That's why I encouraged Nick to start a build tread here. I've found the opinions, suggestions and experience of those here invaluable to my project.

Originally Posted by firebird77clone

... some measurements should be done.

The first thing we did after removing the cab and bed, was to take several diagonal measurements. The measurements from the top of the front shock mounts to the rear suspension mounting points are pretty much dead on. The measurements from the shocks to the very end of the frame rails differ by about 3/16". My limited research indicates that +/- 1/4" is acceptable. Is this true?

Measuring from what part of the shock?? And since the shock mount is rubber mounted it could be out of alignment and you'd never know.

SO I'd say that if it is "only" out by 1/4 or 3/16... it's close enough.

If anything frame or suspension-wise on any of my projects was not within 1/8", it got re-done until it was.

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before you do anything replace the front shocks with 5/8 all thread. crank it down to until aframes are level. then have the alignment checked. cut and butt frames are usually hell to align . this is why i use the complete clip from a ccamaro. the only place the 2 frame rails are the same is the body mounts and upper aframe mounts.

Nick has been making progress on the frame repairs. He's spent countless hours with wire brush and flappy pads, removing rust and ugly welds. I've been able to spend a few hours every few weeks helping out and I think he's happy with the results.

After checking several measurements from fixed points on the frame, we are confident that it's square and ready to proceed.

With the help of Nicks buddy Will, a professional welder, all the old welds have been ground and reinforced. According to Will, the old welds at the graft connection points were actually very strong. There was plenty of penetration... they were just really sloppy. He made quick work of the reinforcing. He gave us some pointers on using the wire feed welder, then left us to cut off the excess steel and box everything back in.

The process went something like this... a little welding, then a lot of grinding... a little welding... a lot of grinding... a little more welding... a lot of grinding... repeat...


graftRepairs.jpg

The finished joints look really good, IMHO.


frame.jpg

The frame is now boxed just past the rear shock mounts. Each plate was made a little oversized and was welded in the valley between the plate and the top of the C channel. After welding all the plates this way, we learned that grinding down these welds, to make them invisible, was counter productive. We should have cut the plates undersized to fit inside the C channel. Our welds are strong, but obvious. We re-welded, then ground the areas that will most likely be seen.
The factory welds on the Lincoln clip were surprisingly sloppy. Lots of splatter. They've now been ground for a clean look and a little body filler to even out the low areas really finishes the repair.

Originally Nick was leaning toward powder coating. But he's come to the conclusion that the expense isn't justified on this cruiser. He's degreased the front half of the frame and is ready to etch the metal in preparation for coating with Por-15.

Thanks for the update Wes. And say to Nick for us.
Project is looking good.

Looks like a great work on the frame. That cleaning up the frame stuff takes a lot of time. I didn't powder coat my frame either because it's more difficult to grind off powder coat to change something vs paint.

Originally Posted by 34_40

Thanks for the update Wes. And say to Nick for us.
Project is looking good.

That was supposed to say "Say Hi to Nick for us".. LOL..

Originally Posted by 53 Chevy5

... it's more difficult to grind off powder coat to change something vs paint.

My thoughts exactly.

That looks a lot better! Nice work on it!

Looks even better after two coats of Por-15


IMG_1543.jpg
lftframe.jpg
rtframe.jpg


Nick bought a good sandblasting cabinet from a local auto shop for cheap. He's in the process of cleaning up all the suspension pieces that will be reused. They'll get coated with Por-15 Top Coat (gray) prior to reassembling with new ball joints, shocks and bushings.

Had to start somewhere... the first suspension piece is done.

IMG_1574.jpg

Thanks for the update Wes. I went back and reviewed the previous set of pics ( not sure how I missed those???) but the frame work came out so nice. the "lines" of the junction points are so much cleaner. You guys are doing some great work there.

wow, that went from a cobbled mess to Is that factory? Nice job.