Thread: best frame for 44' ford cab

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Hi, I just picked up a 44' ford truck cab for a rat project. is this cab basically the same as the the late 30's besides the body lines that slightly changes? is the late 30's frame the way to go. I plan on making my own 2x4 frame rails and zing it. I would just like to have a style of frame to kind of copy. I hope this makes sence. im trying to build as much as i can without buying to keep the costs down. this is my first rat project, but i am very mechanical. any help would be great. thanks

All depends on what you're going to run for suspension..... Got any pics of the truck? Didn't even know there was a '44!!!

Ford was ordered to stop producing civilian trucks in February 1942. Some trucks were available to businesses in 1944, but they were basically heavy-duty '42s. Production resumed steadily in 1946. Chances are the vehicle is either a '42 or a '46.

Seems to me that you could keep the stock frame, and modify with some strategic Z-ing and boxing. It's actually a pretty good frame to start with. The attached link is for a 45-41 frame. Looks good to me.

http://www.wescottsauto.com/pdf2/FR-6.pdf

If you're going to keep the fenders, there's a limit to how low you can go. If you're deep-sixing the fenders, stepping the frame front and rear will get it down, using a salvage rear axle and leaf springs and an I-beam front. Transverse springs would also work.

wow thanks for the replies guys. I bought the truck at a swap meet, and the owner did not know the year of it. I was looking up the serial #'s up on the net and they were close to a 44 but not exact. So i am guessing that its a 44. here are some pics of the cab. I don't have a frame. I would really like an I-beam front axle with coil overs in the rear. possibly airbags. not sure yet.

Not sure a buggy spring or dual elliptical spring I-beam front with a bagged rear is going to work quite right.... Bags seem to do better when used on all 4 corners.....

Here's a pic of a bagged suspension frame for a fat fendered car. Would work fine for a pickup, just take some dimension adjustments to get the length and width correct for the pickup....

Here is a picture of my 43. It is an old 1 1/2 ton airforce truck. I also have a newer but unknown year of the same cab, hood and fenders. I am just hanging on to it now for a future project. I think your plan for a 2x4 tube frame should work fine, but like these guys said, the suspension and the fenders fall heavly into the equation. There is also the donor vehicle version, with an s-10 or ranger frame to start or even and old 1/2 ton pu.
Some of these will look really bad if you don't run the fenders. Nice looking start either way you go.

That is the same exact truck as I have that is also an unknown year, so if you do find out what year it is tell me, I put a 6 inch chop in the roof with a 1/4 in rake and a 5 inch channel in the floor, looked good on paper until you sit in it, could be interesting seeing street lights.

The frame dimensions that i got from the post are worth their weight in gold, been looking all over the net for them but that is the first time I have seen that site, thank-you

I have also been looking at different styles of frames, My plan is to run a suicide front axle and a 4-link in the rear, and hopefully will give it the same look as the "Honest charlies" truck

Originally Posted by JAKER

wow thanks for the replies guys. I bought the truck at a swap meet, and the owner did not know the year of it. I was looking up the serial #'s up on the net and they were close to a 44 but not exact. So i am guessing that its a 44. here are some pics of the cab. I don't have a frame. I would really like an I-beam front axle with coil overs in the rear. possibly airbags. not sure yet.

wow that looks alot like my 41 chevy

My Grandson (oldest) and I are working on a '47 ford truck. The cab and fenders came off from a one and a half ton flatbed truck. That frame was waaaayyyy toooo heavy to use, so having read a lot on the net about frame swaps, we elected to go with an s-10. First, the donor was wicked rusty, Maine road salt and old age, so we were days scraping, sanding, grinding, and painting POR-15 to get it looking and being good. Then doing a trial fit of the cab on the frame showed that the frame would have to be modified. Just in back of the motor area the frame gets bow-legged, a short section actually bows out and then back in just where the frame rails jut up in the air at the motor compartment. These stick out from under the cowl area of the truck cab. I made cardboard patterns and finally cut the offending sections out, swapped them side for side and welded them back in with fish plates for re-inforcement. I have since read/learned that you can take 5" C channel and attach it on the inside of the frame rails bridging the offset sections, weld them on to the frame rails, each side. THEN cut out the bulged out pcs. of rail, then put another C channel on the outside of the rails, making a boxed spliced replacement for those original rail sections. Wish I had discovered that before I did mine. It is all well and good for the old time car builders to say just make a new frame, but if you don't have the equipment, money, and expertise to do that, it is really discouraging, a definite turnoff, makes one want to take up fishing or such! Anyways, the long wheelbase s-10 is quite close to the correct wheelbase for a 42-47 1/2 ton p/u stock truck. The kickup in the back is quite high, and will force you to french the body down over it to make it look right with the cab, but to me is no worse than the hump some make over the axle, you still have to modify the floor of the bed to make it sit right. I ended up having to buy all new suspension and steering parts, as well as brake parts, to make my project safe. Again, old age and Maine weather etc.. I'm afraid I'm not very good at explaining things. Anyways, part way through I read on another forum that a guy put his '47 on a Ranger frame. So I bought a cheap old ranger, took it apart, sanded and such, and tried the cab of our '47 on it. No soap! For my money, the S-10 is a much better fit. And I (like others) didn't like the twin I beam front. The frame of these things look like a sway back horse!! When I get home from Thanksgiving with my Daughter's family in Ct. I will try posting some photos to show what I have done. OH, where is Brian Rupnow? He is so good at explaining, and he is GREAT with drawings of things, I'm sure he (and maybe others) could do better explaing that frame mod. Best of Luck. oldrodder43 Perley

Been looking at some old threads to cold to do anything else. My project is a 1940 dodge truck cab that set in a pasture for 50 years or so. Pretty rusty will have to cut some off the bottom that will just lower it a little. Puting it on an s10 frame after taking all the measurments it looks like a good fit. Good luck with yours

Man I wished I still had my 47 ford pu. With that being said, don't forget the late 70's up jap truck frames. They are boxed, most use a torion bar front suspension they have 5 & 6 lug w/disc brakes, & the rearends are bullet proof as long as you're not running a high horsepower mtr.

Below is an Izuzu frame I've been saving for something..joe

Check out this guy's build. he's doing a 41 and it looks really close to yours.
http://ratrodsrule.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30