Thread: 1951 Ford F100 chassis swap

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We have a 1951 Ford F100 and we are looking to put a late model chassis under it but dont know what will swap out. Does anyone know what will inner change?

If you have a good original frame just upgrade the suspension since its designed to fit the body,usually the wheelbase is off some and I know those swaps have been done many times but it usually ends up looking like a abortion and most times the bed space is lost making it useless to haul anything plus I would think most would not buy anything like that making it hard to sell if that should ever come up. Jeff

I agree with Jeff....just upgrade the suspension. I have been looking for a '48-'50 F1 pickup, and I would not buy one that had a frame conversion or a modern front clip welded on.

Here is a great article for doing a Ford with a S10 frame . Cutting and body mounts are a must so be prepared to engineer your rod .

http://www.geocities.com/lakota_circ...cer/swap1.html

I think the S10 done right would make a nice ride, except everyone who does it ends up with a 350 and that just grinds me to see a sbc in a Ford.
Personally, I love the old straight axle trucks and wouldn't go to all the work to make it drive like an S10. You can get a dropped axle, upgrade the brakes if you live near a metro.

I'm with the "stick with stock and modify as you go" crowd. There are at least 15 companies selling suspension modification kits to the stock frame. You can go as simple as beefing up the leaf springs, to lowered mustang 2 front kits, and 4 bar rear kits, or just add sway bars, etc. Before you get rid of the old frame check out classic performance parts, and no limit engineering just for starters! It's much easier to do this when someone has an engineered tried and true product with exact fits, then putting a chevy under there!
I know a lot of guys use the s10 frame for older coupes and hot rods and they work well for this, but check out the stores mentioned above before you make up your mind. Steve.

I also agree with upgrading the original frame.

One hting to keep in mind on these is that the VIN is located in 2 places. One tag screwed to the inside glove box door (that some states don't recognize as it's only held on with 4 screws and also stamped in the right front frame rail. Change the frame and you loose the VIN (someting to think about BEFORE you toss the old frame).

An older setup that works really well on these is the bent torsion bar suspension from the late 70's- mid 80s RWD Dioplomats and New Yorkers (the down sized ones.

I did one of these years ago with a 302, C4 and 9" and loved it.

These swaps require either a lot of money or a lot of work. A lot of those who choose to do it themselves wind up with a half finished project that they can't sell because no one wants the aggravation that goes with these swaps. I see them for sale all the time on various sites.

Update the stock chassis.