Frame!!

[1971fordcustom]

Im just wanting to know what make the frame bend in the front where the bumper is? Bad motor mounts? Radiator Support?

[FLATBEDFORD]

Hit something?

[fordman]

yeah hitting something usually does it. which way is it bent?

[FORDification]

The only thing that's going to bend the frame is a collision.

[averagef250]

Cleared a pretty good irrigation ditch at a pretty good clip in a bump F-100 I had a long time ago. Taking the brunt of the landing in the front bumper bent the frame up a bit. Took several hours and lots of acetylene, but bent everything back where it should have been.

[1971fordcustom]

My truck is all most done from restoreing. Have about 2 or 3 more weeks to go. But the guy is working on some thing else right now so it will be a a week be for he can get to it agin. I got my new bumper from him and I was going to put it on and 2 of the holes don't line up


My dad hit a deer with my truck!!! a long time ageo but the deer was not full size yet. It hit my grille more then it did any thing and thats the only that broke was my grille. I do reminber my old bumer had a dent or a pull mark where thay put a hook and went into R to pull some thing. But I woud not think that it woud do it.

Lower bolt holes on the frame are bent out heading to the fenders like right now if your looking at the truck head on there going like this

"""""""" / \ """"" the holes are not to far off. Threr about this far off --------- maybe not that far. I can heat the things up and bend them back if I need to.

[Banjo]

It might could be that you could do some handy jack work or porta power between the frame rails to get that extra 1/4 inch or so you need? I'm guessing one frame rail skewed a tad more toward the middle than supposed to be?

[1971fordcustom]

It might could be that you could do some handy jack work or porta power between the frame rails to get that extra 1/4 inch or so you need? I'm guessing one frame rail skewed a tad more toward the middle than supposed to be?

Ya its only 1/4 off, Not much at all.

The lower part of the frame on the drives side is bent out to the right, not the middle. Same with the left side. Its like there doing the splits. I know that truck has never had a crash. Its all ways been in are family sense new.

Now I do have to say it got hit on the left side on the bed near the cab but it was not to bad.

When my uncel got it in 71 all it was going to be is a farm truck. So it has been with the cows and ever thing. When he passed away in 83. So it his kids put in the barn tell year of 2000 when one of the grandkids went out there and got in it and it started right up. They drove it to oklahoma city where I was at the time and it sat for two more years. Then I found out the family was going to give it to the dealer for 600$ so my mom called them, Went to look at it and gave them 700 for it I was 14 at the time.

So I know just about ever thing about the truck.


If I need to heat up the frame i'll call my friend thats a welder for a living, have him come out with the welding truck and fix it for me.
Him and his bros has restored a few cars for some guy in town when he was 19, now he is 31.

[basketcase0302]

Heat can "temper" the metal.
If given a choice I'd do like Banjo said or take a farm/jeep jack and pull it back close enough to get an awl into the bolt hole to line it up.

Jeff

[Banjo]

You've got a lot of options and if worst comes to worse, you could take 1/8" out of each hole to oversize them and get it closer. Alot can be done with chains/jacks and things like that, I imagine even with heat, you're going to have to look at something to either spread or pull. Be ware of come alongs though, they can turn loose quick.

[fordman]

if its not off that much just bolt one side on and use a punch to line up the hole for the other side. i wiouldnt heat it. i might beat on it a little buut not alot.

[1971fordcustom]

I do have a come along!!!! I know what i'll do!!! I can weld up the bumper hole and make a new one where ever it needs to be!

That I can do by myself Good thing I have a mig welder, Might have to use the stick welder but I hope not.

I do have a farm jack.

Where I work at the guy has a huge shop. About 13 gas welders lift that he made, you name it he has it, I can take my truck over there and see what I can do, he is a welder to.

[averagef250]

I would fix the frame. Worrying that heat will somehow temper and ruin the frame is ignorance.

Frames are mild steel. They are nothing fancy. The only thing you wouldn't want to do is heat a frame to cherry red and quench it with ice water. Then you'd be changing things. You also don't want to put heat into a part of the frame while it is stressed.

There's a very, very simple common sense process called flame straightening. Heat expands metal. If you want steel to bend one direction put heat on the opposite side. heat the metal until it moves about twice as far as you need it to go. When it cools it will pull back half as far as you moved it.

If you are worried about stresses from working the metal you can go back afterwards and work the metal over with a needle scaler to shot peen and release surface tension.

[Pipes71]

Mine was hit in the front so hard it ripped the bumper bolts through the frame rail, bent the frame horns enough the top of the frame cracked. unfortunately someone tried to fix it with a bunch of nasty welds and bent the horns back and stuck only 2 bumper bolts in it. problem is I bought it and couldnt see the shims on the rad support nor the welds because they were pretty much out of sight under the 460. didnt think much of the bumper either. Only way to tell was ripping the front clip off for body work. I was lucky enough to find another frame that was pretty cherry and was sandblasted and painted.. but man Id feel alot luckier if I didnt have to deal with it.. Id love to be able to just be able to bend the horns alittle bit and be done. Bend your horns out like the guys are saying..other wise it will bug the heck out of ya knowing that it wasnt fixed.

[basketcase0302]

Worrying that heat will somehow temper and ruin the frame is ignorance.

Dustin, thanks for the vote of confidence!:thup:

Known scientific fact that heat tempering metal makes it brittle, (done properly it will make the metal stronger/but still more brittle).
Our frames are made to "twist" under load! When they don't twist/they break! I have also found this out the hard way.

Look at all the chebby 4X4's that have had the weak frame repaired, (this is done with a plate welded over a cracked steering box area).
This "quick-fix" on the chebby's only weakens an already "brittle" fame area. I've seen dozens of them break the frame after that repair.

I've also got expierence with welding on frames for severe use, (more specifically the "tuff trucks" competitions I've entered).
Nope, my welds never broke, but adjacent to them is another story!

All I'm trying to say here is not to weld on a frame if you don't have to, (or at least mig weld instead of stick weld to limit the heat you're putting into the metal).

Jeff