Thread: Early ford frame

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I believe the Brookville "factory" is in Ohio and they offer a "full bracket frame" for TCI components which is set up for a steel restoration body (Brookville) or one of several fiberglass bodies (Bebops, Heritage). I bought one for about $1350 plus shipping and I have a rusty A frame, but I previously tried to repair another A frame from side rails and crossmembers and I am glad I now have the Brookville frame. I am not good at welding, although I have tried, and my one problem with the Brookville frame came when I had to saw off the non-power brake mounting to add a power setup. I have had a lot of problems with adding this bracket with alignment, welding, grinding etc., so if I had to add all the brackets to a stock A frame I think I would be very frustrated. I guess the Brookville frame looks expensive, but when my son and I did the 4-bar alignment we found the Brookville frame is extremely straight due to having been constructed in a jig during welding. On my previous attempt at using a combination of pieces of different A frames I made the mistake (?) of having the pieces sandblasted and what came back from that treatment looked like lace! In fact I will send you that frame free except for shipping if you are good at welding and maybe you can insert 2"x3" steel tubing and just use the lacy frame shell on the outside, but really at this point in history the odds favor buying a jig-welded reproduction frame. Another issue, depending on what state you are in, will be, can you find a frame with a title? If you have to retitle with a new number you may be forced to meet all the new regulations. The alternative is to get a title or use the one you have and invoke "Safety" as the reason for using a "replacement frame" and then stamp the title number into the reproduction frame. Some states are tougher on this process than others.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder