Thread: 1951 Ford F100 chassis swap

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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.