My 49' Ford Rat Rod build...

[05snopro440]

Thanks snopro,

That is a lot of help! I am not running any fenders.
So you are saying to cut the box where the weld is and shorten it however
much I need? 23'' like you said sounds right.
Would this change or make it difficult on mounting the cab back on the frame?
Right now it is mounted right down in the cab mounts that are already on
the frame. I'm guessing there will still be enough room to put the cab back
on the frame even after I cut about 2 feet out of the box?
Plus I will have to get the drive shaft shortened to, right?

Where did you place your engine and are you using the original driveshaft? I wouldn't be placing any cab on the S-10 mounts. Those get cut off and you can build new mounts wherever you need to put the cab.

All the S-10 swaps we've done involved putting the motor where it needed to be in relation to where the cab needed to sit. None of them sat in the original position, but all used fenders. These aren't the prettiest front end to go fenderless with, which is why most don't do S-10 frames with fenderless vehicles, but that's a personal choice.

I have no idea how much room you will have for the cab once you shorten the frame/box, you'll need to do some measuring and figure that out. You'll definitely need to move the back cab mounts/front box mounts, and I would plan on moving the front cab mounts to get the cab exactly where you want it.

You should have a good look at your frame and see where the factory section is that slides together. It's not cutting the "box", it's cutting the part that slides together to cut off what you need and put the frame back together. It's easy on the S-10's if you do it in the right spot. It's how they so easily had 5 wheelbases. You'll probably need to make custom mounts for the cab wherever you put it.

Do a lot of thinking, measuring, plotting, and figuring before you pick up any tools, so that you're sure what you need to do.

 

[Ford49Rat]

Thanks again for the info.
I was hoping to cut the frame in the box area where it is supposed to be cut
and eliminate about 2 feet and then move the rear of the frame forward and
weld it back together without having to touch the front. It took a lot of work
to get the steering to be right and I want to do anything to not touch it.
When I bought the frame, it was already set up for a small block chevy motor
and had the motor mounts there, which is where I dropped the motor straight
in. Ideally, cutting the frame and moving it forward and rewelding it back
together and getting the drive shaft (which is a 2 piece and original to the
s10 frame) cut shorter to match what I've cut on the frame.

 

[Yankee Transplant]

Get a one piece shaft to go back into it , you will be better off .JMO

 

[Ford49Rat]

Get a one piece shaft to go back into it , you will be better off .JMO

I'll probably do that. Thanks

 

[05snopro440]

Thanks again for the info.
I was hoping to cut the frame in the box area where it is supposed to be cut
and eliminate about 2 feet and then move the rear of the frame forward and
weld it back together without having to touch the front. It took a lot of work
to get the steering to be right and I want to do anything to not touch it.
When I bought the frame, it was already set up for a small block chevy motor
and had the motor mounts there, which is where I dropped the motor straight
in. Ideally, cutting the frame and moving it forward and rewelding it back
together and getting the drive shaft (which is a 2 piece and original to the
s10 frame) cut shorter to match what I've cut on the frame.

"In the box area", I have no idea what you mean. I've shown you the best and easiest place to shorten these S-10 frames. Since there is a kickup before the axle, there's no better place to shorten it "in the box area".

Just because the S-10 frame was set up for a SBC doesn't mean that's where your motor would ideally be for this build. It's best to put in the time now to make sure everything is set where you want it (cab, engine, etc.) rather than wish you had moved it later. A SBC in place for an S-10 body is in a different spot than needed for other bodies.

Go to the junkyard with a tape measure once you get the frame the length you want and find a one piece driveshaft the right length for your shortened frame. Mine ended up being an aluminum shaft out of a Mercury Mountaineer. It was the right length.

 

[Ford49Rat]

Sorry, I mean the boxed section like you drew up in the picture.
I've got the motor mounted where I want it with all the steering hooked up,
along with the brakes as well.
I'm going to definitely take 2 feet out of the boxed section and weld back
together.
Thanks for all the advice, it really helped make my decision.

 

[Ford49Rat]

Update:

Yesterday me and my buddy shortened the frame by about 2 feet.
We cut out the frame from behind where the cab sits...didn't even
have to move the cab at all. It ended up working great and looks
exactly how I want it to. Now the rear tires are closer to the cab
and the bed will be close to 4 feet.

 

[Dirtyrat]

The wheel locations do look pretty darn good.
Do you have more pics of the truck?

 

[Ford49Rat]

The wheel locations do look pretty darn good.
Do you have more pics of the truck?

Thanks. It looks very different and a lot better than it did. Now it's got
a more aggressive look.
I will have more pictures this week and will post them. I'll get more detailed
pictures of where we cut it and welded it back as well.

 

[Ford49Rat]

Here's a few more pics I snapped today

 

[Yankee Transplant]

49 rat ,, is your rear end going to point to your trans this way or will you have to re-position your saddles on it ?

 

[Ford49Rat]

49 rat ,, is your rear end going to point to your trans this way or will you have to re-position your saddles on it ?

We will have to reposition the saddles. The rear end will have to be tilted up
barely to match the trans. I'm getting a one piece drive shaft to put on it.
It originally was a two piece.

 

[Ford49Rat]

Next I'm going to attempt to make my own headers. I've got some hooker
headers currently on the motor right now, but I really want to make some
like the ones in the picture I've attached. What do you guys think?
Any pipe from an exhaust shop or even auto parts store should work
shouldn't it?

 

[soltz]

Any thing you get from a muff shop will work fine. 1 5/8" is a common size, you can run straight or make baffles, here's what I built for my small block ford. 3000 miles no tickets or harassment, went straight first then put the bends on so they didn't blow up so much road dust. DIY is always a good thing.
good luck with it and have fun doing it.
Use the flanges from the hookers, leave a little tab to weld to, it's a little easier.
There's a thread some where here about making baffles, I did it it worked great. Just takes the edge off the loudness.

 

[Ford49Rat]

Any thing you get from a muff shop will work fine. 1 5/8" is a common size, you can run straight or make baffles, here's what I built for my small block ford. 3000 miles no tickets or harassment, went straight first then put the bends on so they didn't blow up so much road dust. DIY is always a good thing.
good luck with it and have fun doing it.
Use the flanges from the hookers, leave a little tab to weld to, it's a little easier.
There's a thread some where here about making baffles, I did it it worked great. Just takes the edge off the loudness.

Thanks!
I definitely want to make my own. Yours looks really good...thanks for the
pics. I think I will just use the flanges off the hookers unless I can find some
pretty cheap to use so I can save the headers for a later use. Thanks again
for the advice.

 

[Ford49Rat]

Here's an update and where I'm at now.

I got the bed cut to right length and sitting where it will be (it will be level
once mounted). I'm going to put an older looking wood floor down and have
the keg gas tank mounted halfway under the floor and halfway showing on
top.
I'm going today to get a new rear brake line. Getting closer! Hoping to have it done by mid April or so.

Picture attached.

 

[MercuryMac]

Hi 49
You have cut the box nicely to make the proportions come out right. What do you mean by level? Level with the ground or lined up with the body lines of the truck?
Keep on tinkering.

 

[Ford49Rat]

Hi 49
You have cut the box nicely to make the proportions come out right. What do you mean by level? Level with the ground or lined up with the body lines of the truck?
Keep on tinkering.

I meant level by the bed sides being exactly where they should be. In the
photo they are just sitting there to snap a pic.

We actually went about cutting it a different way...we did not cut the box at
all, or even move the cab from where it sits. We cut about 23 inches off
right behind the cab and moved the back part of the frame forward and
welded it. It worked out great and didn't have any trouble at all.

 

[Ford49Rat]

Hey guys

I've come to the point of building my own grill. I need to decide on the
right radiator first though. What are my best options? I have a sbc 350
motor. I do not want to have any cooling issues...so choosing the right
radiator is crucial. I don't want the grill to be over 22'' wide or 22" tall.

Here's one I came across on ebay...tell me if you think it would do the job.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-ROW-fit-1...es&hash=item1c3a9836db&vxp=mtr#ht_4898wt_1109

 

[Old Iron]

That would be a good choice