The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Tons 'o Fun Frame Differences for an IFS

Hey all, I'm currently in the midst of an IFS swap for the front end and may have jumped ahead of myself.
I already have my frame stripped completely and talking to Heidts the kit they offer is meant for a 1/2 frame but told me if i give them the dimensions of my frame they will cut one to fit, perfect! but the problem I'm facing is i don't remember where the stock front end was... there is a '54 gmc sitting in the highschool shop right beside mine having the same front end swap done to it, and measuring that frame (from firewall to end of frame rails) and comparing it to mine, the frames are identical up to 24" from the firewall, and then my frame for the 1 ton is 8" longer...

if i remember correctly the one ton uses the same front fenders and hood as the smaller truck... correct? so why would the 1 ton frame be 8" longer?
and if anyone happens to have a measurement from the front of the frame rail back for where i should mount the ifs would be much appreciated!

If you remember taking the bumper off, the bumper support is a bar that attaches to the front of the frame. The bumper on the 1/2 Ton has supports that attach on each side of the frame and extend forward. Also the spring mounting is different.

The front sheet metal is the same so it makes sense that the wheels would land in the same place. By the way I believe your wheel base is 137".

You mentioned that they are willing to make one to fit your 1 Ton. I don't think most of us knew that was available.

Thanks truckernix!
That definitely makes a lot of sense comparing the two frames.

And yes, I contacted a local heidts distributor about a kit they offer for the 1/2 tons and knowing that my frame was slightly larger asked if they could cut one to fit, apparently it's no problem but I'll let you know how it is once I've ordered it

I should mention that the kit I'm putting in will put me down to a 5-lug hub. They don't offer anything to keep the 8 lug

Looks like a great truck you got there Josh! Good luck with it, and let us know how the swap goes.

~Dave

Well i finished the swap and got her home with not even a day to spare (i graduated last year and had the truck in the highschool shop, my principle gave me until april first to get it out or he'd have it towed) The swap went along smoothly, i am extremely happy with the outcome, there were some slight modifications that had to be done to the steering rack to fit but other than that it was very straight forward.
I'll be adding pics to my flickr account as soon as i can remember my password...

Good job. If you want something to do over the summer, look here.



http://s1074.photobucket.com/user/w...amp;_suid=139663611031509421593561715293

LOL!!!

Chris

Well, up where we live, there are big discussions going on about banning the practise of using unpaid interns!

Josh,
you did a nice job on that front end and I enjoyed the cool videos!

Well done! I am envious. Enjoy the smooth ride!

Yeah, the videos are very cool. Don't know who made the comment "he looks like a farm boy" in the background at the end of one of the videos but it was classic! I had a 1954 1/2 ton at your age. I paid a penny (literally) for it when I bought it from a co-worker with the provision that should I sell it I was to give him 1/2 of the proceeds. I did sell it to a high school friend a while later for a whopping $75 and gave my co-worker the $37.50 I owed him. Didn't know what I had then. I hope you enjoy your rig for years to come.