I am discovering that my 54 was a PO's project. The 54 bed is all brand new (no floor) -never run on the road. The frame is 53 or older as evidenced by the high hump. The 54 bed strips don't correspond to the holes in the top of the frame, but I can deal with that. I will need to add blocks so the 54 bed clears the 53 frame. The splash aprons are listed in the catalog as being 21" long, but mine have been shortened to 17-18" . The running boards are listed as being 66" long, but mine are shortened to 64". The welding evidence is visible underneath. Without undertaking a thorough forensic examination of the frame, can anyone offer an explanation of what was done to my truck.
Measure the wheelbase (front wheel center to back wheel center). An AD (47-53) 1/2 ton would be 116", a 3/4 ton would be 125-1/4" as they came from the factory. If you come up shorter than those, then someone has shortened the frame. Any frame welding and/or splices should be checked carefully before trusting them on the road.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Partial solution. The wheelbase is 116", so no tampering with the frame. It appears that the rear fenders are attached to the bed sides a couple inches forward of correct/ normal, hence the need to shorten the splash pans and running boards. The pic shows distance from front of fender to front of stake pocket as 16" on driver's side, but the same location on pass. side is 16 1/2" . Is it possible/ likely that the fenders and bed sides were not pre-drilled?
That's a distinct possibility that someone drilled the bedside holes wrong. When I was restoring my bedsides that needed patches welded in around the fender mounting holes, I made dang sure that I located the holes correctly. I still have the sketch of the bedside hole location. Probably too late to correct that as you're already in paint. Fortunately no one can see both sides of the truck at once to notice that 1/2" fender position difference.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
In stock configuration, the rear axle does not sit directly centered with the wheel well opening of the rear fenders.
The centerline of the axle is about 2" forward of the wheel well centerline.
Perhaps someone tried to center the fender over the axle by moving it forward.
Last edited by Otto Skorzeny; 07/16/20266:07 PM.
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
