Hi all my name is Marc and I am new here so this is my first post.
First off I have two Ford trucks, one is a 1947 and the other is a 1949.
My first question is about my 47, I would like better braking, steering, and ride. I was wondering what the best way to go would be. I was thinking of putting the body on an S10 frame but not sure if thats the way to go.
Can you give me some input, I have a clip from a gen 2 Camaro I could use but I thought the S10 would be the easy way to go. I can get a S10 ext cab short box frame for next to nothing, but is that the one that I would need?
I look forward to you input.

 

Marc, welcome, hope you find all your answers here.
I can't really say much about the swaps you want to try. My trucks have their stock frames still, although updated with new brakes and such.

 

Thanks for the welcome Gary, I'm sure there will be some one on here that will have an idea what frame is best to use.

 

Marc, The best frame to use is the one that came on the truck unless its completely rusted out. It takes good fabrication skills to do that swap. I guess frame width is a problem and its tough to fit the sheetmetal on the front. There are a couple of other folks who have attempted this swap. Do a search on this forum about this and read some other threads under s10 swaps. There are a lot of places to purchase the upgrades you mentioned to fit under your 47. Look at the Read First thread at the top of the listing and see all the vendors that sell some of the stuff you need.

 

Thanks loholland, this is the same info that I am getting from other sources. My frame is fine as this truck is from western Canada(no salt used out there) I am looking into the mustang ll kit and I have a 9" rear end that I picked up cheep. This project is still aways off because I have my 49 F47 in the shop just about down to the frame. The worst part of that project is the front fenders, the last owner tried to fix them and made a real mess of them. I am having a problem finding steel ones and I don't want glass ones unless I am left with no choice. As for the 47 if I go with the mustang ll and my 9" at least it will be all Ford. That is unless I put a 350 sbc in it for a power plant.

 

Marc. That is probably a very wise decision, you will probably find when you compare the frame under the 49 that it is similar to your 47 with a few exceptions that is if they are both 1/2 tons, if not then they aren't the same. The width of the frame at the centerline of the axles should be the same so a MII for the 48-49 should fit the 47. It did on my 46. If you want leafs on the rear, I bought a rear leaf kit from Chassis Engineering that bolted on using the rivit holes from the original spring mounts. Couldn't ask for a better fit. I used a 9" on mine also. Anyway Good luck. Check out fordbarn.com you might find some fenders near by.

 

i am having no problems so far with my 51 f1 on a s10 standard cab frame the cab fits over the frame like it was ment to go together with a little work the front sheet metal will line up nice, me my dad and my brother did something like this with my dads 46 tudor with a camaro front clip, so i see no real problems with it for you just think it out befor and take your time

 

Frame swaps are hard. Nothing fits like stock parts.
I'm in the process (after a very long break) of swaping my 46 onto a 1988 Ranger frame. The dimensions are closer than the S10, but there are still loads of differences.

I opted for the swap, because I'm cheap, and the Ranger was almost free. My truck is going to be a daily driver. The modern suspension is very important to me.

There is a lot of fabrication required, and even with my slightly better than average metal abilities It's still taking about twice as long as I thought it would.

It seems to me that when building these trucks you have to decied what you are going to have the most of, money or time. You can save money, but only at the expense of time.

 

you are right there is a lot of work involved but for what i want the truck for (on air ride and laying it out on the running boards) it is so much easer to use the s10 frame plus i got the frame for free, one way i was going to get around the front end is to mount thre stock rad support to a crossmember that i will add and us it to mount oll the front sheet metal to and bolt the back of the fenders directly to the cab

 

Measure first. I decided on the Ranger frame because the mounts are closest to fitting. You can actually use the stock front Ranger mounts with the front 46 cab mounts if you make a little adapter (they are about three inches too low). The rear mounts can be made to fit with the addition of hollow rectangular stock that fits into the 46 cab rails (if you look under the cab you'll know what I'm talking about). I don't know if the S10 frame comes as close.
Even if it is free, if it doesn't fit as easily as the Ranger frame it might cost a lot more in the end. The 98 and newer Ranger frames don't have I beams and are very easy to lower. (Plus I hate to see a prefectly good Ford sittin' on a Cheby frame .

I really need to update the pics in my gallery, but you can see some of the problems you might run into by looking at the pics. The inner fenders were a total pain to fit over the newer frame. The front springs on the new frame sit on top of the frame rails and well into the inner fenders (the s10 frame will have upper a arms that will cause the same problem. Only the long bed Rangers (and I suppose S10's) are long enough to work. The wheel base on mine is three inches shorter than a stock 46.

Having said all of that, I'd totaly do it again. I'd do it differently in a lot of places, but I'd do it again. It's been a fun project, and when I started it, there weren't any like it. The frame swap seems to be a popular idea, but I haven't seen a lot of them finished. Could be I don't get out enough, and it could be that they just never get finished. Mine is still unfinished.

Put pics in your gallery of your progress. I'll want to see how you overcame some of the problems (other people might want to see too).

 

yea i know i need to get some pictures in my gallery i am not going to be using the inner fenders as whole just the little peaces that are needed to connect the front sheet metal to they would be in the way when i lay it out and i dont have any of the stock body mounts on the frame the guy i got it from had allready took them off so i will have to mount it right to the frame with some rubber spacers and trust me i hate the fact that i am putting my ford on a chevy but it seemed to easy to pass up

 

I have a 46 ford truck that I am going to put a mustang II front end on. They sell you a complete set up that match up to the existing frame. It depends on you you want for overall performance.

 

yea the mustang II front clip is nice but can be very pricy at around $2,000 and at 22 that would be very hard for me to consider buying that plus i like to do things that are different and that people tell me are hard or impossibel to do

 

I owned a 1940 daily driver(ALL ORIGINAL).It was great, but I spent most of my spare time keeping it going! Now I'm going with an '89 Ranger daily driver. I'm going to set a '37 Ford truck after-market body on it for looks, and lookk forward to crossing the U S a couple times a year with it (without breaking down and hunting down brake/suspension/electrical/A.C./etc.......don't get me wrong-all that hunting and fixing was fun for about 15 years!!! ) Do yourself a favor and get a good welding machine and hand-held band saw with the money you saved on the late-model chassis--they're worth their weight in platinum&gold combined! Keep us up to date--if I stumble across any short cuts, I'll passs 'em on to you>

 

I am building a '40 1/2-ton and am using a newer Ford Ranger rolling chassis, etc... fits almost perfectly, and the wheelbase of the 2 trucks (std. cab Ranger) is within 3/8"...