Shagg

So I'm currently in the process of rebuilding my 1989 f150 (here's the main thread for that https://www.f150forum.com/f91/rebuil...-truck-431981/ ) but I am going to have to get the frame straightened, i don't believe that they used crumple zones in '89, and as far as I can see, it is bent is two places. The first is about 20 inches back from the passenger frame horn. The other is on the passenger side, right after the bracket for the radius arm attaches to the frame. Ive been to four different body shops, all of which seem pretty confident that the damage can be reversed. But we all know that if the frame is bent and then unbent it loses a lot of structural integrity, so I would like to reinforce the frame in all of the spots where it bent. So I am just wondering if anybody has any good ideas on how to do that. Like could I do something simple like attaching a thick steel rod to the inside of the frame? or could I box off the repaired parts of the frame? Im open to all ideas.

kd3pc

a certified welder could certainly box the frame in those areas, but one must wonder just how the bends got there in the first place? What are your intentions for the truck, just riding around - the body shop repair should be fine... Road race and serious off road work...then the box welds

might be cheaper to get a used frame and replace yours ...

Steve83

Do you know exactly how it got bent?'92-up.Are you saying these bends are so severe that you can see them yourself without any disassembly?Does that mean that none of them actually offered to DO the straightening?No, we don't. That only applies to unibody/monocoque structures; not to cab-on-chassis vehicles, like these trucks. If a pro says the frame can be straightened (or, more-specifically: that he HAS straightened it), then it's back to full strength. If it's bent so badly that it's weakened, no pro will touch it.THAT would severely compromise the frame's strength.No, an amateur can't simply modify such an important engineered structure. If that's all it took, Ford would have built it that way. And if it was that easy to re-engineer a frame, you wouldn't need a college degree & professional certifications to be an engineer. Read this caption:


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Take it to a pro, and let HIM tell you what it needs to be right. Then let him do the repairs. If he says it can't be repaired, start shopping for a replacement truck or frame.

Shagg

The truck was hit head on by a lifted f250, because he was lifted, his truck rode up my hood. so the front bumper, radiator core support, hood, and passenger side fender were all mangled. I removed the bent parts, and looking at the frame itself i can see where it is not straight, and to double check i compared it to our '90. I have talked to people at 5 different body shop, 4 of them seem confident that they can fix it, although I have only shown pictures and described it. they haven't seen it in real life. the fifth body shop said that they don't like doing frame straightening. But the other body shops all told me that before I can put the truck on a frame table, i need to put all of the body panels back on, so I am currently searching for a donor truck to get all of the parts I need. I was just concerned about the truck being less safe if its in a future accident, which is why I want to make sure the frame still has all of its integrity. I also don't want to be loosing any payload capacity. And getting a new truck is NOT an option for me.

Steve83

I didn't say "new"... You'd lose payload capacity if you added reinforcements (the weight of those additions).

Putting the body back on doesn't make sense to me - I'm not trained to fix frames, but I've done a little of it, and it's easier with the body out of the way; both to take measurements, and to work on the frame. I have to assume they want the body installed so they don't have to do as much work - the body will hide some of the frame imperfections. I'd look for a frame shop that will take it in this condition:


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This one was too damaged to be straightened:


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This is one of the ones I did some work on (shown later in this album):


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This shows how a frame is measured, so it's obviously easier if the frame is as bare as the diagram:


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