frame shortening

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by OrrieG

It should be shortened between the rear cab mounts and front rear spring shackles. Less things to keep track of or mess up. There have been a few threads on this. If I remember right there is some adjustment to better center the rear tire in the wheel well.

That is the way I would do it on that frame. To stay with standard short bed measurements you need to end up with a 116 inch wheelbase.

That means cutting 9.25 inches out of the frame if it is a standard longbed frame.

As Orrie said, some guys adjust the length of the piece that they cut out so that the spring bolt ends up being right at the 116" wheelbase spot so they don't have to offset the hole in the spring pad on the new axle.

I'm not positive what the difference is but it is the difference between the stock spring pad on the stock axle and the centerline of the axle. Something like 1-3/4 inch but it may be less.

You will have to trim a few inches off the back end of the frame rails anyhow so that slight adjustment in frame length isn't a big deal but makes things a lot easier for you in the long run.

One of our board members drew up this diagram a while back and shared it on a similar thread on shortening a 67/72 frame. The measurements WILL NOT WORK in this case as they should be 9.25 or your adjusted measurements.



This makes for a stronger shortened frame than just cutting straight down and butt welding the frame back together.