Frame strength help...

[RMVA]

Originally Posted by b454rat

yup

I called a bunch of restoration and body shops and they all said absolutely not. Frame needs to be boxed from transfer case forward. Only the rear portion would be okay, but 4wd torque, lift and weight of 37" tires are too much for a '63 2wd frame.

['63GENIII]

Bunch of hooey. If I understand correctly, there isn't much difference between the frame rails of 2wd and 4wd. Once you remove the front crossmember, I would really look into a crossmember to tie the frame back together under the engine mounts but that might be about it. My '63 has never had a crossmember in that area and although Ive always wanted to install a support there, Ive never really seen the need for it even with the new suspension, drivetrain and big block. Boxing the frame IMO, while cool looking and very labor intensive, is completely unnecessary in most cases.
Stock frame in mine has seen thousands of towing miles, many loads in the box that were well over the trucks capacity without any indication of fatigue.
Im not sure why an honest restoration / body shop would recommend welding plate to the inside of the frame. Ive seen several instances where frames are not supposed to be welded on due to the alloy that they are made of. Not sure if our old truck frames would be affected. Just saying it would be good to research completely on your own before asking a barber if you need a hair cut.

[ryanv70c10]

I don't know much about this subject but the one thing that I do know is that you should at the very least reinforce the steering box area of the frame otherwise it will crack and rip out with those big tires up front.

['63GENIII]

After thinking about it a little more, for the cost of boxing a frame on one of these, Id bet that you could find an original 4x4 truck. They're not super common, but not extinct either. Just another angle to think about.

[RMVA]

Hooey or not its a good thing such places like this forum exist where one can get a bunch of different answers and ideas.

It seems most folks who convert to 4wd on a 2wd frame don’t off-road and ‘63GENII isn’t running a lift or big wheels so there is likely less stress on the frame. Nice truck btw!

I agree with Ryan...extra support isn’t a bad thing. It may not be necessary but its peace of mind.

I have not found any K20 trucks or frames...it seems we live in a world of mostly '60-63 C10/C20's.

Thanks for the help guys!