Frame Modifications - Tubular Crossmember

This old frame had a cross member removed by a previous owner to allow for a V8 installed. Due to the frame not being completely boxed in, the sides bowed a bit and allowed the front of the cab to sink down. To fix this and strengthen the frame, I decided to box in the entire frame all the way past the rear axle. I left a few feet for the rear gas tank installation.

IFS - Mustang II Front End

One of the first things I wanted to do to this truck was get rid of the I-beam front suspension and install a Mustang II front end. This will give better handling, a better ride, and upgrade the brakes to large discs all in one step. Below is photos of this process.

Cab Repair - Drive Rear Corner

Since I moved the gas tank to the rear of the truck in between the bed rails I decided to get rid of the opening that was there on the cab for the filler neck. There was also a lot of rot down there that needed to be handled. I did this by purchasing a corner piece from Mid Fifty and installing that. Below are pictures of the process:

Roof Repair

When removing the paint/primer I realized that about an inch above the drip rail was completely rotted out all the way across the roof. The previous owner had used body filler to mask this small imperfection. I decided to cut the entire thing out and weld in new metal. Below are pictures of my process:

Bear Claw latch install

The following pictures show the fabrication of the driver side bear claw latch. Since I am doing this in my garage and not a true body shop. The curvers were hand formed with a dolly and a hammer.

Then After getting the entire thing welded in (tack welded, cooled, tack welded, cooled) I started grinding down the welds and smoothing it out.

Below is what it looks like right now.  It is pretty straight but will need a small amount of filler and sanding to make perfect.