SHOP TALK > Wrench Day

Going to cut my truck in half!

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Bsrankin:
I think I figured out where the 18" came from the driveshaft from the tranny to the transfer case is about 20" and the rear driveshaft is about three feet so it looks like most of the cutting will need to be in the trans shaft and front driveshaft to prevent a ridiculous angle in the rear shaft. I may need to marry the transfer case, I have always heard that a divorced transfer case is better for crawling but I've never been told why. I could take ~18" out and just have a stubby shaft connecting the trans and transfer case or I can just take it out altogether. Opinions?


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Bsrankin:
I haven't been on here in a long time, I just wanted to update this thread and let you know that I did go thru with it (after putting it off for a year). I did end up going with 18" because the longer I looked at it the more I realized why that was the recommended max, there's just about 18-20" of straight frame under the bed after that the frame gets narrower. Everything went fairly smooth surprisingly.
First cut I made was right behind the rear leafs, on the majority of my cuts I used this small piece of angle as a straight edge


Next I drew it all out. The plan was simple, take a 13"chunk out of the center and make two 5" steps.
After measuring measuring and re measuring about fifty times I made the first cut.

We ended up needing to use a bottle back and scissor jack in order to get each frame rail to the correct height to put it back together and with minimal grinding/massaging it fit like a glove.
Of course we once again measured a thousand times and started burning it back in. I kept all the welds short so as not to warp the frame, and moved between sides for each weld we laid down.
And the before and after

I'm still not quite finished, I have to make some fish plates for the frame and I still haven't tackled the bed but I thought I'd share my progress so far.


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LUVNMY06TJ:
Great job! Glad it went as smoothly for you as it did. ... Not having any experience with altering the frame and limited welding experience, I have a few questions. When cutting the frame, did you cut steps into it because that would be stronger than a straight vertical cut? Also, when putting together the frame after cutting it, is welding it strong enough? Could you add a piece of steel over each new joint (for lack of better terms) like a bandaid make stronger? Or is that something that is not necessary and overkill??

Bsrankin:
Thanks! And I got most of my info from Stacy David's short bed conversion and 4WORs project super dirty. The step helps spread the welds out to prevent cracking of the surrounding frame while also making it easier to line back up. And as for adding steel for bracing, that's what the fish plates are, basically a piece of steel that will lay across the welded area and welded in to add strength


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