Boxing the frame

Has anyone boxed their frame for added strength? For my 90, I'd have to find a way to access my brakelines, fuel lines, and fuel filter. Anyone have a way to do this? I was thinking just leaving a small section for my filter, since if I REALLY needed to, I could run some stiff wire wrapped around my lines if I had to replace them.

Yes, I boxxed area of my 84 frame for the SAS and rollcage. Will post a couple pics. Any particular reason you want to do your frame?

This area is where i mounted the hangers for the leafspring shackles, as well as the A-pillar outriggere for the rollcage:



Inside view, 1/4" plate welded in:



If you need to access the fule pump or anything, you could possibly bolt a plate like this instead of welding. JSM84

If you box in the full frame why don't you run you lines inside of a piping or something? Something that can be mounted to the frame but easy to take off and can sustain whatever you want to throw at it?

It was just an idea my friends and I were tossing around, trying to make it even more tank-like. I really can't see anything I'd be doing that would be a threat to the frame, but I want to take precautions, and if this is viable then so be it. And I hadn't thought about a bolted section, that's actually a really good idea. The same with the pipping; now that it's mentioned, it could be very well possible, just tucked up under the inside of the frame-meets-body section on the inside area.

hrmm I'm no expert, just a career welder, but couldn't you actually weaken the frame by softening the steel? usually the extra steel your adding will make up for it but I'd not want to pour all that heat into the frame with much stress on it, like the weight of the truck.

Yes, i agree, it's possible to overheat or weaken the frame if you weld too much on it. The frame is "boxxed" at the factory in the area of the engine crossmember, and has 3 other crossmembers behind that to supprot the frame. The metal itself is rather 'soft" compared to the steel plate i used to box that area and up front on the frame horns. IF you don't box those areas when you do the leafspring SAS, they will most likely crack from the added stress. It's hard to tell from the pics, but I used small tack welds to attach the plates, rather than running a continuous bead that could heat up or warp the frame. I don't see any reason to fully box the frame, but if you did i would use the same method of using small tack welds. It's also rather hard to weld upside down with the body on the frame and sparks falling in your ears!!! JSM84

yea I've done TONS of welding laying upside down under trucks, I have a bald spot from doing that, caught my hair on fire.

If I were to fully box a frame, I'd most likely just pull the frame rails using loads of jack stands and duplicate them out of tubing, maybe stainless. However if I felt compelled to box the original frame I'd probably lay underneath and TIG weld it, tape the foot pedal to a solid cinder block and get a pillow or two and clean the **** out of the frame and use a good Damascus steel, quite tough and ductile, better than the original frame. Or in the case of what you did I might machine out a solid block to fill the channel in those two locations, excessive but I have the tools and materials available to me. \

Actually now that I think of it, I know where an old frame from a bronco is thats kinda rusty but it's strait should be good for a pattern, sadly I doubt anybody would be interested in a super excessively heavy duty frame unless they managed to bend theirs in an accident and that takes one **** of an impact, they'd be more worried about paying down medical bills.