Sweptline frame strength?

[manimal]

I am in the process of buying a 65 D100 Sweptline longbed. I am constipating putting a spare 6.9 IDI diesel in it. Will the frame of a D100 be strong enough to handle the weight of the IDI? Also, what are the differences in the D100 and D200 frames? Are the 3/4t's thicker or taller? Thanks for any help.

[PwrWgnDrvr]

Both frames are the same, neither will handle a diesel w/o boxing. I weld the cracks up in mine every few thousand miles because the builder didn't box it.

[coelcanth]

constipating, eh ?

try more fiber in your diet !

[712edf]

For that heavy of an engine I'd want a D500 frame. But that leaves you with some jockeying to make things fit.

Bucky

[TheMopars]

Might want to see if you can find a boxed frame. Not sure how rare it is but mine was done from the factory.

[HemiJoel]

Frames are made stronger as the tonnage of the truck goes up. A 300 is stronger than a 200, a 200 is stronger than a 100. 300 and up frames are straight, 200 and down are curved. If i wanted a diesel in a 100, I would at least box and reinforce it. Or better yet find a 200 frame and box and reinforce it.

[coelcanth]

my impression (gathered through reading this forum) is that the sweptline D200 and D100 are the same from the factory except for the springs

[HemiJoel]

Check out the specs on this brochure from Dodge. It lists the section modulus for each frame.

Click on the small picture to see a larger version.

[PwrWgnDrvr]

Might want to see if you can find a boxed frame. Not sure how rare it is but mine was done from the factory.

Every truck Ive seen with that SERT had a piece of channel iron welded to the BOTTOM of the frame between the front and rear springs. Nowhere was it boxed. Is yours?

[soopernaut]

The parts book has the same part number for the D100 and D200 frame prior to 1967. The W models have different numbers.

[HemiJoel]

I would speculate that when building new trucks, they used only the thickness of frame material that was needed for the rating of the truck as stated in their sales brochure. A small savings per frame times tens of thousands of trucks equals a big savings for Dodge. On the other hand stocking two different very similar frames for the d-100 in the D 200 with separate part numbers would be unnecessarily costly. And thus they probably consolidated into one part number, providing the thicker D200 frame if one was ordered for a D100.

[HemiJoel]

I have a d 200 frame and a dial Caliper. I could measure it very accurately. Does anybody have a D100 that they can do the same so that we can get to the bottom of this?

[TheMopars]

Might want to see if you can find a boxed frame. Not sure how rare it is but mine was done from the factory.

Every truck Ive seen with that SERT had a piece of channel iron welded to the BOTTOM of the frame between the front and rear springs. Nowhere was it boxed. Is yours?

I'll have to crawl under there again to be sure. I thought it was boxed but I could be thinking of a different frame.

[Hobcobble]

Might want to see if you can find a boxed frame. Not sure how rare it is but mine was done from the factory.

Every truck Ive seen with that SERT had a piece of channel iron welded to the BOTTOM of the frame between the front and rear springs. Nowhere was it boxed. Is yours?

Correct. I have an early '65 D100 with the S.E.R.T. for a reinforced frame. This is
done with channel steel as Terry points out.

John

[HemiJoel]

What is sert?

[soopernaut]

What is sert?

I made some changes/additions to Ben's quote below since it was mainly directed towards earlier trucks and CSS/HPP trucks.

Any non-standard part would be listed on the SERT sticker (or VIN plate on later trucks). SERT stands for Special Equipment Release Truck.

All part-group part numbers of the non-standard options are listed on the SERT sticker/plate or SERT summary (The SERT summary is a part number that summarizes what is in the group). Each SERT number corresponds to a SERT sheet, which the production line would use to add the part to the truck either on the line or in the 9190 repair department at the end of the line.

[HemiJoel]

Interesting. I SERTainly will have to check my trucks for a tag.

[coelcanth]

I have a d 200 frame and a dial Caliper. I could measure it very accurately. Does anybody have a D100 that they can do the same so that we can get to the bottom of this?

i have a D100 and a vernier caliper.. probably could borrow a digital..
it certainly would be an interesting exercise..

i'm not an engineer, but about how much would material thickness need to vary to result in a section modulus difference of only .87 ??

[HemiJoel]

A vernier caliper should be accurate.
I measured my D200 Crew Cab, right between the rear of the cab and the front of the bed. .250" thick steel, 2.40" wide, 6" tall.

I don't know if a standard cab is different. When It quits raining and dries out a little, I'll measure my D200 reg cab and my D300 reg cab.

The section modulus can be increased with thicker metal, or taller or wider channel, or a combination. Wikipedia has an explanation.

[manimal]

This is all GREAT information. This weekend I will have my 65 D100(longbed) and I will break out my calipers and measure as well. This would probably be good info to make a "sticky" out of. Thank you everyone.