Our next project is called Project Shop Truck that will be a 1957 Ford F100 Styleside short bed.  The truck will have a Mustang II front end from TCI, rear leafs from TCI, and a 351 with a C6 automatic.  But more on the project details and designs later...

This post is about how to build your own wooden dolly to put the truck box on to move around and work on.

For this project you will need the following:

• One (1) 4x4x10
• Six (6) 2x4x10
• Two (2) 5" Casters
• Two (2) 5" Swivel and locking Casters
• Box of 2 1/2" #8 construction screws
• Sixteen (16) 5/16 x 1 1/2" self tapping hex bolts/screws

The 1957 Ford F100 has a consistent frame width of 34".  It was decided to do that width so the box could fit on the dolly just as it does the frame.  The length of the dolly was decided on 5' to give full support and the overall height was decided on 30" to give some height to work on the box.

The Caster we purchased are 6" in height and the 2x4 are 1 1/2" inches in depth, so that meant we needed to cut four (4) posts from the 4x4 at 21" to total an overall height of 30".

Next we cut the 2x4x10 in half to get two five foot pieces.  These were used on the top and bottom of the 4x4 posts that were cut to create the sides.

Then we mounted the casters using the hex bolts to secure them to the bottom.

NOTE:  When you put the two sides together, make sure the swivel casters are on the same side.

Next we cut four (4) lengths at 34" to create the desired width to match the frame width.  These were mounted inside the 4x4 posts and screwed to the posts and from the top and bottom 2x4 to create a solid frame.

We also ran another 34" 24 in the bottom centre to provide extra support and rigidity to the dolly.

To make a flat top, you will need to cut two (2) 27" 2x4s to go inside the frame.  To hold these, you will use the scrap that you have left to screw to the 4x4 and support these 2x4s.

That's it!  Total build time as about an hour and a half as I was engineering while building.  I'm sure it can be done much sooner using the above plans.

One thing you could also do to add support is run a 2x4 from the middle support up to the top 2x4s.  To be honest, we won't.  I sat on it and it hardly even moved - I'm 200 lbs.  However, if it starts to look like it needs more support I'll put the 2x4 in there.

Coming Soon

Now we're going to get the box off and onto our dolly so we can store it and the front hood for now.  

Next we will be building a Truck Cab Dolly using 2x10 and so it allows us to be able to roll the cab onto its back for paint and metal work.  So stay tuned as that project will be posted soon!

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