Dana To Supply Ford's F-150 Series Pickup Truck With Structural Frames.

Dana Corp. said that it will supply structural systems to the Ford for its 2004 F-150 Series pickup trucks. Dana's Automotive Systems Group will supply frames from its Elizabethtown, Ky., and St. Mary's, Ont., facilities to supply Ford's Kansas City, Mo., and Norfolk, Va., assembly plants.

The frame will be produced using Dana's new technology, which increases the frame's vertical stiffness by 50 percent, Dana said. The hydroformed structural system has increased stiffness not only vertically, but also torsionally for an improved ride, the company added. The frame surface is also being electrocoated, providing corrosion protection that is resistant to higher underbody temperatures, it said.

"This is the first time Dana's hydroforming technology is being used in one of Ford's F-Series pickup trucks," said Bill Carroll, president of Dana's Automotive Systems Group.