1st gen body on 2nd gen frame

[DDudgeon]

Currently building a 1st gen truck. I have a 1997 one ton 4wd frame to put 1st gen body onto. I have heard of this being done. Has anyone on here done this in the past? Just looking for some suggestions, tips, etc.

 

[DDudgeon]

making progress on this one

 

[Timd32]

Awesome job looks great.

I bought my 2nd Gen a few years after it was fully rebuilt by someone, a few things they missed or did incorrectly that would have saved me some time all mostly mechanical stuff.

Oil Pan was replaced but they did a terrible job with the gasket so it leaks bad, I actually carry cardboard when I go to places I know it will leave a mark.. Thats a project to redo. Its on my list..

Same goes for the front seal, mine leaked bad, as did the PS pump/vacuum pump. Would have been great to do the front seal and timing cover with the engine out. I got a new front timing cover from Cummins.

They reused alot of old hardware, they painted it, but did not blast it first so most of it rusted. I bought a decent assortment of metric stuff from McMaster and have 4 nice bins of the HD stuff. Same goes for the plastic rivets I have a good assortment of those.

Wiring harness like the battery cables I replaced mine and cleaned up the grounds, some locations had paint on them from the rebuild, I used the copper infused antisieze on almost everything hardware and

I bought new battery boxes, mine were shot, they were cheap for 2nd Gen, no clue what a 1st gen used and if those would be available, I know they only had one battery on some models, it could be metal for all I know.

It does not appear you need much help you look to be doing great.

 

[EDankievitch]

Very cool project

 

[pwerwagn]

Looks great!!!!!

 

[DDudgeon]

 

[DDudgeon]

Engine and transmission is in. May have to move motor mounts back 1 inch.

 

[Deleted member 995608]

Keep the pics coming. TDR needs these kinda threads to help keep it alive

 

[promisedland]

Luv it! Thanks

 

[90CTD]

View attachment 112773

what steering shaft did you use there? im doing the same swap right now i just have the body sitting on the frame havent made the mounts yet.. but i need to rig up a steering shaft! also yours looks good so far how long have you been working on it? so far i cut a couple inches off the back of the frame havent done anything to the front but probably a few inches there aswell and might shimmy the rear axel a bit forward to get it closer to center of the wheel well

 

[DDudgeon]

The steering shaft is Borgeson 2nd gen. The column is from an '85, cut the old rag joint off and made my own end to weld onto it. So the Borgeson shaft will slip onto it. Been working on this one for a year, got a lot to do yet. I cut the frame under the cab where the frame sections are welded together from the factory. Cut out 23 3/4" out and welded it back together. Didn't cut any of the frame in front or rear. Hope this helps.

 

[90CTD]

The steering shaft is Borgeson 2nd gen. The column is from an '85, cut the old rag joint off and made my own end to weld onto it. So the Borgeson shaft will slip onto it. Been working on this one for a year, got a lot to do yet. I cut the frame under the cab where the frame sections are welded together from the factory. Cut out 23 3/4" out and welded it back together. Didn't cut any of the frame in front or rear. Hope this helps.

You must have had an ext cab frame I got a reg cab and wheel base is 3 inch longer but frame also stick ms out past where the body is aswell

 

[DDudgeon]

Nice.. Not sure how far you are on it but the two bed mount bolts closest to the tailgate dropped right into two holes in the frame. That put the wheel well centered over the wheel. But had to cut front bed mount brackets off the 2nd gen frame and move back about two inches.

 

[DDudgeon]

Coil spring seats were pretty thin so i made my own from 10 gauge

 

[DDudgeon]

Didn't get anything done last year with this covid nonsense. Has anyone ordered parts from Dodge off road? I ordered a tie rod from them in April last year, they have not sent me anything and wont refund my money either. I should have looked at reviews first, there are more bad reviews than good ones.

 

[Timd32]

Might be a little later but next time, save the emails and order acknowledgements and do a dispute to your CC company.

Having a paper trail is key. They will do a 30day hold typically on funds, and try to reach out to the vendor, if the vendor just goes silent they rule quickly, if there is a response they might ask you some questions, be responsive to the CC company and should result in a successful ruling if on the up and up.

I doubt 15 months later they will help out.

Sucks for sure. I had vendor issues last year and had to dispute the charges the place was a fraud, got my response and $ back quickly.

 

[77 D300]

This is awesome, this is exactly the info I was looking for. Typical Ford guy with zero Dodge truck experience. I'm wanting to swap my 77 D300 Club Cab dually body onto my 2001 2500 frame and was leary to try. Please Keep posting progress!

 

[DDudgeon]

Got the adapter and tail housing cut

 

[DDudgeon]

I added my own holes, rotated 14 degrees

 

[DDudgeon]

Using the Ford NP205, no clocking ring needed