First gen body swap

[TSkibyak]

Well after a year of not having my truck running I am back at it.





My question is does anyone have an idea how bad of a job it would be to swap a first gen body onto a second gen chassis. I understand it will be alot of work my big question is how do the engine locations and such varry.





Thanks

 

[Shadrach]

It would be a LOT of work as the frame, mounting system, etc is totally different . Why would you want to do this? Nothing is impossible if you have enough money and talent. Shadrach

 

[Simplysmn]

I would say do a body swap on your first gen I became a semipro at it when I was n the mad rush to rebuild truck afterwe rolled it from start to finish it took us less then 4 hours to swap complete body and now I guess I am Crazy enough to want to build another crewcab but this time I am going to try somethings different like maybe even trying to add a clubcab to the back side of the crewcab then extend frame and put a long bed on it we will soon see .

Either way going from first gen to second i think would be a PNA but if you go for it Please show it off.

 

[DodgeWarlock]

I am Crazy enough to want to build another crewcab but this time I am going to try somethings different like maybe even trying to add a clubcab to the back side of the crewcab then extend frame and put a long bed on it we will soon see .

I've seen that! My Brother-in-law has one someone did a botch job on. Can we say loooong and uuugly. I would think about that long and hard and make sure your committed to it before you butcher up 2-3 trucks.

 

[TSkibyak]

The reason I am looking into this is that the previous owner spent a fortune on replacing the body on the truck. The body is in perfect shape paint and all. The problem is that the frame is rusted to the point of no return. I am hoping to build this truck into a street/ puller kinda wild and figure that the second gen frame is stonger and would be more user friendly for the abuse. It would also make the p pump conversion a done deal.

 

[Simplysmn]

I've seen that! My Brother-in-law has one someone did a botch job on. Can we say loooong and uuugly. I would think about that long and hard and make sure your committed to it before you butcher up 2-3 trucks.

Well at 7 ft tall I need all the leg room I can get and both my kids took after me daughter is 5 ft 11 and son is 6 ft 1 so leg room is a thing I look at and to boot I have a top notch body guy that would be doing the body work so butcher job's would not be a issue with this truck but yeah I know what you mean by being long but if you think about it the thing would only be maybe a foot longer then a negacab long bed ?if I use a 80's crewcab and then add a supercab back half to that ?

 

[Moab4x4]

The problem is that the frame is rusted to the point of no return. I am hoping to build this truck into a street/ puller kinda wild and figure that the second gen frame is stonger and would be more user friendly for the abuse. It would also make the p pump conversion a done deal.

I recall from some frame discussions that Mysteryman had on frames that the 91-93 CTD frames were stronger than 2nd gen frames...

I would probably do the frame swap and keep it 1st gen. No real doubt that the old school solid front Dana 60 is as strong as you are going to get. I would also take a 205 transfercase over anything chain driven. I would just drop in the p-pumped motor if you really want that kind of power.

I would say that would be way easier than getting everything else to work. One minor detail is the 1st gen passenger drop vs. 2nd gen drivers drop xfer case.



I did the frame swap and it was an educational process, but not that bad. I have been pushing mine not with max power, but with offroad articulation. I need to do something to keep all 4 on the rocks. Frame seems bullet proof if you box in the steering box area.

 

[RSchwarzli]

I would say find a new 1st gen frame, then swap existing nice body onto that. That will be much easier and more cost effective.



Robert

 

[78cummins-wagon]

dont even get me started on swapping body's. it is a pain in the ***, esp. if your not swapping something that will not bolt right up. i have over a hundred hours in frame modifications, cab modifications, and electrical ****, which is still not totally figured out yet. why dont you just swap the engines??