I have a question for some of you ford truck enthusiast. I have a '76 Ford truck LWB with a rebuilt 360 V8 and a '74 SWB chassis with the bed....no cab or engine. There is no rust or any other problem with these trucks...I just want to have a running SWB instead of a LWB. Would it be worth to swap the '76 cab and engine onto my SWB chassis or just make the LWB into a SWB? Not sure which is easier? What would some of you do? I appreciate your responses!!!

 

I would do the body swap. Make the lwb into a trailer.

 

It would probably be faster to section the frame than to swap the cab, but it's apple to oranges.

Plus, you'll need to register the truck with the frame you use and not the cab.

Josh

 

I'll 2nd that...

 

Thanks for the replies.... I was thinking about all the work involved with swapping the cab and the engine and making a trailer out of the LWB. If I decide to cut I would have to find out how much and where to cut. I might think about it for a few more days to see the pros and cons about either option. Thanks again for the quick responses. Keep them coming...

 

Not exactly... it depends on your individual jurisdiction. DOT and DMV workers are usually too lazy or just plaine don't check frame numbers and typically just go with the paperwork and door tag.

The minimum requirement in CA is a cab with a clean title.My rig is registered as a 73 2WD but in reality it's a 74 4WD. Another case is by bud's rig, it's a 57 F-100 on an S-10 chassis and registered as a 57.

IMO, It can get hairy when selling a rig with a swapped cab or frame of differing years. Just be up front with the buyer and have the documentation that everything is on the up and up. When I bought mine, I used it as a bargaining chip and knocked $1000 off the asking price...the PO had no clue.

 

That's the clincher, being upfront with a buyer when selling the truck.

That's my opinion as well, law or not, to just go ahead and do whatever you want with the truck.

As for frame or cab... you can remove the bed and section a frame and have it driveable in under a day, good luck swapping a cab + engine + transmission + front clip and aligning all that crap in a long weekend.

Josh