I bit the bullet and got a replacement cab. While mine was not in the worst shape I've seen, the cost of materials would have been the same as for the cab. I got a front clip with it as well. It has zero rust thanks to a very nice job by the PO. Long story on how it came to be..

It also has a new front and rear glass. A bargain in my view.

Of course, getting the new cab led me down the road of how to lift it. I know you can use an engine hoist but as I had some other projects in mind as well I used the Harbor Freight 20% off coupon and picked up a 1 ton adjustable gantry crane. It's too tall even at the lowest setting to fit in my shop (I sure wish the previous owner and built it taller..) so It is sitting in front of the door, sort of framing the garage door. (The shop has 2 one car doors with about 3 feet between them. It's a 2 1/2 car shop)

For anyone considering one of these, I can offer some advice. First - go for it as it is very nice. With the coupon the cost gets down to about $500. If you go pick it up, take a pickup truck as it is a back-load item, meaning they will use a fork lift to load it. It is one heavy SOB.

The directions say it takes two people to assemble it. I'd say 2 for most of it and 4 to raise it after assembly. That said, I did it by myself but had to get creative using the engine hoist and a deck post with a come along (my deck is 9 feet off the ground). It took me about 4 hours for the assembly, and an hour of that was just getting it on its feet.

The electric hoist HF sells won't work with this crane without some fabrication. I just got the trolly and will use a chain fall hoist.

We'll see how well it all works tomorrow, my cab will be here at 11am. Along with the front clip.

I hadn't planned on doing much with the body until next year, but I may just get inspired seeing the cab take up space in the shop..

Pics and more to follow..

 

Nice intro, KsCop! It suggests that you could also make the "long story" of the new cab & front clip easy to read as well!

Looking forward to seeing pics of your new stuff.....

Randy

 

Well the long story probably isn't all that long..

Person I bought the cab and clip from had all rust removed, welded up and painted. Engine compartment painted, new windshield and rear glass.

Then, if I understood him right, something happened to the engine and he decided not to put anything more into it and to part it out. It had a really nice looking bull bar on the front, but someone else had dibs on that.

I'll need to use my transmission hump as this cab was from a 2WD and my old (soon to be redone) seat and gas tank. Also the passenger side glass is cracked but I can used the one from my old cab. Now that I think about it, I'll need to use my old heater core as well (the 'new' one leaks and mine is fine).

Overall, I think I'll come out ahead; although I will end up repainting. Mine is currently 'Corinthian White' and the new cab / clip is a 'blue white' from a more modern truck. So it won't match my wonderfully damaged bed but no matter as I said, I'll repaint the entire truck anyway. Looking to go with a rangoon red / white or rangoon red / black scheme. Leaning towards the later.

In any case, I'll get to use my new crane and build a cab dolly a bit sooner than I planned. Suppose I'll build a bed dolly while I'm at it.

Oh - forgot to mention the one problem with the crane. The wheels required greasing and the two locking wheels had stripped thread - the zerk (spelling?) fittings just fell out..

Other than that, the crane went together without fitment issues and the grey color matched my engine hoist from HF as well. I might need to paint my shop press now as it's the old HF orange..

Going to be a long day tomorrow - cab / clip delivered and I have to be at work at 11pm. I think it will be a long night..

 

KSCop, I would keep the cab & clip together if possible when moving. Get a strap through the top of the cab and a 3rd connection to the top of the rad support. Having to realign the fenders can be a pita.

Hope it all goes well for you.


John

 

Well, a little late to keep it all together. It was delivered today with the clip and cab separate. It did make it easier to move..

As promised, here are some pics. The cab was painted 95 Ford White. I couldn't get good interior pics since the crane is still in the way but once I get the cab up on a dolly more pics will follow.

This pic is the cab still under the crane behind the truck. It appears that two of my dogs decided to move in.. (Greyhound and Chihuahua). The Great Dane wisely came in from the heat..




This is the hood on the floor of the shop




Back view of the new cab




Front Clip in the shop




Side view of the cab

 

Mighty nice looking sheet metal, but I'm glad that big Azz crane thang is at your house.

John

 

My wife isn't all that happy about the crane, but it does lower a bit and will fit just under the eave and frame the garage door. It looks marginally better there.

I'm finishing up building a cab dolly and once I get the cab up on the dolly, I'll move the crane back to it's 'proper' location.

I did find a few spots on the cab where rust is starting so I'll take care of those before I install it. Same with the front clip. Overall, way better than what I have now.

Once the swap is done, I'll see about selling my old cab and front clip. While it's not perfect, I'm sure it's way better than what some folks have and is repairable (I just found a quicker way...)

I decided to go with and Rangoon Red and White interior. The seat is getting redone in Rangoon Red (found some 'old school' vinyl) with a white strip in the center running down the seat back and across the seat bottom. Should look pretty good.

I'm getting pretty anxious now and want to get it done. I'll still have some metal work to do on the bed so I still get to play with the welder. No tailgate so I'll need to find a solution for that someday as well.

Off course, since I'll have the clip and cab off, I'll take the bed off (that's why I have a crane, right?) and then clean up the frame. A little wire brushing and POR-15 and we'll be good to go..

Of course then I can take care of a few other things, and then there's ....

It will never end...

 

Nicely done, I swapped mine with the help of 2 neighbors , a 4x4 and my engine hoist..you seem to have a much better set up )

 

I was going to go the engine hoist route, but then I had visions of disaster. And then the HF 20% off coupon came.
And then I lost all control..

I have found a couple of issues with the new front clip; the bottom of the radiator support is rusted out. I couldn't see that when it was on the truck. No big deal as my old support is actually in good shape (or I could just fix the new one..)

I also had a revelation, although a bit too late if it's going to be a problem.

The new cab is from a 1964 2wd. From what I can recall, the only real difference is that the 4wd had a panel in the floor for battery access and the 2wd had the battery in the engine compartment on the right inner fender. No big deal there & I actually prefer the battery there.

The roof on the 64 is higher from what I've heard, but not sure on that one.

As long as the 64 2wd cab will mount on my 63 4wd frame I'm good.

I can't imagine why it wouldn't. I all looks the same but I haven't done any measuring. I suppose I should have looked before I jumped bit

Fingers crossed...

 

Looks like you have a great plan. The first thing I would do is measure the front fenders to verify they are the same. Seems there is a fender size difference relating to tire size or truck size. Probally changes at the F350 but somewhere I heard, read, or made up a problem between F100s and F250s/4x4. ND will know. I hope yours is proper.

While you have the cab off, you can take a closeup picture to verify and prove your VINs match for any future owners. Be sure to transfer your vin and data plate.

A new radiator support runs $250 to $300 plus shipping so it is worthwhile if you can repair one. That radiator support on my 62 literally supports everything up front.

Before you sell off anything, salvage the best of the items like hood and door hinges, door locks, etc. I just paid $120 plus shipping for a set of new hood hinges. I guess they need repaced every 50 years or so.

I have a very nice painted steel front bumper and a spare heater/blower unit off a 62 if you need them.

 

Yeah, the '64 roof is about an inch or so taller from the drip rail than your '63.

 

It appears this cab does have the same hole in the floor for the battery. I may be in better shape than I thought.

 

I would ck radiator support mounting and type
Think you said rust in 2wd anyway

 

Tailgates for the old styleside beds are repopped. Im not sure who is selling them but I have seen them out there. Your new cab if 2wd must have come off of an F350 or larger as these truck would have had the battery box under the passanger floor. Looking at your front clip the passanger side inner fender apron is from a 2wd truck also. For 4wd and larger trucks it should be more of a rounded shape and not dip down in the back towards the firewall where the battery would have been mounted on a 2wd truck. The cab on the 64 should bold right up to your 4wd frame. Fenders are all the same the only difference on the 4wd and larger trucks is the radius of the opening for the wheels.

 

As it turns out, the cab DID come off of an F350. The cab should work out fine.

Very observant on the inner fender well, that is indeed indicative of a 2wd. My old inner fender is fine so I can swap it if it presents an problem.

Hopefully the fenders will work on my 4x4. That's something I didn't think about in this deal. If not, I can still use parts of the new clip and will have to buy or repair my old fenders. Let's hope this 'new' clip works ok..

I suppose I could change wheel size if I needed...