I have 2 OBS 7.3 trucks that I'm getting ready to turn into 1. Ones a mason dump plow truck with all body work rusted out, with a decent engine and tran, plow, and hydraulic lift setup. The cab, fenders and bed need to go, and frame rails need blasting and paint. The other truck is SRW with very little rust, but the engine leaks from every o ring there is, trans is blown. My plan has been to put engine, trans, dump and plow on non rusty truck, since I've done engine and trans on these kind of trucks 3x each. However, the PO of the SRW, non rusty truck, who's a friend of mine, can't find the title and doesn't want to bother getting a new one. So now I'm looking at swapping body work over instead of mechanical parts. How complicated is this? Does dash have to be removed? Heater core? Also, I have a shop, plenty of tools, but no lift. How realistic is it to try and lift a cab off without a hoist? I do have access to 2 tractors with buckets, but not even sure how Id lift them. Any insight is appreciated. I'd like to start this project tomorrow!

 

I used a set of racks from my work. They were like 16 ft high so I used 4 cross bars to tie them together> Ran a 4x4 through the window's and 2 chain hoist with a cherry picker to hold the front. Takes awhile but it worked.
Then I bought a 2 post lift and have done 4 other's. Much better
Good luck John

 

If you are using the cab from the SRW no rust truck to put on your frame, you still need the title to it.

 

Title follows the cab(it is complete BS to me but that is the law)

 

In CT, you can change a cab over and then go to DMV. They will replace the cab VIN with a sticker that matches the original. At least that's what I was told by a reputable source. I have resolved the issue anyway now. I can register the truck without a title if I fill out a list title form, and pay an extra $25. Takes a little linger, but I end up with the end result I wanted. I am still curious about different methods of pulling the cab and whether the dash has to come out or not though! Thanks for the input guys!

 

NOTHING needs to come out of the cab. But doing so will make it lighter for picking up

 

It's really kind of spooky how easy it is to lift the cab off one of these trucks. Once the front clip is off, you unhook hoses and wires in the engine compartment, the e-brake cable and shifter cable or lever, pull four bolts and lift it off. The cab isn't ridiculously heavy either. I had one (stripped) that I sold and three of us loaded it onto a trailer by hand. I'm guessing they only weigh 300-400 lbs when they're stripped. As Brad has said though, you can easily leave EVERYTHING in the cab and pull it, though as easy as it is to remove the seat, I think having it out of the way for getting to the cab bolts would be worth it.

 

if i understand you correctly, you want to put the 91 cab and nose on the 92 dump?
if this is correct, you are either going to have to find a spot to mount the speedometer cable on the 92 trans, or swap the transfer case if it is a 4X4, or put the 92 dash and electrical in the 91 cab to have the electronic speedometer.
91 is a cable driven speedometer, and 92 is an electronic speedometer.

 

Are both trucks of the same vintage? IE diesel to diesel, same year ect. If you go from a 95 with a stroke engine to a 95 with the same engine, no need to remove the dash. If going from gasser to diesel, then a lot more is involved if you want plug and play. I went from a 86 gasser to an 85 IDI diesel, and had to swap out the wiring harness from fuse box to headlight plugs to get plug and play. But when it was done it looked factory. We used a 4 wood beam placed threw the door wiindows and lifted the cab with a loader tractor.

 

all the ones we have done we took the seats out of,

lifted the grey one twice with the cab stripped but other than that the only thing we have taken out was the seat.

I realize you dont have a wrecker, but you said tractors, and I know brad has done it like that,

on my 97, which was the first time we did it, we grabbed from the front which was tough cause the boom wasnt long enough so we had to manipulate it a little but it went,

easier way we learned on the 84 and 86 was to grab from the side,

we just use a big recovery strap the uncle has for tow truck recovery, and run it through the cab at the forward most part of the roof, then use a ratchet strap to either the fire wall or to both front cab mounts to keep the cab level because it is front heavy because of the firewall and dash, really pretty easy though

 

Thanks for the pics! That looks awesome! First off, both my trucks are 7.3 power strokes. Ones a 95, other is a 97. However, I found out that I can fill out a 'lost title form' with my bill of sale, and as long as the previous owner signs it, it just costs an extra $25 and an extra week for the title to come back to me. In light of that, I'm back to my previous plan, and started working on the SRW to make it a good truck for me. I'm gonna start a new thread on this build with some pics now. Thanks guys!

 

95 to 97 is easy. unbolt the old one and slap the new one on.