Hi everyone:

I'm looking at the possibility of putting the front end bodywork (cab/fenders/hood/grill, etc...) from a 92 F-250 (9th generation) onto a '88 F-350 (eight generation.) Should everything pretty much bolt up? They are both regular cabs for a manual transmission. The F-350 is a Super-duty dually and the F-250 is the light-duty version, for what it's worth....

Did a quick search and couldn't find the answer. Thanks.

Craig

 

short answer is yes , some of the others will post up i am sure

 

yes its an easy swap. i did it on an 88, i put a 95 front end on

 

The most difficult thing will be the cab.
the wiring harnesses have different entry and exit points

 

yes. i just talked to somebody on the phone today talking about some 87 f150 parts and the person before him had put a front clip from a 92-96 ford on it.

 

Thanks guys.

The 88 is a diesel and the 92 is a 300-6. I'm guessing the wiring would be the biggest headache. Between yesterday and today, it's not looking good that I'll be getting the 88 after all...

 

Don't forget about the legal aspect of this- the newer cab has a different VIN than your old cab, you may want to check w/ your State Police to see how to go about this legally.

 

swap the VIN numbers on the cabs and keep driving...

 

Just don't mung up the rivit heads on the tag........

 

just drill the tag rivets out and use new rivets to put it back on the cab ur using and scratch them up and throw some dirt over the top... no one will ever care or know...

just remember to take any door jam stickers off!

 

just my 2 cents but dont play with the rivits, if you look at them they are a special rivit, from a legal standpoint, a cop has to put the new rivits on, along with alot of other paperwork. if you are set on your tags when you have the dash off drill the spot welds in the windshield bed and section the old / new piece in that way. by rights the only people that look at the numbers is your insurance company (when you do a windshield or insurance claim) or the cops then you have a accident. ithor way keep pictures and bulls of sale and or transfer papers for both rigs to keep youself covered.

 

It's easy to do cab swaps LEGALLY. I may do one on mine and spoke to a DMV License & Theft Inspector just yesterday. Fudging with motor vehicle VINs is a Federal Offense and can get you into more trouble than your truck is worth. In NC it's simply a paperwork thing, one page, with verification by an Inspector and on same year trucks they merge the VIN, title shows the frame number. Different year trucks they issue a new VIN.

Do it right, sleep at night. (and not with Bubba)


Federal Sentencing Guidelines
MOTOR VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBERS

§2B6.1. Altering or Removing Motor Vehicle Identification Numbers, or Trafficking in Motor Vehicles or Parts with Altered or Obliterated Identification Numbers

(a) Base Offense Level: 8 (0-6 months imprisonment)

(b) Specific Offense Characteristics

(1) If the retail value of the motor vehicles or parts (A) exceeded $2,000 but did not exceed $5,000, increase by 1 level; or (B) exceeded $5,000, increase by the number of levels from the table in §2B1.1 (Theft, Property Destruction, and Fraud) corresponding to that amount. (4-10 months imprisonment)

(2) If the defendant was in the business of receiving and selling stolen property, increase by 2 levels. (6-12 months imprisonment)

(3) If the offense involved an organized scheme to steal vehicles or vehicle parts, or to receive stolen vehicles or vehicle parts, and the offense level as determined above is less than level 14, increase to level 14. (15-21 months imprisonment)

 

Bingo,

I did side jobs with my friend who does auto glass. He had to pull a windshield for that reason for the cops. The rivits were NOT the special kind and when the punk got pulled over the cop noticed that right away. As it was a new car, the cops checked it. A 20 year old beat up truck, I doubt they will worry.

 

All that is pretty easy to say when it's not your butt that will belong to Bubba!

It's easy to do it right, why worry?

 

I only brought this up because 25 years ago I had purchased a '70 Chevy 4x4, when I went to get it inspected for license plates, the VIN number stamped into the chassis didn't match the one in the cab. The inspector called the state police whom came over to my house with a bunch of questions to ask...

It turned out that the person I purchased it from had swapped out the cabs ( didn't tell me about it) The carcass of the truck that provided the cab was still in the guys yard and the rotted out cab was in a scrap metal pile.The freeking SP had to truck for about 3 weeks before they issued a new VIN plate for the truck and slapped a "reconstruction" title on it, making it just about impossible to resell if I ever wanted to.

Maybe the laws aren't as tough where you live and no one would bat an eye at swapping the cabs, it's just something to think about.