Hi all would a ford f350 1956 body fit onto a 1995 ford E350 frame .I no the front of the frame on the E350 is a bit smaller so to over come this i could make the frame longer.The E350 engine sits a little in the cab.MMMM.What i wanted to do is use the E350 bulk head the panel that all the master cylinder fits on.And fit it to the F350 body.The problem i see is i would have to extend the steering column and the auto shifter.On the E350 how does the gears work on the shifter is it a cable or electric.I would like to find out as much as possible before i buy a Ford E350 dually.The reason for the frame swap is i wanted a diesel and modern running gear ,wheels.Or would i be better with a 1987 ford f350 frame and v8 petrol engine.

 

you can make anything fit on anything with a hot wrench and a big f^(%!^@ hammer . problem is ..... is it really worth all the trouble ?????? look up frame swaps . it's far easier too update what you have ( especially with something like yer old fire truck as it is so odd ) than too shove a 60 plus year old truck on a prepubescent chassis and try to make it work . now if we could only figure out how too make all of us old farts feel younger with a body/chassis swap onto a teeny bopper well ....................

 

I kinda thought we just covered this...

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...5-f100-on.html

 

Hi its not the fire truck to rare to do that.But it is a f350 dually i understand what you are saying use the original frame.But trying to find some nice wheels and have tube less tyres to fit a ford f350 is nil.I also would like to lower it and finding lowering parts to fit a ford f350 nil.

 

If it was a F100 you can buy every part you like. But a F350 nil.

 

No matter what the series, the same rules apply. Old bodies don't fit on newer chassis without a whole lot of cutting and hacking, both on the body and the donor frame. Not that it can't be done, but few have accomplished the task with any degree of success. And what you're proposing by using the van firewall and building the body around it is even more convoluted than most.

 

The van chassis will be a whole lot easier to use then a newer F350 chassis would. The truck chassis has way too much engine set back. The van chassis will be much easier to work with ( once the body is off ) .

If you are building a truck to work then a newer chassis is a good way to go. The newer E350 chassis is going to be stronger then the old F350 frame. Stronger rear axle, suspension, steering, better brakes. Plus like you already know it's much easier finding chassis parts for the newer E350 then it is for the 56 F350.

It's going to require some fabrication/modifications to the firewall, cab floor, cab mounts. And like you mentioned the front frame extension.

I wouldn't try to use the whole van bulk head unless your 56 is a COE ( which it isn't ) . But you could graft the driver side area where the steering and brake parts mount to your 56 firewall. I have a 1996 E250 van sitting in my driveway. It has a shifter cable. But the transmission ( E4OD ) is also computer controlled.

The swap would take a lot of work but it is doable. If it was a F100 I would be right with the rest of the nay sayers! But on the heavier trucks I believe the newer chassis is the way to go. And this is coming from a guy doing a F100 frame swap.

 

i replied to a fella that asked about a different diff for an 49 f4 here today or yesterday . the rear frame and spring perch widths are the same as far as i know for 1/2 too 1 ton if i recall right from 48-72 . so find a newer diff from a late 60's or early 70's 1 ton ford or a 3/4 ton if you prefer and they should bolt right in and you get the newer more common 8 lug and newer brakes . the front is a different story . i know that 67-79 fords of 1/2 too 3/4 ton but don't recall the 1 tons , used the same outer bearing inner diameter enabling you too put the newer rotors on our spindles on my 55 f350 , and 49f4 i had ( in theory don't take it as gospel as i have been known to screw things up ), and these rotors are commonly used in disc swap kits to keep the 5x51/2 bolt pattern on our trucks and the 3/4 ton rotors were using the same bearings giving you an 8 lug rotor up front . . so maybe check the spindle diameters of the f350 and the one ton and see if the spacers for the disc swap kits will fit or can be altered slightly to do it and check around for inner bearings that will work . i had all this info written down in an note book but i'll play hades trying to find it again . i still got it just don't know where . a member on here called oily owl did his own home brewed disc swap kit on a bonus built 3/4 ton using late model parts from the 70's so search for his posts and maybe you can run across it . if i find all the research on the f350 , f4 and f100 bearings and such i did i'll post it but ...... as far as springs if you want better ride lose the overloads and every other leaf front and rear ( lowers and softens it ) or contact a spring shop about new springs . welp i gotta go pretend to be working now so later !!!!!!!

 

It's doable, but it's a lot easier to swap parts over onto the '56 chassis. Everything sits differently between chassis' and lining them up is a major pain. If you do go this route, you want a chassis that's as flat as possible, modern ones tend to drop down in the middle making the bed sit way too high. If this is the truck in your avatar, you might have a whole lot of special issues or things that would make it easier. Most people just reinforce the frame and swap over parts, it's easier than trying to figure out the differences in chassis and were everything (cab, bed, fenders, engine, transmission, axles, driveshafts, wheel base, ect) all fit.

But, people do it, weather it's worth it depends on your build and what you enjoy doing.

 

Early 70's 3/4-1 ton rear diffs are still a weaker diff then a 90's rear diff.

The 3/4- 1 ton disc brake parts aren't any where near as simple to swap over.

And you are still left with 50's steering and springs.


A van chassis doesn't have as severe of a drop in the center as the truck chassis does. Vans have a flat floor.

His avatar appears to be a 55 not a 56 and he already said it wasn't the firetruck.

Swapping parts over to the original chassis can have just as many issues. Both ways have their own set of Pro's & Con's.

If I wanted to build a heavier truck to do a lot of driving( especially long distances ) , hauling and/or towing. I personally would go with a newer chassis.

But swapping the chassis also requires knowing your state laws. Because you will need to keep it legal as far as the titles go.

 

Oh he did say that, I missed the second post, lol...

 

The biggest problems are:

Stock track width - 61"
Van track width - 70"

It's hard enough to keep a 65" track width under the fenders let alone have it 4" wider yet.

Stock frame width - 34"
Van frame width - 37.5"

This pretty much means nothing will match up and heavy notching of the body will be required.

Having done a frame swap, I really don't recommend it as there are many compromises to be made for it to work. I'm going to be building a new frame from scratch with the suspension I want.

1 ton brake systems are actually quite interchangeable from 1967-94 (front) and 1967-present (rear). 90's rear axles aren't really stronger than the old ones. The Dana 70B's in the 1967-1979 F-350 are better than the 70U's in the mid 80's and 90's E-350 because of the bigger pinion bearings. The Dana 70HD wasn't terribly common in Fords. All the Dana axles are rated at 7500-10000 lbs weight capacity compared to the Sterling 10.25 at 6250. A Sterling axle hasn't been made in a DRW configuration since 1998. 1999+ DRW F-350s are all Dana 80s. Vans are DRW Dana 70 or 80.

 

I have built many 56's on late model frames and the amount of work involved is incredible.A frame swap is doable but not for the faint of heart. A 1956 F series does not play nicely with an E series because the engine placement it too far back in relation with the centerline of the front wheel.

 

How about a 1987 ish ford F350 frame thanks

 

This is exactly what I want to know as well! I have a 1956 F350 with flat bed that I would like to fix up to use on our ranch and maybe use to tow a few trailers. But without front disc brakes it is not usable for this purpose. There are no disc brake conversions available for the F350's, so I have been doing some research and have found a donor truck in a 1987 F350 dually cab and chassis with a carbureted 460 with auto trans AND it's a 4 wheel drive to boot! The 4X4 makes it VERY usable for our ranch and I think gives it more resale value.

The donor truck still runs good, the trans is good, new radiator, it has nice aluminum wheels and good tires, and no accidents. And I can get it for just $1000.

I am looking for ANYBODY that can give me an idea of what all this swap will entail and if there is any shop that specializes in this kind of thing where I can go for help? What I read here is a lot folks chiming in without fully reading the question and they get off track. There is little help for owners of an F350 verses the very popular F100.

From what I can see so far is the 1956 cab should fit on the frame using the old mounting brackets from the original frame. Just reposition them on the 1987 frame. It is mounting the fenders and radiator support and maybe recessing the firewall for the engine that I need to figure out. I am not looking to make a low riding truck, after all this is an F350 4X4 that I am looking to create. So I don't see the need to start channeling the cab or start chopping things up.

Any help would very appreciated!