My 95 is suffering from the classic drip rail rot as it lived by the sea for too many years. The roof has a number of actual holes in it and I think water's run down inside the B and C pillars on a number of occasions. I was thinking of just chopping the roof off a junkyard truck, but now I've found someone offering me a complete 97 cab for cheap (that didn't live by the ocean). I have a few questions, though.

1. How much more of a pain is it to swap a crew cab versus an extended or regular cab?

2. Will the aftermarket polyurethane cab mount kits work for the crew cab (since I have it off anyway, might as well replace them) or will I have to buy additional parts?

3. As the cab I am getting has some pretty beat up front doors, I plan to reuse my existing doors. I am also thinking about swapping out the entire dashboard as my original would be in better condition. Am I right in remembering that the VIN tag is attached to the dashboard itself and not to the firewall on this truck? (I'm going to call my state DMV and ask what the procedure is legally, I'm just wanting to know technically what the windshield-display VIN is attached to.)

4. Is there any difference between the 95 and 97 crew cabs I should know about?

Thanks for any assistance.

 

I've only done cab swaps on trucks that were identical (same year, engine/trans configs ect) so I don't know year differences but I'd expect that 97 and 95 will be the same. I'm fairly certain that the DMV will have some paperwork for you to fill out. If you don't go through them it'll be a big illegal mess I'm sure. If I remember right, they will assign you a new VIN or something.

 

Well, as it turns out, that's not going to happen - Texas considers the cab to be 'the truck' and I'd have to register (and pay tax, and go through all the paperwork again) with that VIN number. Oh well. Back to the chopped roof idea.

 

You could do a builders titla its,a pita but it would be better than,chopping your roof trust me. What,part of texas are you from?

 

I'm in the DFW area. I have a friend that runs a body shop that has done a few of these who is giving me a not bad price to do the job. My welding skills are emphatically not up to the task.

 

My whole family lives up there .jm y uncle owns a hot shot buisness he.lives in redoak its between waxahatchie and desoto

 

Well, if the other cab wasn't a diesel, you'd be up for a whole lot of rewiring. The harness is very different and a gas truck doesn't really plug right into your diesel harness.

As far as registering a new truck and "paperwork" I don't see how its a big deal. Tell the guy to write you a receipt for 100$ and pay the tax on it. Or does your tax come from a depreciated value from dealer price when new.
Swapping a roof sucks, but not too bad. Easier/harder than rewiring sometimes.
Have fun.

 

Or the simplest thing to do would be to put YOUR vin tag in the "new" cab and don't tell anybody anything. DONE


There is no more work to swap a crewcab vs any other cab. Same amount of bolts and same amount of plugs. Just weighs more.

The poly cab mounts are the same from 80-97 and they are the same no matter what cab you have(4) cab mount and (2) rad support mounts

Just unbolt the dash and harness and transfer to the "new" cab

No difference between a 95 and 97

 

The other truck was a diesel. Our tax isn't on actual amount paid but Standard Presumptive Value, aka something like Blue Book.