I have an '81 F-250 4x4 regular cab in mechanically good condition but the body is shot. I have access to a '90 F-150 4x4 and I'm wondering if there is any reason that the cab wouldn't fit on my '81 chasis. All of the cab mounts appear to be in the same location, is there anything that I'm overlooking that would make this switch difficult?

 

I doubt that mechanically swapping the sheet metal and mechanical components would pose any huge problem. You might want to spend some time comparing/contrasting the dash and guages. The dash layout changed completely for the '87 model year, as did a lot of electronic functions, i.e., rwal, EFI, etc. How about interior color and coordination; does that matter to you? A couple of favorite tricks of mine when considering swapping things around is to hit a used book store and buy manuals for all years and study them for year by year changes; another is to start looking at parts catalogs and see if they list the same part number for the same function for all years inclusive. Should be doable, good
luck.
Ed

 

Ed,
Thanks for the response, but I think you misunderstood what I had in mind. Color coordination and dash styles are not an issue because my plan is to unbolt the six mounts for the cab and front clip and transfer them in one unit. Asside from reconnecting all of the wiring and linkages my major concern is how it will mount on my '81 frame. According to my measurements it should work. I was just wondering if anyone out there has done a similar switch, and if there is a problem with this plan that I haven't taken into account.