Body swap
Thread Starter
|
2nd Gear
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 2
Likes: 1
Body swap
Hello everyone just looking for some advice and preferably someone who’s done it before I have a 1979 f 350 reg cab long box and I had a 2013 f350 crew cab s/b that I rolled was wondering if it’s possible to put the 79 body on the 13 running gear?
FTE Legend
Joined: Nov 2015
Posts: 30,886
Likes: 4,119
From: Angier, NC
Anything is possible given enough time and money 
I would start with a tape and measure both trucks.
Where do the cab mounts line up?
Center line of the front tire to the fender and cab mounts?
The front of the frame will need reworking as the bumpers are different.
And that is just a quick off the top of my head.
Then you have to take everything computer wise / dash from the 2013 and put it into the 79 cab.
Look into what the CV guys have to do if they run the CV frame / motor / trans, as that is what you are looking to do.
I did a cab off rebuild of my 81 F100 flare side and that took me 4 years and that was just unbolting, clean or replace and bolt it back together.
What you want to do is a LOT OF WORK
Good luck
Dave ----
I would start with a tape and measure both trucks.
Where do the cab mounts line up?
Center line of the front tire to the fender and cab mounts?
The front of the frame will need reworking as the bumpers are different.
And that is just a quick off the top of my head.
Then you have to take everything computer wise / dash from the 2013 and put it into the 79 cab.
Look into what the CV guys have to do if they run the CV frame / motor / trans, as that is what you are looking to do.
I did a cab off rebuild of my 81 F100 flare side and that took me 4 years and that was just unbolting, clean or replace and bolt it back together.
What you want to do is a LOT OF WORK
Good luck
Dave ----
Cargo Master
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 2,215
Likes: 323
From: Central Florida
You'll want to consider the titling issues that arise in your state. The VIN for the '79 will be different than the VIN for the '13 and they will be manifested in different places and in different incompatible ways. Check with your local DMV to see what they require.
Tuned
Joined: Apr 2023
Posts: 363
Likes: 108
i'm not 100% on these numbers but i think the 79 would have a wheel base of 133" and the 13 would have 156.2" so you'd be looking at cutting out 23.2" of frame to make it fit. at minimum, you'll also need to remake cab and bed mounts which i think is best case scenario.
what seems to be the most popular route is to keep the firewall and dash of the new truck and graft that to the old cab so you don't have to worry as much about moving the electronics or trying to modify the 79's firewall to fit.
this sounds like an awesome swap and i hope you do it, but i don't think it's going to be straight forward in the slightest. if you were looking for straight forward, the same wheelbase in the same generation would be the absolute easiest followed by keeping it the same wheelbase between 73 and 97. ford did all sorts of changes with width and shape of the frames in the front but in the rear I think they were all 37" for the bed in those years
what seems to be the most popular route is to keep the firewall and dash of the new truck and graft that to the old cab so you don't have to worry as much about moving the electronics or trying to modify the 79's firewall to fit.
this sounds like an awesome swap and i hope you do it, but i don't think it's going to be straight forward in the slightest. if you were looking for straight forward, the same wheelbase in the same generation would be the absolute easiest followed by keeping it the same wheelbase between 73 and 97. ford did all sorts of changes with width and shape of the frames in the front but in the rear I think they were all 37" for the bed in those years
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
Wraith88
1980 - 1986 Bullnose F100, F150 & Larger F-Series Trucks
5
Aug 20, 2017 03:31 AM
Wrecker
1973 - 1979 F-100 & Larger F-Series Trucks
1
Jun 16, 2004 09:44 PM
