frame width?
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Senior User
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 106
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frame width?
I know that the 2wd to 4wd conversion is beat to death here, but a searched and could not find what I was looking for. I may have an oppertunity to pick up a 1979 4wd, Im not sure about the body condition (I have not seen it yet) If the body is beyond return. I may want to put my '67 body on the frame. I know this can be done, but the frame got wider in 73. What modifications must be made to compensate fot the extra width. i.e. Cab and body mounts and mount spacing. Thanks for any help and im sorry to drag this subject up again. (We should all just save our pennies and buy 4x4's instead of making Frankinstiens out of our 2wd's) 
Cargo Master
Joined: Aug 2000
Posts: 2,931
Likes: 12
From: SW Michigan
Frames
Ryan, the frame went from 34 to 37 inches wide when the body changed a bit after '72. But some 3/4s and 1 tonners kept the narrow frame. How about using, if you need to, some 1 inch square tubing with the holes drilled to allow the older body to sit nicely on the new frame ? You'd have a built in body lift of 1 inch, but so what ? Think of them as extra crossmembers. DF, @ his Dad's house
Posting Guru
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 1,115
Likes: 1
From: seattle us
The '79 is wider after the engine bay and longer after the cab. The width issue just means new mount points, so that is not as big an issue. The extra length means you either have a gap of about 4" between the cab and the bed, or you move your axle up to center it in the wheel wells and have normal spacing between cab and bed.
