My body swap complete
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My body swap complete
Just thought i would post an update to my project. I first posted about this months ago, but since then i have finished. Thought yall might be interested.
I had a 1970 F-100, 240I6, auto trans, 2wd
The owner had done a decent job restoring the body, fixed patches with metal, good enough to look good at 20ft. Unfortunately he hadn't touched the chassis, the worn out drive drain, or suspension. I couldn't even get the front drums off to change the brakes.
Then a friend of mine came across a 1976 F-250, 360, 4speed, 4x4
he paid $70 for a truck that had sat for 3 years while the owner was oversees (Air Force). The body was ratty. holes, no interior, worn out. the owner and my friend thought it wouldn't run. After trading a very worn 302V8 for the truck I spent a couple hours doing a good tune up and had it running. The chassis looked good, clutch felt good, and engine didn't smoke. You can see where this is going......body swap
Luckily by being in the Air Force (Offutt AFB) I have full access to an auto shop with frame lifts etc. Over the course of a few weeks I removed both bodys, put the 70 body on the 76 chassis, and ditched the rest of the parts the I couldn't find a use for. I used the wiring harness from the 1970, and just redid the engine wiring as a separate system.
Everything has been working fine and this truck has been a good, reliable, daily driver, even in NE. Little by little I'm redoing the drivetrain and suspension parts, but everything is currently workable. One thing i would like to do is reinstall a automatic tranny with OD. If anyone is interested I'll post some pics. After having this truck I don't want any other.
Brian
I had a 1970 F-100, 240I6, auto trans, 2wd
The owner had done a decent job restoring the body, fixed patches with metal, good enough to look good at 20ft. Unfortunately he hadn't touched the chassis, the worn out drive drain, or suspension. I couldn't even get the front drums off to change the brakes.
Then a friend of mine came across a 1976 F-250, 360, 4speed, 4x4
he paid $70 for a truck that had sat for 3 years while the owner was oversees (Air Force). The body was ratty. holes, no interior, worn out. the owner and my friend thought it wouldn't run. After trading a very worn 302V8 for the truck I spent a couple hours doing a good tune up and had it running. The chassis looked good, clutch felt good, and engine didn't smoke. You can see where this is going......body swap
Luckily by being in the Air Force (Offutt AFB) I have full access to an auto shop with frame lifts etc. Over the course of a few weeks I removed both bodys, put the 70 body on the 76 chassis, and ditched the rest of the parts the I couldn't find a use for. I used the wiring harness from the 1970, and just redid the engine wiring as a separate system.
Everything has been working fine and this truck has been a good, reliable, daily driver, even in NE. Little by little I'm redoing the drivetrain and suspension parts, but everything is currently workable. One thing i would like to do is reinstall a automatic tranny with OD. If anyone is interested I'll post some pics. After having this truck I don't want any other.
Brian
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Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 97,596
Likes: 2,008
From: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Nice to hear of a success story. A friend put a 68 shortbox body on a 78 4X4 frame and didn`t seem like he ran into too many problems. A few small ones with the wiring for the gauges and other wiring but that was about it. Looking forward to some picutures when you get the time. 
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