Hello all,

Normally I spend my time in the newer F150 and 250 forums, but I have a question about 2 F150 trucks that my father in law has, neither one are in driveable condition at the moment. Both F150's are long box standard cab 4x4 trucks with dual tanks and both have a 5.0l and a 8.8 rear.

Here's the problem.

One of the F150's is a '95 automatic (e4OD I thinks) and was in a roll over accident all body parts with the exception of the box are ruined to the point of no return. The whole drive train is in execellent working condition, and has about 50,000 miles on the truck. One of the gas tanks took a fence post so that needs to be replaced. The only thing that survived in the cab was the instrument cluster, all dash componets and seats have been stripped and are no longer available.

The other F150 is a '89 and it has a 5spd tranny (not sure if it's a M5OD), but the motor is toast, but it does have enough parts to salvage off of. All body parts on this truck are in great shape, including the cab, however it is missing the box. The gas tanks are in working condition.

Here's the questions:

Will the cab and front clip and all other body parts from the '89 F150 fit on the '95 frame?

What kind of wiring night mare would we be looking at to get the '89 instrument cluster to read off of the '95 computer? How would one go about getting the cab heating and cooling sytems to interface?

 

Hmmm, must not be a common swap....

Looks like I'd be forging new ground.

 

The 89 speedometer uses a mechanical cable, whereas the 95 cluster uses an electrical signal. Maybe you can integrate the 95 cluster into the 89 cab.

 

I'm fixing to help a friend put a 91 F250 5.8L zf cab on a 94 F250 5.8L zf chassis so I can't answer those questions yet but I can in the near future.......

 

Keep all of the mechanical devices from the 95 setup in the truck, but swap out everything else. They should both fit, but they're different styles.

Ryan

 

Unfortunatley the '95 cab is pretty much stripped with the exception of the instrument cluster, brake pedals, and bare steering column.

The '89 cab has every thing that it came with from the factory. I'm pretty sure that I could retrofit the heating/cooling system to work with the '95 truck. It'd be nice if the truck could have AC, but I don't think that it would be necessary.

Any one know for sure if the all of the body parts from a '89 will bolt directly onto the '95 with little fabrication?

It almost looks like it would be a drop in operation.

 

Crash parts catalogs list the radiator support as being different. As long as you change it out also you should be good to go. That's also what I've heard before. Radiator support used needs to be the same front end style as the fenders/hood, etc.
Too bad we're so far apart or we could swap cabs like for like.......

 

The body parts will swap without too much trouble, assuming both trucks are the same wheelbase. Hopefully you know that a shortbed won't fit on a longbed frame.

If you want one working truck, take the 95 motor out and put it in the 89. Or is there not enough left of the 89 to make it decent?

If you want to get the 95 going again with 89 parts, then it's just a matter of swapping all the body components. Make sure the computer stays with the engine. I would stick with the gauges in the 89, but I'm not sure if the 95 tranny will have the output for the mechanical speedo. I would check that for sure before doing anything.

One last thing to keep in mind is that the firing order changed for the 302 in about 92 or 93.

 

Yes, they are both the exact wheel base and configuration down to the tire size. The difference is that the '89 is a manual, and the '95 is a auto.

The 89' motor and the manual tranny is questionable at best. All body parts are in great shape with out rust or dents, every thing is straight and true.

The funny thing is that the '89 has a VSS plug on the differential, are you guys really sure that the '89 had a speedo cable?

The only thing that is keeping the '95 from being driveable is that it's missing a bunch of the front body panels and hood. The cab has a really "raked" look to it. Hopefully I can post some pictures tomorrow.

I did pull the '95 home (about 5 mi or so @35) with my '04 with nothing more than a chain and the help of my father in law.

The '95 has every thing it needs to run, with the exception of a cab, fenders, and front supports. This is why we'd like to put the '89 cab and front end on the '95 frame.

 

The '89 had a sensor in the rearend for the RABS control and used a mechanical shaft at the tranny for the speedo which has a pick-up there for the VSS.

 

Wheres Fredric when ya need him!? I know he could throw a 95 cluster into an 89 cab with NO problems!

 

Just ran into a friend that put a 90 front end on a 94 F350.There's a bumper issue too. The 87-91 front end is flatter than the more rounded 92-96. He used the 94 bumper and it doesn't look right, said the 87-91 bumper wouldn't fit the frame horns. He said the frame horns could be altered to make it fit but he didn't go to that trouble for a trash hauler. Just be aware.....

 

ncranchero, We put a 92-96 front end onto a 90 model year truck. It was difficult, and we had to make a few modifications, but it's on there, and looks very nice. So I know its possible to put the 92-96 front end on an 87-91, but not sure about the opposite way.