Has anyone swapped an early 80s cab and front fenders on a 73 to 79 F series truck? I have a 79 F-350 with wrecker body. My cab is totally rotted with rust. I have an 81 F-100 with manual transmission and floor shift. The 81 truck cab is in great shape. The AC compressor and alt are the same as my 79. I measured the cab mount locations and they are all different between the 2 trucks. I know I will have to adapt the steering shaft.
Does anyone have any expierence with this swap?

 

No, but a friend of mine put a '56 Ford F-100 body on a '79 Ford F-100 chassis, so anything can be done with a torch and a welder.

 

I know I can do the swap. I am just looking for pointers from someone who has allready done it. I don't want my wrecker to be down more than a day or 2.

 

A 'day or two' for a cab swap??? Dang, you're good! Even with the same year truck, that is an undertaking...
Lotsa buds, lotsa beers, I guess! lol (or take it to Overhaulin)

Mark

 

I'm in the process of buying a 1974 rollback, and I'd love to bolt on a early 90's cab. While I love the looks of the 73 - 79 trucks, they just don't look "modern" enough for commercial work.

James, if you make it back here, email me please.

 

...Welcome to Ford Truck Enthusiasts!

See you on the boards. ….

 

The frames are different widths between the 2 trucks, I am sure it could be done, but it wont be easy.

 

one other thing to consider besides the cab mounts is the clutch linkage, is the 81 manual or hydraulic? I thought Ford switched to hydraulic clutches after 79, could be wrong though....speedo cable differences, radiator support is way different, good luck I wouldn't do it too many differences between the two IMO....

 

I'm sure the 80's frames are the same as the 79.

Pre 77 1/2's were narrower.

 

I am not sure about the 80 to 86 frame but the 87 and up are wider at the front by 5 inches, I know this because I put a 79 front axle under an 88 IFS 4x4 and had to make adapters to fit on the axle 2 1/2 inches wider on each side and yes I realize he is talking about a 81 cab but I would think that when they switched to IFS in 80 they used the same beams on up through the twin beam IFS years but as has happened many times I could be wrong again,,,lol,,,Neil

 

I actually should have referenced 80-86 instead of leaving it as 80's.

I'll have to check out some manuals

 

The 81 truck I have has mechanical clutch linkage. The biggest problem I see with the frame width is the radiator. The 80 and newer radiator will not fit between the frame rails of my 79. I will use the 79 back radiator. I am thinking about splicing the bottom half of a 78 core support to the 81 core support. That will give me front mounts in the right place and mounting for my radiator. The front cab mounts are similar but a few inches off. The rear cab mounts are on a crossmember. The 81 truck uses the same Duraspark II ignition and same type AC compressor as my 79. Will use 79 master cyl on 81 brake booster.

 

sounds like you have it all figured out,,,I wish you luck and hope it all works out without too much fab work...Neil

 

Even the newer trucks with the hydraulic clutch linkage still use the same transmission, so hookup should not be a problem. I'm guessing the slave cylinder hooks to the bellhousing bolts, and might need adaptation for FE engines (What I have, of course). 351 / 400 engines would use a bracket from a 460. Small blocks would be the same for either generation of truck.

I'd love to hear from anyone that has done the swap from 70's to 80's.

 

I'll start by saying that I don't recommend this, but a friend of mind put a 80-86 supercab on a 79 supercab 4x4 chassis about 5 years ago. Ironically, I passed the truck today on the road, so obviously all is still working. As I recall, he kept the 80-86 crossmember at the rear cab mounts and monted it above (on top of)the 79 frame and then he fabricated front mounts to adjust the locations and also modified the core support mounts to work. The way he did it essentially created a body lift. I don't know why he felt he needed to lift it, but it wasn't to fit bigger tires or for cosmetics, so it must have been a clearance issue of some sort (tranny, core support, etc. He's a good welder and fabricator, but I still think this was too radical of a change out to be considered safe, but then again, I'm often too conservative but like I said, it's still on the road 5 years later. As I'm sure you know, it takes a crash to find out if such a fabrication project proved the test, not just running down the road. Hope this helps, good luck with your project.


I don't know if he used an electric fan due to the fan / radiator alignement or if he used the 70's or 80's radiator. I know he had to fab a steering shaft. Early 80's wiring should plug right into the duraspark system on your motor.