Hey guys I am new to the forum, but I have seen replys that tell me I am in the right place. nice to meet you all I am James.

onto my question...

I have a 1994 Ford F700 box truck, the box is off, and I want to swap the cab with a f350 crew cab model years between 94 and 96 is this plausible? they are the same right except for the two extra doors.


this project has ballooned, any way I would like to also shorten the frame it is a 26 foot box truck, to a modest length and add an 8ft drw box, My idea is to unbolt the rear axle and move it forward to the desired frame length and to match (center) the box wheel well, this way the frame is not cut in the middle weakening it. does this sound far fetched also??

the engine is I believe a 5.9L cummins and is fine, the axles are excellent, and the frame is stought, I just want to cut off excess frame after box installation creating a f700 pick up, and beating the 81,000$ price tag

 

welcome to fte

sounds like an awesome project. definitely will have to keep up updated. i thought the f700 was a whole different beast and the cab wouldn't fit. but...you owning the 700, if the front of the cab looks the same at the 94-96's i would think this swap would be possible.

i just looked at a pic....cab could be the same, just a different hood/front end.

hang in there, someone will give you a concrete answer. (pics would be a plus)

 

Mounting the 87-96 F150/250/350/450 cab on that frame will require some fabrication, but if you're considering shortening the F700 frame yourself this should be quite doable.

You need to fabricate six mounting pads for the cab - two for the radiator support and four for the cab itself. Plus the six for the bed, if you're going to bolt it down rather than creating a dumping bed which you might consider since the F700 is a serious piece of hardware in it's foundation. That's personal choice of course.

You will have some interesting wiring/adaption to do in the F350 dashboard because the cluster is designed for Ford EFI sensors but again, if you can fabricate you can make your own "cluster" out of a panel of VDO gauges that work on the F700's engine and other parts. A little time consuming but again, not a big deal if you can fabricate.

Lay the cab, fully assembled with it's nose, onto your F700 frame with wooden spacers until you get the alignment and height correct whereas it's straight and not leaning, and clears the front wheels with any articulation the F700's front end offers. Then, you'll know where your new frame ears need to be as well as the height of the body mounts between the ears and the cab. You may have to use 3" lift kit spacers on top of the factory F350 mounts to get enough clearance for the F700's larger tires, or you can fabricate your ears differently to compensate, or make your own body lift kit, or whatever.

I've extended and shortened frames before (trucks, and cars) and it's a matter of measuring 52 times to be absolutely sure the metalwork is in the right place.

Cool project, I hope you share progress photos and write ups as I'm sure many, like myself, would be very interested.

 

As retentive as I am I will be meticulous if not second guesing myself, however at my expense fabrication is not my specialty, big imagination is ...it would seem...

I figured I would need some type of spacers between the cab and the bed which would give it just a bit more height too, however the radiator brackets you mentioned confused me a little?

once the cab is situated on the frame it is my intention to keep the flip front cowl and utilize it, keeping the front of the f700 original and adapting it to fit the crew cab addition.

I haven't as of yet started the behemoth but it is in the planning stage and I am making sure it is possible. it sounds so, so I will putter on, as for pictures you bet!! as soon as I can get some on this old computer I will get them posted.



back to one of my questions though? is moving th rear axle forward plausible?
I may have misread your replies, and missed it entirely if so overlook the question as it was repeated.


and thank you for your replies.

James

 

Nothing wrong with big dreams. Buying a welder and practicing diligently is by far cheaper than farming this kind of work out left and right.

The radiator "core" is a piece of fancy stamped sheet metal:


The radiator, headlight assemblies, grille, turn signals, hood latch and fenders attach to this structural piece, and on the bottom are two large holes for the bolts to go through that and the body mounts, to the frame.

OOOoOOOOoh. I see. I thought you were grafting a complete F350 cab/nose/bed onto an F700 frame. Okay, what you're doing is a bit different and may or may not have some required "fiddling" to make it all fit together.

Personally, I'd use a complete F150/250/350/450 cab and nose because at least you're assured that the body lines can fit together if you get the mounts/spacers correct.

Anything is possible with the appropriate amount of time, money, and skills

I'm not really verse in F700's frame and suspension, but my understanding it's really just a massive pair of C-Channel with some equally massive leaf springs. If that's the case, moving the rear forward is just a matter of moving the spring perches to where you want them and shortening the driveshaft.

If the frame is straight rather than "formed" like the smaller trucks, shortening and lengthening it much easier because there aren't any curves or width variations in the way of making lining things up difficult.

Many years ago a friend of mine involved me in his turbo diesel F350 w/bronco body project, and shortening that frame was a pain because of this. The end result was very nice but we cut wrong TWICE even though we measured 52 times like I suggested. We ended up adding some metal to fill in the gaps on one side, then boxed the frame here and there for off-roading strength, since we added an 8" suspension lift at the same time - he intended to pound it in the mud once completed. We used an F350 frame because it and the suspension were certainly well suited for the much heavier powerstroke diesel as it was an option and came with the donor truck. While one can shove a diesel into a Bronco on the Bronco chassis (U150), it's not designed for it and we felt reworking that frame to survive serious off-roading with a 1200lb engine out front was more work than chopping the frame which dispite our several mistakes and necessary reworking, still was the case.

So, what does an F700 look like, frame/suspension wise. I can offer more sound advice if I can see what you're starting with.

 

It is straight no doubt no dips, I have a pdf file, here it should be straight forward ss far as design take a look.



thanks again for your help
https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/1997/f4_ps.pdf

https://www.fleet.ford.com/truckbbas/non-html/1997/f2_ps.pdf