I have a question for those who have done a frame/body swap.

I currently have a 66 CS with a 352 and T18. I want to add PB,PS,and a c6.

I purchased a 72 CS that has everything but the motor. (Originally a 390)

Is it more advantageous to swap the components from the 72 to the 66, or would there be less fitting if I put the 66 body and motor on the 72 frame?

Any info from the experienced would be greatly appreciated..

 

The body and engine will bolt right on the the 72 frame and maybe the easyest way to go about this. That is as long as the title is clear, here in Oregon the title goes with the frame, not the body. You will need the steering column out of the 72 also.

 

Allen addressed the legal concern. If you have a place (overhead) to lift the cab and front clip together, that could prove to be a path of least resistance.

There a 6 mount points holding the cab and front clip + the steering column. Do not separate the clip from the cab or you would be better to move the axles under. IMHO


John

 

OK..The body to frame part sounds pretty cut and dried..
However you have my attention on not removing the front clip.

I was going to completely dissasemble and paint..

What do I need to know abot moving the clip and cab as 1 unit?

 

Take all the wiring and hoses loose from the body that attach to the engine, pull the radiator. Disconnect the gas line under the cab. Pull the master clyinder off the cab and let hang on the engine. Remve the 6 bolts, twe at the radiator core support and the four under the cab, front cab mounts, you need to open the small panels on the front of the cab to get to the bolt heads. disconect the steering column at the rag jount above the steering box. Then sling the cab and front clip, I did mine from a tree with a big limb that I could get the truck under and lift the body up and roll the frame work out from under.

 

Everything that you remove like doors, fenders, etc. have to be re-aligned when re-attached.


John

 

Buy a set of new rubber mounts for the cab and core support, Carpenter has them as will others. Be sure the wheelbase is the same or you could find an awkward looking gap between the cab and bed. I'd get the frame ready, cleaned, painted, inspected for damage or cracks. Replace the rubber parts on the I-Beams and radius arms and maybe the spring eye rubber. Sand blasting is an easy way to clean 30+ years of crud and will help with the inspection. Moving the sheet metal isn't a big deal but you will need a way to lift the cab and if you leave the fenders attached lifting may be somewhat cumbersom. Cuting torch will quickly remove the core support and cab mount bolts as these should be replaced anyway. Pretty much a no big deal swap!

 

It seams to me the 67-72 have a slightly longer wheel base if you have a long wheel base truck which I assume the OP has as he has a Camper special truck. I think the 65 LWB is 129 and the 67-72 LWB were 131.

The frames would be the same so that part of the swap would be pretty straight forward.

I personaly did the swap of commponents that the OP is looking to put on. The engine will need to be pulled in order to swap the transmission as there is not enough room between the cross member right below the engine bellhousing and the cab to get the C6 installed. You should use the left hand engine perch off of the 72 as it is bent slighty different to clear the much larger power steering gear box but I was not aware of that part of the swap and I used my 65 Perch and it did work but was a pain to get the bolts started. IMOH the transmission swap will take the longest as the engine needs to come out. Since the OP purchased a doner pickup he will have all the parts he needs to complete the swap, like the steering column, transmission cross member, drive shafts ect...... I did my automatic swap in a weekend by the time I got all the parts installed, and made cooler lines and got the linkage adjusted and so on.

The power steering will take a few hours to complete so that is a quick easy job. All that is required there is the gear box which has three bolts, the pump and mounting braket and the engine pulleys to drive the pump.

My 72 3/4 ton camper special had disk brakes but I think those were optional. A disk brake swap takes about a full weekend by the time you swap the axles, and all the brake components. If the OP new truck has drum brakes then the swap would take much less time, but I dont know the time as I have never completed that swap.

There are less bolts and parts to remove if you swap the body's but that would require a lot of space and some big tools to lift the body. If you swap the pieces all you will need is a space to work and a cherry picker and basic hand tools. You can also swap the parts out over time as you get time and still be able to use the truck between parts swaps. Just my thoughts on it.

 

Bigblock wrote: The engine will need to be pulled in order to swap the transmission as there is not enough room between the cross member right below the engine bellhousing and the cab to get the C6 installed.

That there is not enough room is correct, but there is an easier solution. If the truck came from the factory with an automatic transmission, the secondary crossmember will be bolted to the frame and bolted to the radius arm supports.
If originally a manual, it will be bolted to the frame, but riveted to the radius arm supports.
The easier answer is to grind off the rivet heads, and punch them through. Remove the upper bolts, and the crossmember will come out, giving enough room to properly install an automatic transmission. Replace the rivets with grade 8 bolts, and you are back on the road.
WARNING: DO NOT delete the cross member, as it provides stiffness and stability for the I-beam suspension where it is supported by the frame.

 

You are correct that the cross member can be removed by getting rid of the rivets. When I had to drop my failed transmission a few months ago I got tired of pulling the engine, plus I had no extra room to store the engine inside so I decided to go this route by cutting the rivits out and bolting the cross member back in. I used a plasma cutter to cut the rivets as it is a lot quicker than grinding them off. At least on my 65, none were bolted, they were riveted to radious arm mounts and to the frame rail. The top ones were a ROYAL PITA as there was very little room to get in there. Once they were cut punching them out was another challange becusae of the limited room. The bottom ones were a piece of cake.

With all of that being said, by myself I can pull the grill and core support, drain the coolant and un-hook eveything for the engine and transmission and as one assembly have the engine and transmission sitting in my garage in about 3 1/2 hours. About the same time to install the engine and transmission back into the pickup and have it running again. Granted I have removed my engine 10 or more times over the years that I have had my pickup for one reason or another and work as a dealer tech on Farm Equipment for 7 so if someone has never removed those parts it might thak them a little longer.

Now for my cross member story, it took me 8 hours to cut the cross member out and have just the transmission sitting on the ground and it took about that long to get it back in and get the cross member in. Needless to say by the time I relized I made a mistake it was too late and I had to continue forward. I might have just had a bad experiance compared to other people, but I do not recommend anyone else trying that swap. Once you have the engine out sure go a head and replace the rivets with bolts and in the future drop it out the bottom but it is not fun cutting them while the engine is still in there. you will also need a long jack to spread the frame rails back out enough to get the cross member back in, I happen to have a porta-power from my wrenching days so that came in very handy for that. Just my 2 cents.

Jeff

 

Thanks for the detailed info on this project..It's great to have access to a forum with such detail and enthusiasm..

Unfortunately I do not have a big tree, or a tall garage ceiling..

My thoughts were to separate the bed and cab, support them on heavy duty jacks with a 4x4, and roll the frame out from under the sheet metal..

Anyone up for a work out?..hehehe

 

Actually you'd be surprised at how light (relatively speaking) a gutted cab is. The box is another story...

 

None of the sheetmetal is very heavy. How ever you jack it up and support it should be ok. I might think about slipping the bed off the back and standing it up on it's end. I have done this several times with out any damage.

Of course you wouldn't want to do that with a fresh $5,000.00 paint job....but.


Why don't you list where you are? There could be others close by that would be willing to help. just a thought


John

 

Thanks for the location tip..
Got it now..

 

It is good to meet another Pacific Northwest FTE member as I am just slightly west of you in Hillsboro. CS65 is just north of you in Oylimpia and I know several other members close by in the Portland area as we had a summer get-together at the coast. We plan to try another get-together after the new year so hopefully you will be able to come out!

Jeff