I was talking with my dad earlier today about my truck in general and where I wanted the project to go and the subject came up about putting a V10 in it and the work involved with computers and all. Then we started joking around about how it would be easier to just switch the body from the old truck onto a newer chassis and call it a day.

Of course after a few minutes it became not a joke at all but a quest to find out if it is possible. Has this ever been done or would it even be possible? I realize it would be a ton of work but I think it would be a cool project to take on some time in the future.

discuss...

 

Anything is possible if you have the want and knowhow. I don't know the difference in wheelbases in the sd trucks and the older ones but it would be easier to put the body on the newer chassis. You'd be sure you would have to move the firewall. I'd rather have a diesel but a v10 could be kind of cool. Lots of electrical to deal with. That would be my enemy.

 

I remember this being discussed before, i don't recall if anyone on the forum has actually done it though, i see no reason why it couldn't be done with enough time, money, ingenuity and excellent fabrication skills, i think it would make for an interesting project.

 

The most difficult part of any swap like this is the mechanical and electrical differences between the two vehicles. IF you are a savy fabricator, this can be an easy thing to do.
This does not make any paty of this easy. Swapping bodies still requires an electricl integration that can be tough.
One truck may have a suspension design that creates an advantage over the other so keep this in mind. This is especially true for 4wd's of these two eras.

In the event that a newer engine and trans combo is required, this still requires similar labor and effort in order to integrate everything.

When I preformed a similar fuel injection and overdrive transmission upgrade, I removed the entire wiring harness, computer, fuse box,,,,,everything, I mean everything, right down to the accessory 12VDC power supplies.
Not everything has to be used, but by using everything in the wiring harness there is no chance for errors, nor is there any guess work.
There is still a matter of integration, and this requires one to be creative. Small items like indicating light differences and gauges can be interesting, but not impossible. Besides, this would have to be done regardless of whether or not you decide to swap cabs or not.
When I upgraded my electrical and perfromed this similar swap, I used everything from the headlight sockets to the tailight sockets, including the trailer wiring. This made trailer brake integration a simple plug in procedure.
Since all wiring harness are routed similarly, installing even a current super duty harness is easy to do. Often just a larger hole in the firewall is all that is necessary.
By using the harness that was originally used with the engine and drivetrain combo makes everything a plug and play type deal and does not require fabrication like a cab swap would uses.

Interestingly enough the frames are fairly similar, but if you recall, frames got a bit wider in 1980, so cab mounts will have to be created.
Much easier to use only the later model harness in the earlier truck than anything else.

Swap the entire harness, and you can upgrade your entire electrical system.
New style flashers, brighter headlights, 4 speaker stereo wiring, OBDII in some cases are all benifits to simply using the entire harness along with your engine upgrade.

 

electrical would definitely be a headache. Why would I need to relocate the firewall? I was thinking all electrical would come from the newer truck. the older truck as I see it would only donate the cab/ bed/ and front end. so I can see having to make new brackets to mount all of that. The truck I have now is a 75, I was not sure what year I was thinking for the doner vehicle. How much wider did the frames get and in what years if you have the info handy? would it look too funky or require me to lengthen any of the body panels?

 

Don't forget that you have the resources of the newer truck forums on here too...

Those guys probably know all their stuff by heart, just as we know ours.

At the very least they could give you some numbers to chew on and contemplate the first stage of this idea...

 

I don't think there is room for the length of the v10 behind the radiatior to the firewall and get the tranny hooked up without doing some modifications. I'm not positive on this but the only way to know is measure and calculate. It was just a thought that come to mind.

 

Something like this?

 

That's quite the sleeper.

 

that would be pretty cool but My idea was to baasically switch bodies from new to old. and keep the chassis of the new car the same but it would resemble an older truck.

 

They did this on "Trucks!" not to long ago 79 dentside crewcab on to a 97 dodge cummings dually.
http://www.powerblocktv.com/site3/in...06&ep_sea=0901
is the start I don't know if they have finished it yet. But you should be able to do something similar on to like a 99 v10 Supercab HD just need a wheelbase that is pretty close.
Poor dentside has to live on a dodge chassis