Thanks, Neal. Just found out my former employer, Lacey's Auto Body, is going out of business after 58+ years in the same location. Tom (Ex-Boss) sold property to local car dealership for alot of coin. Good news the dealership offered all the employees (6 guys) jobs w/ them. Going to stop by & see if Tom will give me the old frame books & sheets. Be able to see the diff, if any, in frame measurements between years & models.

 

1997 crew cab xlt lariat f350 psd long wheel base standard 4x4

ripping off the bed, the whole cab, and the front end body panels.

taking an old 85 crew cab cab, putting it on the 97, along with all the front clip and a few parts needed for the swap like the brake booster, pedals, steering shaft, heater blower...

then fabbing up a flatdeck with storage compartments for the back.

trying to figure out how much lift i need with some michelin xls tires. i honestly want no lift, but i'll be negotiating deactivated forestry roads and deep snow so the skinny tall tires are going to get worked hard.

 

That would be awesome.

When I worked for a heli ski company, I got to "look" at the maps. Got fresh lines all year round after that job.

 

How bad is the 97's cab really? If its not rotted or smacked I'd reuse it & transfer the best doors from the two cabs. The wiring, or at least where it passes through the cab, is different from 86 type to 97 type. If you use the 86 type cab you will have to change the bulkheads where the wires pass through the firewall. I think there is only one fuse box on the 86 type there are two or three on the 97 type. Try to just swap the front sheet metal if you can get away with it. If the beds any good you could sell that in a week or less on Craig's list, same w/ most of your other parts you know you don't need or when your done. The 92-97 doors if equiped w/ the small/electric mirrors have a large hole under them which is not covered w/ the dog ear style/factory towing mirrors. I dont recall if you can switch out the dash from the 80-86 to 92-97 style or not, I think it physically bolts up to either cab just not positive. I like the 80-86 style & the 92-97 style. Was never a big fan of the 87 to 91 style, sorry guys. The frames are the same as far as bolting up the body goes. The F-150 frame is different, the "coil spring front" frame is different from the "leaf spring front" frame, the F-250 & F-350 frames are the same if in the same 4X2 or 4X4 configuration. I believe the basic frame is the same it's the mounts that are different so you could change one frame to become the other.

 

What did you ever do Kenny? and/or how's it going? How about an update maybe w/ some pics.

 

Everything is back burner unfortunately. I've gotten everything figured out to make the swap, but unfotunately a snowplow accident involving my parked car has put my life on pause.

I've decided most of the donor will be saved for a rebuild with a half ton cab that I had when I was 16 so this is going to be a big project. I dont want to tie up a hoist until my daily driver is sorted out.

 

Good luck & keep us posted. Sorry to here about car, My truck has 2 hit & runs on it since New Years. Happy new year Ha Ha.

 

Wow, thats when my car was hit!