Chassis Swap (1972 onto a 2002 Chassis)

[FoPAR]

Here is a thread you might find useful. He cut his longbed down to a correct short bed. 16" out of the front and 4" out of the back.

Yes! I love that thread, he has done some great work on that truck. Thanks for reminding me

I'd slot the front cab mounts, then you can slide the cab forward a bit for better front wheellip fit and the rear cab mount rail will be centered over the frame mount.

Looking almost too easy...

I don't know if I can get away with that..... the trany is dam close as is.... I'll have to check it out and see. Thanks for the tip.

oh and "easy" is just fine by me, I'm sure there will be some huge headaches that I have created by doing this.

[FoPAR]

So back to work on the truck today, I pulled the bed, cab, & engine back off the frame so I could cut it down to a short bed length. The bed on the 02 is a short bed but the cab was an extended so that’s where the cut will be made. I tack welded some legs to it so when its apart it will be easier to work on and also slide back together.






The factory welds were the perfect place to cut so I cleaned them up so they would be easy to follow.






Also measured & marked the other cut.






I then made the cuts to each side and then slid the apart. After that I chopped off the extra 23-1/2” and ground off all the excess metal.












Pulled out my ratchet straps and pulled it back into place nice and tight. Clamped everything and then took more measurements to make sure it was right.













Then welded it up cut off the legs and got ready to drill out the new bolt holes for the trany mount.








The placement of the trany mount is perfect for reinforcing the welds because it overlaps and bolts through both sides of the welds













All done one shortened frame!

[mjhaltom]

Man! Awesome work and fast. Made it look easy!

[tylerb43]

FoPar - Freaking. Awesome.

I've had this daydream more times than I can count! Keep it moving and keep us updated - great work!!

[marvin2]

Way to make some progress!! You going to try to shorten your bed, or find a different shortbed?

[FoPAR]

Man! Awesome work and fast. Made it look easy!

looks can be deceiving it really did go smoothly, but there was a lot of thought put into it before I did anything.

FoPar - Freaking. Awesome.

I've had this daydream more times than I can count! Keep it moving and keep us updated - great work!!

Yeah, right there with you, the 2002 was a truck I used a lot so I always wondered what it would take to make the swap..... now I'm finally in reality

Way to make some progress!! You going to try to shorten your bed, or find a different shortbed?

Haven't had any luck finding a short bed so going to cut mine down.

Thanks guys!

[JG F100]

Looks good, I wish we could buy short-bed sides like the chevy guys can.

[FoPAR]

Looks good, I wish we could buy short-bed sides like the chevy guys can.

no kidding! that would be nice.

I haven't had much time to work on it the last few days, but I did pick up some 4" C channel so I can "C" notch the bed rails and make the bed sit almost flush with the frame. Also did a lot of measuring and figuring it looks like I will be able to cut the bed down to the correct short bed specs. and have it all line up right. 16" cut out up front and 4" out of the rear. Once I put the cab back up onto it I should be able to confirm those measurements. Maybe this weekend I can get around to it.....

[67mann]

Very awsome fab skills

[FoPAR]

Thanks man, trying real hard to do this right and not a hack job. I can't wait to cleaning everything up and start painting things. The mock up part of the build is fun and challenging but I really like making it look good even more.

[CNM67]

Man I'm really stoked to see this thing finished It's something ive always wanted to do.

[FoPAR]

Well I didn’t get as much done as I hoped today but I did get the cab back up onto the frame and with the frame shortened I now was able to bolt it down.





I had to trim some more of the lower back part of the cab so the cab would sit down onto the body mounts.










The rear ones were only a little off so I had to drill new bolt holes.




The floor pans seem to follow the frame like they were supposed to go together and the front cab mounts still shock me on how well they lined up.

I have the typical cross support rust so I will have to fix that along with the rusted floor pans.

[FoPAR]

got a few hours in the shop today and was able to mark off the bed and cut it down. I cut it so there would be a little overlap up front to help support the cut bed floor. Cleaned up the over lap sprayed it with weldable primer and got everything close to lined up. A few more adjustments and a little trim here an there and I should be able to start tacking it back together.

[Joshpow]

Progress!! Looking nice. Good luck and keep us posted.

[fomocoguy]

This is a great thread and you're rockin it out! Can't wait to see more.