New chassis, old body.. Can I?

[jackb1]

Ok, so I know it CAN be done, but can I?

I'd like to keep the look of my old F250 but would like the power and ride of the newer F250...

I have a late 70's mixture of parts F250 and am considering putting it on a newer (99-01ish) Powerstroke Ford chassis. I'm not overly worried about body mounts, etc., making the body physically fit. I can figure that out.

My concern is getting the powerstroke and systems to run correctly. Ideally, I'll buy a rolled F250-350 that runs, tear off the sheetmetal, and drop on my body. That leaves the interior/wiring... Do I need to approach this assuming I'll have to use the newer wiring harness/gauges and perhaps retro fit the dash? Custom harness available? What can of worms would this be opening?

So is it...
Reasonably do-able
Quite difficult
or
Go Away for asking... clearly you will fail?

I searched but couldn't find anything. If anybody else is doing something similar, please give me a link.

[HardcorewannabeXJ]

Just thinking of this project makes me want to kill babies in a horrible, horrible fashion....

I can't even begin to imagine the wiring massacre required to transplant that into a new cab. Obviously the body mounts are far simpler to do as it's just cutting and welding, but having dove into the dash of a superduty before, I'd vote a Solid NO f'in way.

Not to say it wouldn't be cool, or bad ass, cause it would. Maybe if you consider an older style PowerStroke, it might be more thesible.

[GONRACIN]

wasn't there one in four wheeler or something not long ago? I seem to recall one. It was an older 70's style truck that either had a newer 99+ drivetrain, or the body was tranplanted on the newer frame as you want to do. I'll have to look through ome old issues now..

[BigChevy79]

Yes it was in an older 4x4 mag(can't recall which one), it was also in one of them street truck mags. It was a 77, I think, F250 that was put onto a powerstroke frame, and he hooked everything up, and installed a RIZE Industries lift on it. Looked good.

[wtr40rock]

yeah i know what your talking about it was in petersons. It had a super charged 7.3. I helped put a 6.0 truck frame under an 2003 f-150 body, it wasn't to bad.

[svt150j49]

i think its a good idea. the one in petersons looked nice. they didnt go too far into detail on the little things tho. it would probably be a wiring nightmare for some people. id enjoy doing the swap personally...

[jackb1]

Yeah, it's the wiring that worries me. I can do some, did a CJ from scratch, some FI work, but nothing this complicated. I'm considering my only option as using the entire factory harness and making the dash work in the '77 or at least the gauges. I've found some 7.3L Diesels in older Ford trucks, but not an old body on the new drivetrain.

[PROJECTJUNKIE]

I'd consider new guts in your old truck. Making the cab mounts would be more work than motor mounts, and it all has to fit the same sheetmetal, and the same wiring anyways. Buy a complete truck, get an electrical diagram, label every connector as you unplug it, and cut out all of the unnecessary wiring. Do the same with your old truck harness (which you should use as much of as possible). I like the ride of my high boy, and don't know if a super duty would be any better in that department. With a modern seat, it would be pretty close.

Research a cummins swap. Easier to do for less money, get a better truck that will last longer. My $.02

[Danger_Ranger18]

put a cummins 6bt out of a wrecked dodgé with a nv4500
http://www.fordcummins.com/1974_79.htm

ive always wanted a cat in mine but thats just going to have to be another job for another day.

[alaskan goodoleboy]

it can be done, i helped put a 76 f-150 on a 99 F-450 frame the body mounts werent to bad but the firewall had to be trimmed a bit we also took the dash out of the f-450 and modified it to fit wish i had pictures but lost the pictures a while ago.

[skipped_Link]

Originally Posted by HardcorewannabeXJ

Just thinking of this project makes me want to kill babies in a horrible, horrible fashion....

optimistic much?

Anything is doable, how much heart & dedication do you want to put into a truck,

the one en the 4 wheel mag, was it the green one? if so it was a 71 or 72, with a 95-97 PSD, by looking I could see he had used the guage cluster from the PSD,

I have a 79 f-350 that I swaped a 97 12 valve & nv 4500 into, that swap was very simple, the next one I want to do is a 79 4 door with a 99 or newer 7.3 PSD, I think it will be a ittle tougher but definately doable.

[svt150j49]

if you do the swap... just rip the plastic dash off the harness... keep any boxes, relays, gauges attached to the harness... then make the old truck fit it... everyone does engine swaps with full harnesses. its just making it all work correctly and fit well. but, id say do it.

i rebuilt my DD after i rolled it and it was the best project i could have done. now i know every spot on that truck, and i really see it as a project instead of something i bought outa a car lot. besides, there arent very many of those around. i think thats all the more reason to do it.

everyones done a cummins swap. theres nothing against it... but id rather do something odd-ball...

eh, just my .02