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73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Body, Glass & Paint => Topic started by: gearhead177 on January 04, 2009, 02:06:21 pm

Title: swaping my cab
Post by: gearhead177 on January 04, 2009, 02:06:21 pm
alright first off wanna say hey to all and nice forum. glad i finally found one for our trucks. i got an 86 custom deluxe ive been building slowly through school an now that im out im picking up the speed  ;D i got a like new cab to replace the rusted one thats on it. is there anything in particular i need to watch for when changing these. i plan on gettin a painless harness an re wiring it all seein how ive had a few probs with wiring in the past. thanks for any an all help
Title: Re: swaping my cab
Post by: Blazin on January 04, 2009, 02:44:50 pm
Is your truck 4x4 or 2 wheel drive? What year is the donor cab? Is it a 2 wheel or 4x4? Is your truck auto or standard? Whatwas the truck the cab came from?
Title: Re: swaping my cab
Post by: gearhead177 on January 04, 2009, 03:09:28 pm
mine is a 86 2wheel drive auto the other cab is also 86 auto 2wd. only diff is mine is the custom deluxe not sure what the other is it just has a light in the cab and on the back above the bed. an mine dont which is no biggie. im just nervous about all the wiring. im not going to keep a/c on this truck just a defrost/heater. and plan on doing the autometer gauges in dash while swaping

here is a pic of the truck before i start incase i dont get it back together lol jk
(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g88/crguy177/hood.jpg)
Title: Re: swaping my cab
Post by: VileZambonie on January 04, 2009, 03:18:26 pm
Keep the a/c if your new cab has ac
Title: Re: swaping my cab
Post by: gearhead177 on January 04, 2009, 03:23:15 pm
the new cab is completely bare ill jhave to transfer everything. i have a very strong built 383 in it now. runs high 12s only reason i still got the a.c compressor is for the serpentine belt setup. it will be gone before long. this wont be a daily driver seeing how it will be getting faster soon  ;)
Title: Re: swaping my cab
Post by: Blazin on January 04, 2009, 03:50:37 pm
What is wrong with your cab? It looks pretty clean in the pic! Wiring is simple enough, its just a big harness under the dash. Unbolt the one center bolt under the hood that connects the engine, tail lights, & head light harness to the back of the fuse box through the bulkhead connector. You unbolt the fuse box from the inside of the fire wall and pull the harness out. There are a few grounds and plugs to undo. Swap it into the other cab and reconnect the three harnesses.
Title: Re: swaping my cab
Post by: gearhead177 on January 04, 2009, 04:00:46 pm
well when you open the door its rusted pretty bad an whoevery had it before me did some bad bondo work on the cab corners. the floor in the corner all the way up drivers side is rusted through you can see pavement lol the new  one is awesome no bondo or rust an nice doors jus need to replace the weatherstripping an make manual windows instead of electric.
Title: Re: swaping my cab
Post by: monte85 on January 13, 2009, 03:39:03 pm
if the new cab had a/c then your heater/defrost box won't cover the extra openings in the firewall. and the heater core is positioned differently. i did the same cab replacement on my truck. i went from a custom deluxe to a silverado cab. i also went from a 4x4 cab to a 4x2 cab, so i had the cut the tranny hump and weld. trucks with a/c don't have the manual vents in the kick panels. the light in the back is the cargo light. painless harnesses are well marked, i would just remember how the factory wiring was placed and do yours the same way.
Title: Re: swaping my cab
Post by: hotrod24 on January 13, 2009, 04:12:28 pm
nice start man glad to see you are headed in the right direction you could try American auto to