73-87chevytrucks.com
73-87 Chevy _ GMC Trucks => Body, Glass & Paint => Topic started by: Kris_77stepside on February 08, 2012, 11:03:28 pm
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I found someone that has a 1978 1 ton cab that looks to be in good shape. I was wondering if it will work on my half ton and if so do I use the half ton body bushings/ mount kit or will I need to order a kit for a 1 ton cab?
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You don't mention what year your truck is, or what transmission the donor cab or your truck are?
All the cabs are the same with the exception of the center hump.
All 4x4s have tall center humps.
2 wheel drive SM465 transmission cabs have a tall center hump that doesn't go back under the seat as far.
2 wheel drive 3 spds. and automatics have a low hump. If the new cab is not the same as yours its as simple as cutting out your center hump, and mounting it in the new cab. I like to use a sealant butyl tape, and large head self drilling sheet metal screws. Others weld them in.
Using a body lift will make it clear as well. but I don't recommend body lifts.
As far as the body bushings you need to use the ones for your year frame. 73 to 80, or 81, 87/91.
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You don't mention what year your truck is, or what transmission the donor cab or your truck are?
All the cabs are the same with the exception of the center hump.
All 4x4s have tall center humps.
2 wheel drive SM465 transmission cabs have a tall center hump that doesn't go back under the seat as far.
2 wheel drive 3 spds. and automatics have a low hump. If the new cab is not the same as yours its as simple as cutting out your center hump, and mounting it in the new cab. I like to use a sealant butyl tape, and large head self drilling sheet metal screws. Others weld them in.
Using a body lift will make it clear as well. but I don't recommend body lifts.
As far as the body bushings you need to use the ones for your year frame. 73 to 80, or 81, 87/91.
What he said times 2. ;D
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Well if you look at my name you can see that mine is a 77 and for transmission I have a th350. The 78 cab is a 4x4 truck and it has a th400 trans. So looks like it should work, just have a tall center hump cause there is no way I can cut mine out and swap it cause mine is completely gone. Thanks.
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Well if you look at my name you can see that mine is a 77 and for transmission I have a th350. The 78 cab is a 4x4 truck and it has a th400 trans. So looks like it should work, just have a tall center hump cause there is no way I can cut mine out and swap it cause mine is completely gone. Thanks.
So you ask a question and expect people to guess on your specific vehicle information? The more info you give the more accurate the responses will be. http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php/topic,5220.0.html
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I wasn't expecting anyone to guess on my specific vehicle information, I was just wondering if a one ton cab is the same size and mounts the same as a half ton cab. Doesn't matter now anyways as the guy sent me some more pics and the cab is junk.
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Well if one was to look at my screen name, there is a good chance they think I smoke allot of dope!
Theres an even better chance they would be wrong!
This is a family oriented site. There is a wealth of information here that we all as new or veteran members enjoy sharing with each other. You asked a question, I took time out of my morning to answer it to the best of my knowledge given the fact I didn't know all the details of your situation. This is the response I see when I log in after a long day at work?
" Well if you look at my name you can see that mine is a 77 "
If you come here with an attitude it will get squashed in short order!
Just because you have 77 in your screen name doesn't mean that's what year truck you have. That could be the year of your first ever truck, or your dream truck, or the year of your father's, or grand father's truck when you were a kid.
It could be your birth year, or your IQ for all I know!
You will also notice if you look at my name I am one of quite a few moderators here. If you don't like what I have to say, feel free to take it up with one of the other mods, or the owner of the site. Harold ( Blazin ).
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I wasn't coming on here with an attitude or trying to sound like a jerk, I was just saying that the year in my screen name is the year of my truck. I wasn't expecting anyone to know that or know everything about my truck. I appreciate all the info I get from this site and that "Thanks" I put in my earlier post was for all the info you gave me. This is the first one of these trucks I have ever owned and don't know a lot about them. Didn't know there was a difference in the cab center hump and thought they were all the same. Also, I didn't know much about the cab for sale other than it was off a one ton. I had to ask the guy about what kind of truck it was after I saw your post, hence why I never posted all the info right away.
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It wasn't what you were saying, it was how it could be taken the way it was written. You have to remember we don't know you personally. Amongst your friends that response may be fine. To someone you don't know, it came off a little snot bagish!
I figured you might not know the particulars of the cab, as allot of the time its a from an add of some sort, sight unseen persay. I think what Vile was getting at, and my thought is the more we know, the simpler, and better the answer is going to be. Therefore you get better info from it when you read it.
Depending on the area of the country your from cabs should be plentiful to find used. I know in the North east where I live they are hard to find. Medium duty cabs are different. The floors are flat, and the fire wall is a little different behind the engine, the position of the steering column, pedals, and brake cylinder assembly is also different.
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Sorry about that, from now on I'll make sure to word it right so I don't come off as a jerk. Also I'll post as much info as I can and know about something to help everyone else out. As for finding cabs, I live in Minnesota and have found a couple but they're usually rotted out to the point where aftermarket patch panels won't fix them.
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Now that is over, Can't we all just get along ;D.
Kris_77, do you have any pics of your cab for us to see ? Is it so far gone that you don't want to repair it, or do not have the means ?
It probably is difficult to find a cab in Minnesota. Have you tried surrounding area's for some. Just throwing out some idea's.
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Well it needs rockers, cab corners, inner cab corners, below the rear window by the bottom is rusted through into the cab pretty bad, it needs all floor supports and cab supports/mounts, the floor is rusted way more than what floor pan patches would cover, kick panels and if it's anything like the step side box I replaced, It's probably coated in a ton of bondo. Oh, and doors lol. Could probably be fixed if you were really, really ambitious but I think it would be way easier and cheaper to find one that just needs a couple patches at most. The truck is pretty solid for the rest of it. Like I said I replaced the step side box with an almost rust free fleet side short box and the front fenders were replaced before I got the truck and are rust free. So basically the cab is the worst part. I'm gonna contact the guy I got the box from as he had the cab for sale too which just needed rockers and cab corners which he already has for it. He sold me the box with a slightly damaged new box side for $150 so maybe I can get the cab fairly cheap. All I know about the cab is it was a 6.2 diesel truck, 2wd but don't know what transmission it had.
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Auto 6.2s are more common, than sticks. You might have to find another donor cab for the center hump. If its a 62 it is probably 81/82 or newer cab.
You will need to make fillers for the hood hinge holes, and swap out the wiper arm stubs, and transmission assemblies from your cab into it if it is an 81 or newer cab.
The wiper stubs have one hole on each that line up with the newer cab, The other two are only off by a little bit. A file will work to enlarge the holes to get the bolts in.
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You ought to save up some gas money and take a vacation trip down here to West Texas. For about $1000 or less I could probably hook you up with more parts than you can stack on a 20 foot trailer. The oil field is booming and everyone wants a new truck. 73-87 longbeds are going for around $500 or lessI and many of them are drivers. I saw a nice 85 4 wheel drive 3/4 ton that just needed paint for $1100.
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Sorry forgot to post the year of the cab. It's an 85 cab and it was an auto truck. He said it is in pretty good shape and the floors are solid. Only thing it needs are rockers and cab corners which he has new ones to go with it. Said he would sell it for $150 so I'll probably pick it up this weekend if I can use my friends trailer. Thanks for the offer choptop but money is kind of tight right now and don't have the time to take a vacation. I know what your talking about though with the oil boom. It's happening up here in North Dakota and everyone I know who works out there bought a new truck within a couple of months of starting their job. Blazin, I have some questions. Do I have to change out the center hump and if so why? Also what do you mean by transmission assemblies? Do you mean like the shift linkage? Thanks for the help. I've read a little bit about newer cab swaps but I'm sure I haven't seen all the info on it.
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The arms that run the wipers under the cowl are sometimes referred to as wiper transmissions.
Its actually the splined stubs that the wiper arms go onto that are different, but swapping out the whole assembly is easier. If you leave the 81, and up stubs on there the 73-87 hood will clean them off the cowl the first time you shut it.
You can use a body lift and not have to cut the center out, and swap it with the tall one if using a 2wheel drive low center hump cab. Body lifts are more trouble than they are worth in my, and most others opinions. Its pretty simple to swap. Cut the low hump out on the stamped line, use a newer high hump center that's been cut out, you can trim it down a little at a time for a nice fit. then use self drilling screws/ bolts with a 3/8ths, or 7/16ths hex head to secure it. Metal roofing butyl tape works well for a sealant. The early to mid 70s 4 wheel drive cabs had a removable center hump. they work as well.
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The center hump in a 2wd is lower than a 4wd. So yes, modifications will need to be done.
The hood hinges and wipers post were also mentioned. These will have to be modified the 81 and up will not work on the 80 and below on these areas. There are threads on this in the project's column. Capt has done this conversion and has documented it very well, so you should check it out so you know what you are getting into.
http://forum.73-87chevytrucks.com/smforum/index.php/topic,9070.0.html
I have sent you a pm also, check your messages. Tom
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Oh, for some reason when you said transmission assemblies I thought you were talking about the actual transmission and it's parts lol. I spent some time last night with the search bar finding out as much as I can about body part swaps and looking at some build threads. Sorry, I'm not trying to sound stupid or make anyone mad, but I still don't understand the center hump thing. Maybe I left out some information. I have a 77 with a th350 and it is a 2wd truck. The cab is from an 85, not sure what trans but believe it was auto but it is also a 2wd cab. So if the new cab is an auto and 2wd, couldn't I just use it as is without swapping out the center hump? Thanks for the link bake74, but I'm not swapping the front clip. I'm going to keep my 77 front clip. Thanks.
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You should be ok with the humps if both are 2wd automatics. Make sure you get the wiper assembly if you are going to use the 77 front clip. Another thing is you vin location will be different I believe. 77 was on the door post right? 85 will be on the dash. Are you getting a title with it?
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You should be ok with the humps if both are 2wd automatics. Make sure you get the wiper assembly if you are going to use the 77 front clip. Another thing is you vin location will be different I believe. 77 was on the door post right? 85 will be on the dash. Are you getting a title with it?
Yes, started with some 78's, I have seen some with the door vin# and some with the dash vin#, all 79's had them in the dash, even the blazer I have sitting in my driveway right now has it in the dash.
[quote au.thor=Kris_77stepside link=topic=23019.msg191077#msg191077 date=1328974689]
but I still don't understand the center hump thing. Maybe I left out some information. I have a 77 with a th350 and it is a 2wd truck. The cab is from an 85, not sure what trans but believe it was auto but it is also a 2wd cab. So if the new cab is an auto and 2wd, couldn't I just use it as is without swapping out the center hump? Thanks for the link bake74, but I'm not swapping the front clip. I'm going to keep my 77 front clip. Thanks.
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Well if you look at my name you can see that mine is a 77 and for transmission I have a th350. The 78 cab is a 4x4 truck and it has a th400 trans. So looks like it should work, just have a tall center hump cause there is no way I can cut mine out and swap it cause mine is completely gone. Thanks.
I am once again confused ? :o In the above quotes you stated 77 a 85, and a 78 cab is a 4x4 truck and it has a th400. Now the 78 cab was mentioned before you said anything about 2wd trucks, so I assumed the 78 was actually your 77 and that you just got flustered and put down wrong year. Hence the reason for that different in humps, so if all are 2wd trucks, then you do not need to worry about anything, they should all be the same, so your in luck.
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You should be good with the center hump. For some reason I was thinking you had a 4x4!!
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I am once again confused ? :o In the above quotes you stated 77 a 85, and a 78 cab is a 4x4 truck and it has a th400. Now the 78 cab was mentioned before you said anything about 2wd trucks, so I assumed the 78 was actually your 77 and that you just got flustered and put down wrong year. Hence the reason for that different in humps, so if all are 2wd trucks, then you do not need to worry about anything, they should all be the same, so your in luck.
I finally see what happened now lol. When I first started this thread I was asking about a 78 1 ton cab that was 4x4 with a th400 and if it would work on my 77. But I didn't really post a whole lot of info when I started it. The guy with that cab sent me some more pics of it and it turned out that it was in pretty bad shape. So then I remembered that the guy I got the box from had a cab off of that truck which is where the 85 2wd cab comes from. Hope that clears up any confusion. Sorry about that. :D
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Oh and the guy (with the 85 cab) is busy all week so I probably won't be able to check it out till next week. He's going to try to get some pics of it for me though. He said he has the title but does't know where it is. If he can't find it can I just put my vin (which is on the door jamb) onto that cab or what would be my other options? I'm gonna post a want add on craigslist and see if anyone else has a clean one.
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You did not hear this from me, but if it was me, if I got the 85 cab, I would use my vin# and put it in the door, I would also change out the dash pad if possible or at least take off the other vin# and cover it up so the hole is no longer there. Just saying what I would do, not that it is legal or anything.
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I have seen quite a few of these trucks repaired that where rusted so badly that all the sheet metal around the vin had to be replaced. ;D
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I swear, I have no idea how a VIN plate could jump from one cab to another !! ;D
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I swear, I have no idea how a VIN plate could jump from one cab to another !! ;D
It's those pesky gremlins I tell you. You know you are not suppose to feed them after midnight.