Possible to put Super Duty body on '84 frame?

[OilFilter]

I have a couple trucks that are getting hacked apart and becoming one. The first is a 2004 F350, with a blown 6.0. It's just a basic 2WD auto single cab long bed work truck. I also have a 1984 F250 with the 6.9L and 4WD C6 auto.

The Super Duty is a nice truck, but I don't like 2WD, and I do not want to replace the blown 6.0 with another one. The 84 has a nice drive train, but the interior is trashed, the cab is beat, and the bed is all but ruined. Neither truck has any rust at all, the 2004 body is in great condition inside and out.

I'm thinking my best/easiest option to end up with a 4WD truck with a nice cab is to swap the Super Duty cab onto the old 4WD F250 frame. Does anybody know how hard this would be to do? Would things line up pretty close or would there be a ton of fab work? I'm going to build a custom flatbed for it, so all I would need to swap is the single cab for a single cab. Has anybody else attempted such a thing? How have the frame dimensions changed over the years?

Also, what would you use for a trans? I need to have overdrive, the C6 won't do. It has to be an automatic because I have a leg injury that prevents me from operating a clutch pedal. Is the E4OD the only logical choice? The 5R110 trans in the 2004 is in good shape, but I think it would cost thousands in computer controls to make it work with any other engine. An aftermarket gear splitter would be cool, but probably not in my budget.

Would it be easier to swap the 6.9 engine and some other trans into the 2004 frame and body and skip the 4WD?

 

[no mufflers]

I think it would be easier to swap drivetrains vs the cab. I don't think the 5r110 will bolt to the IDI, it would be a cool conversion. the e4od is a good tranny if you put good parts in it and it could perform the same as the 5r110. the biggest challenge I would see is not the fab work but making all the gauges work in the 04 body. if you put an IDI in a 04 truck it would be the most reliable 04 on the road, maybe not the fastest.

 

[franklin2]

Do you have yearly inspections in NC like we do in Va? If they lift the hood it would be a instant fail, and no easy way to fix it. They probably at least take a peek underneath to see if it has a cat. Not sure when they started using them but the later diesels do have them correct?

 

[snicklas]

If I were going to attempt that swap, I would swap the front clop and cab. The bullnose clip and SD cab are too far a mismatch. As for the body and frame, we have a member that went the other way, Greg50OH thread "Realistic budget pf a 2wd to4ed swap and all he goodies" he took an 06 frame and running gear, and swapped an idi and bricknose body onto the SD frame. That might give you the best idea. But I think just trying to swap cab for cab is going to be a no-go.....

 

[The Warden]

For what it's worth, I came across a slant-nose truck that someone had swapped a SuperDuty bed onto a few years ago. Given how mismatched the lines are, I'm guessing the guy went with the first bed he could find, so I would guess that it didn't take too much to get the bed bolted on.

No idea about the cab/front clip, unfortunately...but, here's what that truck looked like:

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[sjwelds]

^^^that's just plain wrong.....

 

[snicklas]

Damn, and I hate a Brick/OBS bed on a bullnose....... that is just atrocious.....

I saw something similar a long time ago, a guy with a First or Second gen Ranger (square body) with a 3rd gen bed on it.... (first round ones)..... it was just as bad.

 

[OilFilter]

the biggest challenge I would see is not the fab work but making all the gauges work in the 04 body.

That's what I was thinking too, I do not want ANY of the electronics from the 04. I'll take a sawzall to the dash and put in mechanical gauges if I have to. Probably end up making a metal cover that goes over the OEM gauges, haven't thought about it much.

Do you have yearly inspections in NC like we do in Va?

No inspections for me, so I can do pretty much whatever I want.

If I were going to attempt that swap, I would swap the front clop and cab. The bullnose clip and SD cab are too far a mismatch.

Sorry if I wasn't clear, that's what I want to do. The whole front half of a Super Duty.

That old cab/new bed does look awful, but it does seem like the parts still match up rather closely. Since I want to build a custom flat bed that probably leaves me even more wiggle room. If I don't swap it out I'll probably end up parting out the 04 and using as many of the parts as I can to "upgrade" the older truck.

It's hard for me to get under the truck and measure things, if I do this project I'll need to buy a lift first, but that isn't so bad. I'm hoping I could do this for very little cost other than the two donor trucks I already have, and the cost of the lift/trans swap that I need anyway. It would cost a fortune to buy all the interior and body stuff to make the old cab look nice again.

Does anybody know if it would be very hard to swap out the entire rear axle/drum brakes on the 84 with the 2004 rear, discs and all?

 

[snicklas]

Does anybody know if it would be very hard to swap out the entire rear axle/drum brakes on the 84 with the 2004 rear, discs and all?

Yes, it is basically a bolt in swap. BUT, and yes there is a but, one big thing is the 84 will have 8x6.5 lug pattern, and the 04 will have 8x170mm, which means the 84 rims won't fit the rear axle. If they are both a SWR trucks, then it should just swap out, just may have to use a hybrid U-Joint at the rear axle, depending on what the 84 has vs what the 04 has.....

The rear discs and E-Brake provision is nice. I have the same rear ale in my 03, and the discs help it to stop really well, and the E-Brake does a fairly good job of holding the truck.

 

[OilFilter]

I finally got under both trucks and measured today, both are exactly 37" apart to the outside of the frame rails and 50" between front and back cab mounts. The rear cab mounts on the Super Duty cab are a little different - they sit outside the frame rail like the front instead of sitting on top, but that would be easy to change over to the older frame.

It also looks like if I used the crossmembers from the Super Duty frame on the '84, I could use the Super Duty 39 gallon fuel tank. It would hang down lower but I'm not concerned about ground clearance.

This almost seems like it could be too easy. I know the SD cab is supposed to come off nice and easy, since you just about have to take it off to change the oil.

I also realized if I swapped the axle I would have to regear the front to match. I think the SD is 3.73 vs 4.10 in the '84, but 3.73 would be better also. Maybe I'll just have to swap out the front axle too.

 

[laserjock]

You live far enough south, it might be worth parting the SD and going and looking for a blown up gasser to pull the body from and do a direct swap to get nicer metal and interior. You already have the diesel stuff so you'd have any parts you need for the conversion if you found a really nice 4x truck or like I said, a blown up 2wd gasser for the metal and your harnesses and such.

 

[Greg5OH]

it will be easier doing the SD cab onto the old frame vs the way I went, reaosn being the rear body mounts. OBS cabs have the mounts on the rear crossmember of the cab, SD have outboard frame ones like the front ones. Front mount to core support mounts are same distance I believe, my CC frame had a set of middle outboard mounts. So to mount your SD cab onto the old frame, Id just drill the two holes in the floor for the old style mounts under the cab and throw it on there.. Some light modification may be required, but the width and positioning of the front mounts is the same between OBS and SD

 

[OilFilter]

You live far enough south, it might be worth parting the SD and going and looking for a blown up gasser to pull the body from and do a direct swap to get nicer metal and interior. You already have the diesel stuff so you'd have any parts you need for the conversion if you found a really nice 4x truck or like I said, a blown up 2wd gasser for the metal and your harnesses and such.

I have thought about that, but, would it really be much easier? A cab swap even for the same year is quite a bit of labor, right? Plus I'd prefer to keep as many parts of the SD as possible, it's just a pain to sell that kind of stuff on craigslist. I'd also have to part out another truck if I bought a whole donor. I am going to part out all of the 6.0 goodies on ebay for some extra cash though. I think all the extra parts I can sell will be enough to buy a lift to do the swap. I got a great deal on both trucks.

One thing I forgot, a 1984 is cheaper to insure than a 2004. The 1984 qualifies for "classic" insurance, with an agreed upon value, the 2004 does not. I wonder if there is any way I could keep it registered with the original 1984 VIN? (And some sort of salvage title)
Let's just assume I did buy another OBS for the cab/interior. Could I put the 1994 style front clip and doors on my 1984 cab, and not actually do a "cab" swap? (Keeping my original VIN) I was thinking about a custom metal dash either way. If I found the right donor vehicle it might have the E4OD that I want also.

it will be easier doing the SD cab onto the old frame vs the way I went, reaosn being the rear body mounts. OBS cabs have the mounts on the rear crossmember of the cab, SD have outboard frame ones like the front ones. Front mount to core support mounts are same distance I believe, my CC frame had a set of middle outboard mounts. So to mount your SD cab onto the old frame, Id just drill the two holes in the floor for the old style mounts under the cab and throw it on there.. Some light modification may be required, but the width and positioning of the front mounts is the same between OBS and SD

That is really great to hear, and even simpler mounting than I was thinking! I wonder why this is not more common the way 6.0s like to commit suicide? It seems like engineless Super Duty bodies are relatively common and low cost. Would be easier to turbo my IDI with the 6.0 intercooler too. Probably has a better radiator and trans cooler also. And then I don't need to convert the old style cab to hydroboost like I want to, the SD already has it.

 

[79jasper]

Let me know what you'd let that 6.0 turbo go for.

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[Greg5OH]

i assume its not more common because the cab carries a different vin, much cheaper to insure my 91 vs the 06 on which the cab rides on. the 6.0 has the radiator kinda leaned back no? or was that the 6.4 and up? I am using the 6.0 intercooler, keeps it cooool.
actually regarding radiator, cant really use it because the inlet and outlet are on opposite sides.