A quick cab swap question...

[KADILLACKID]

Im in need of a good daily driver so Im piecing together a truck on an old 75 blazer frame.
I have a nice 70s front clip and acess to a pretty decent 85 cab.

can anyone tell me what I need to modify on the cowl/wiper area,or will it work as is?

THANKS!

[44gmcnewf]

are you using a truck cab on the blazer chassis ?? if so you need to build a custom crossmember with body mounts or take the cross member out of a single cab truck and make some brackets so it bolts up.

you need the wiper assemble, and the hood hinges and im not exactly sure.

[GreaseDog]

you'll need the entire front clip, fenders hood, core support, inners, hood and front bumper, along with any related wiring. for the wipers you'll need the wiper drive mechanism from a pre 80 truck. also a set of 73-80 cab mount bushings. pretty straight forward swap, though most go the other way (80s clip on a 70s truck). you'll also notice that you have slots in the cowl for the factory 80s hinges to recess into, i would recomend sealing them up somehow.

[FordeatinZ71]

Grease Dog (keep wanting to abbreviate it to "GD" but people will think i'm cursing, lol) beat me to it, but yea, that's it basically.

as for swappin the cab on the Blazer chassis...i've done it before, it's not really hard, just fabricate a crossmember for the rear mounts or simply steal a factory crossmember from a pickup.

here's a good thread on it that gives pics...
Flatbed on K5 Frame (http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=149590)

[KADILLACKID]

Thanks guys...

Yeh a truck cab on a blazer frame,this will be the second one Ive done, the first one was with a 91 suburban clip(with work truck/one ton grill and single sealed beams) on a 77 cab.I didnt end up finish it properly,and just left the cowl off.

This ones gonna be just for driving daily with 31s on factory rallies and a flatbed,nothing fancy

[kenf729]

Sorry to steal the thread, but have a question on cab swapping, going through that now, have a great cab from a 2WD K10 1/2 ton and swapping over to the 77 K10 1/2 ton 4X4, I know the tunnels will need to be swapped, but my question is...how or what do I use to install the vin stickers, just regular pop rivites?

thanks,
Ken

[44gmcnewf]

doing that is illegal, When doing a cab swap your are susposed to used the vin from the cab you are using. Not to say ppl don't do it. only reason why i could see someone swaping the vin is because its hot or to put a mid 70's vin on a 80s rust free cab to be excempt from emission's.

[kenf729]

Well I got a cab from a wreacking yard without vin plates, thought I could just swap things over...my cab is rusted new cab is in great condition. Now what do I do..go to the DMV.

[KADILLACKID]

doing that is illegal, When doing a cab swap your are susposed to used the vin from the cab you are using. Not to say ppl don't do it. only reason why i could see someone swaping the vin is because its hot or to put a mid 70's vin on a 80s rust free cab to be excempt from emission's.


Depending where you live...Here in ontario,your vin and ownership stay with the frame.

Ive never had a problem with riveted vin plates,if you think its a big deal,take before,during and after pics,bring your wrecking yard receipt to the dmv and ask them.They obviously cant issue you a new vin tag.

[kenf729]

That was kind of my thoughts, since I'm doing a full restro, took all metal off the truck all thats sitting there is the frame, once painted I'll put back together..with pics along the way. maybe I will drop into the DMV to see what they say.

[KADILLACKID]

usually if there is a problem,its on a newer vehicle where parts are expensive and can be suspects of theft.On an old truck I dont think you'll have anything to worry about,but checking with dmv or police is best.

[FordeatinZ71]

looking over what KADILLACKID said, yes, they CAN issue you a new VIN. they do it all the time for vehicles that were stolen or are salvage rebuilds. so that might be an option too...just talk to the DMV and see what they say...

[44gmcnewf]

I know here if im putting a different cab on a frame i need both vins, to get it registered

[KADILLACKID]

looking over what KADILLACKID said, yes, they CAN issue you a new VIN. they do it all the time for vehicles that were stolen or are salvage rebuilds. so that might be an option too...just talk to the DMV and see what they say...


so they take all the info from your cab with no vin,then stamp a new tag,then give you crown rivets to rivet it on???

any vehicle Ive ever rebuilt has kept the vin number it was originally issued. Ive done lots of theft recoveries,floods,rollovers,front hits,rear hits,side hits,body swaps,frame swaps,etc.Ive changed cabs on late model rollovers,and re rivet the original vin tag onto the new cab,in fact Im doing one right now,99 ranger cab,03/04 front clip,97 box-the truck is an 05 so it will stay titled as an 05(rebuilt) after its done and inspected and will retain the original 05 vin tag

[FordeatinZ71]

well, maybe it's different there, but here in the states every vehicle i've seen/worked on that ended up being a salvage recovery gets a re-issued VIN, usually a green/silver tag riveted in the door jamb...

[Cavalry]

It is illegal(every state) for you to change your own VIN. There is a reason that its illegal. What happens in collision shops everyday is not necessarly the correct method.

The only legal way to swap cabs is to get a DMV issued VIN. Do not get caught by a sharp eyed cop that sees you have regular pop rivets and not "rosette" rivets. They can impound your vehicle on the spot.

[kenf729]

interesting...hmmm, can a person purchase "rosette" rivets and make it look original?

[GreaseDog]

www.trimtags.com sells rivets for restoration purposes. i plan on removing my tags when i get my cab media blasted so that i dont damage them.

[KADILLACKID]

www.trimtags.com sells rivets for restoration purposes. i plan on removing my tags when i get my cab media blasted so that i dont damage them.



Damm not the ones I need....Im running low,only got about a dozen left