using an 89-92 cab/frame for an 86 truck

[cody93]

my 86 ranger had alot more rust than i expected.. ive decided to just replace the cab n frame since i already had replaced every other panel along the way in the last 4 years.. finding a good gen 1 body has been tricky as the few ive seen people are wanting atleast a grand for non pristine bodys but running trucks, which i understand that a running vehicle is worth that.. i did find a couple of gen 2 style rangers for under 450 with good clean body but bad motors.. i live in an area were 92 an up still need emmisions so im basicly hunting anything 91 an older..


so what my question is, how different are the 83-88 cabs commpared to 89-92 style cabs? i know the front core is different but thats just drilling out spot welds and swapping them, i've noticed the hole for the wiring harness looks a bit bigger also..

so does anyone know whats involved swapping a gen 1 front clip and dash into a gen 2 chassis.. i know that the frame rails for the front bumper are different too, not sure what people have done in the past but i know its possible. if need be i can cut the "horns" off my old frame..

i really like the gen 1 style vs the gen 2 but im just not finding anything thats what i need..

 

[chvlfrk]

>>>>

Not sure of 89-90, but I know the 91-92 have the same dash as 93-94, and they are totally different than the 83-88.

 

[adsm08]

The dash is the same 89-94.

The cab itself, from the firewall back is more or less the same. I do think the hole for the wire harness is a different size since the cannon plug is supposed to be able to clip into the hole but on my 87 it doesn't.

Other than that, its the stuff you already know about.


In your search for a new body, have you searched for non-running trucks? When I started looking for a body I specifically looked for a non-runner. Found an all-but pristine dead head that the guy couldn't figure out how to finish his 4.0 swap, picked it up for $850, got my body swap stuff, and 4.0 swapped my BII.

 

[cody93]

well, thats simple enough, if its just the cannon plug, i can work with that.. swap rad cores is doable for me.. next thing to figure out is how to mount a gen 1 front bumper on a gen 2 frame, looks like my 2 options based on junkyard scouting would be A: cut the ends of my old frame past the rad core and weld them onto the gen 2 or 2: make a bracket that matches the shape of the gen 1 that bolts onto the gen 2 frame...