Swapping older body on newer frame

[mellow65]

Has anyone every tried to swap an older boxy ranger body onto a 98+ frame?

I like the look of the older bodies but would like to have some modernish front suspension and steering.

Also out here I would just license it as the body year and be exempt from emissions.

 

[straycat]

Has anyone every tried to swap an older boxy ranger body onto a 98+ frame?

I like the look of the older bodies but would like to have some modernish front suspension and steering.

Also out here I would just license it as the body year and be exempt from emissions.

This topic comes up a bunch on here. Did you try the search function and see what comes up? If you have mad fabrication skills you can do almost anything.

 

[mellow65]

I did try searching, I swear i'm not a typical newbie, "I want to build awesomeness, give me a parts lists!!"

But I never seem to search for the right thing, I'll do some more searching though.

And I do have mad fabrication skills,

here's my subaru powered first gen RX-7 i built.

I can make most anything happen, i was just wondering if anything lined up at all or I would have to start from scratch.

 

[Mark_88]

I just put an 88 Ranger cab on a 96 frame and it worked out perfectly...well, not really, but the holes all lined up...but not sure about the 98 frames...

I think they are very similar but the only way I know is to measure, measure, measure...

Measure the distance from the body mounts both across the width of the truck and and between mounts on the same side on both vehicles...then check the height of each mount from the ground (make sure to measure on a very similar surface and the tire size is the same)...

I did notice that some of the mounts are actually different on some later models, and not sure if that would be due to changes in the frame rise above the rear axle or changes in the body style.

 

[adsm08]

Some things got jumbled up a hair on the super cabs over the years. A regular cab should be pretty spot on. More info about your desired mix-n-match years and body styles may be helpful.

 

[Captain Ledd]

98 and newer went to a substantially different front end design and while cabs look similar, I do believe the 98+ cabs are around 3" longer.

However they are still very similar trucks, and the frame rails themselves should fit the body fairly well. HOWEVER, I doubt holes will line up, and I'd just assume to have to weld on some new frame-side body mounts.

 

[mellow65]

I'm thinking of doing like a 82-92 extended cab on a 98+ regular cab frame. I'm not expecting anything behind the fenders to match up. I'm wondering more if the width is even in the ball park. I honestly don't expect any mounts to really match up, but I was just wanting to see if anyone has gone down this path before.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

I've read on here somewhere that the boxes bolt on from 83 to 2011. I'd assume that means that the width didn't change for those years.

Richard

 

[JoshT]

Extended cabs are interchangeable for all years as far as mounting goes. Same with bed lengths as long as you keep long to long and short to short. Somewhere in the later years they went to 10 bed bolts, beds will still interchange just no provisions for the extra bolts.

Regular cabs grew 3" in the cab for the 98+ Rangers. IIRC it was discovered that that 3" was between the middle and aft cab mounts.

I know a square body to 98+ swap has been done at least once, and I think it has a thread on here in the street truck under construction forum.

EDIT: Went and found that thread. http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125850

 

[Bronco638]

Also out here I would just license it as the body year and be exempt from emissions.

I'm sure I'm not the only that wishes you to be emissions compliant. We all breathe the same air.

 

[Mac]

Kamshaft did a 88 body on a 2000 frame. His build is at http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132776
Dave

 

[mellow65]

I'm sure I'm not the only that wishes you to be emissions compliant. We all breathe the same air.

Its not that i wouldn't have the emissions equipment, its just one less thing I have to pay for.

 

[mellow65]

Kamshaft did a 88 body on a 2000 frame. His build is at http://www.therangerstation.com/forums/showthread.php?t=132776
Dave

Oh wow, that makes that look a whole hell of a lot easier than I was thinking. Thanks for the link!

 

[Captain Ledd]

I spread this around as much as I can,

3-way universal catalytic converters are available from Summit Racing (and I'm sure others as well) starting at around $40. Even the larger ones are around $60-$70. Unlike smog pumps and forgoing tuning/engine design, these do go a long way for removing the nastier bits of pollution engines create.

Please consider placing one on your vehicle, thank you.

Now.. OEM converters are where they get ya. Those ****ers are $$$.