1986 to 1977 Body Swap- HELP!!!

[Zeke270]

Hi all. I have a 1977 3/4ton 4x4 that I have completely restored
mechanically. But the bed, cab, and nose are badly rusted. So I
bought a mint 1986 Chevy 2WD with a blown engine, and I plan to swap
all the body components to my 1977 frame. Will I encounter any
problems??? I know I'll have to cut a hole in the floor of the '86 cab
for my transfercase shifter. The gastanks are on the same side, so the
fills shouldn't be a problem. As far as I can see, it should be a
direct bolt up swap. am I overlooking anything???? Any input would
greatly be appreciated!! Thanks in advance.

 

[Captkaos]

Direct swap minus the high hump. In fact, you can cut the one in the 4x2 and make the one in the 4x4 work in it. That way you will have your high hump removeable.

 

[Zeke270]

You're talking about the hump in the center of the cab floor right over the transmission?? So it's not high enough to clear the tranny/transfer on my 4x4?? What do I do? Cut the whole hump out of both cabs, and weld or rivet the old one into the new cab??

 

[MTCK]

I swapped a 2 wd 1982 body onto a 4x4 chevy 1983 frame, and the only problem with the body was the hump. It wasn't much of a problem though, cuz the humps unbolted on both trucks, and had the same pattern. Is this the case with these? If not, I'd cut carefully when taking the hump out of the 2wd body, and get one of these bolt in humps, tap the holes, throw a gasket around it, and make it bolt in. Good luck.

 

[Mudrtrukr79]

We are currently doing that to a 79 Chevy frame with an 86 2WD body, the hump appears to be the only difference , its bolted on the 79 cab but not bolted on the 86 so we have to cut the floor on the 86 and screw the hump from the 79 on to the 86 floor with BIG sheetmetal screws. Either that or the kid that owns the truck is thinking about putting a body lift on it and extending the transfer case lever. We also have to remove the cowl panel on the 86 body as we are reusing the 79 front clip. Its going slow but we are getting there . Hope this helps.

Dan