80 c10 frame

[Inked Monkey]

Since most of the body panels on my 1980 c10 shortbed need to be replaced, I've been thinking about putting a 52 chevy body on it. The stock wheelbase on my 52 is 116 and the wheelbase on the 80 is 117. The 80 is only a couple of inches wider than the 52 also. I think this should work perfect. I've been looking for some pics of this done, but haven't had any luck yet. I've seen it done on a s10, so it can't be much harder. What do you think?

 

[Inked Monkey]

Oh, and my 80 has a freshly rebuilt 350 with all the goodies, so I would just be changing over the body panels. It also has a 700r4 in it that needs rebuilt, but if i put the 52 body on it, I'd put in a manual.

 

[Tripper]

"52 fotos

Inked,
That would b sweet. Let's see pictures of u're '52. My 1st car/truck was a '48 Chev PU & then I had a '51 5 window that was my fav.

BoB

 

[FlatBroke]

Inked monkey,
If you put that body on your 80 truck chassis, I would think that with the 1 in. diff in wheelbase you might start mounting the bed first. That way when you get to mounting the cab and front fenders you might end up with the look of an altered wheelbase look. (Be just enough to leave peopls scratchin their heads)

Just thinking out loud here.

 

[Bonehead]

I think it would be a good idea. I've done this kind of thing pretty often in
4x4s. Should be pretty easy. New body mounts etc.... There is an old Dodge power wagon that runs around town on a suburban frame, and it looks really good.

 

[donsrods]

One area that sometimes causes fit problems in a swap like this is the very front of the frame. Older cars and trucks had most of the components like steering, etc. mounted behind the front wheels. Most newer cars and trucks have these in front, and consequently, the frame in front of the wheels is longer and filled up with more stuff like steering boxes and wider radiators.

If you look at the profile of an older vehicle vs a newer one, the newer ones are longer up front of the wheels. Not saying that is the case here, you will have to check, but some of this bulk is sometimes hard to conceal behind the old grille and front end.

Measuring and comparing the frames will be the acid test though.

Don

 

[Inked Monkey]

I think I'm just gonna have to try. I need to take the body panels off the 80 anyway, so if the 52 doesn't fit I'll just fix the 80 panels. I just never really liked the frontend of the 74 to 80 chevys with the round headlights. After the 64 is all ironed out and back on the road, Ill start a build thread with some pics.

 

[Lakota]

Measure, measure, measure...
Measure the distance from the center of the front wheel, (wheels straight), to the firewall of both trucks.
Measure the distance from where the radiator sits to the firewall of both trucks.
Measure the distance from the radiator forward to the front grille/fender apron area of both trucks.

If these measurements are close in both trucks, then you have a good candidate frame for a swap. If you bring the cab back 1/2", and the bed forward 1/2", that will take up the one inch gap and no one will even notice.

On my 52 Ford to an 89 S-10 frame swap, I had an extra three inches of frame to deal with, (114.5/117.8). I still have an extra 1 1/2" between the cab and the bed. I'm thinking of using 3" diameter stacks to hide it.

 

[getcarter]

you know, it was very common for guys to swap the front ends with later suburban clips. it gives it a cleaner look.

 

[Inked Monkey]

I was going to, but with the 80 and older, I'd have to change the firewall and cowl panel also. I could switch over my 83, but I just beat it up offroading anyway!

 

[FlatBroke]

IM,
Since you are not real fond of the 80 model frontend on your street truck, I say swap cabs and front ends from one truck to the other. (Yes i know its a lot of work) The only reason I say that is with the older frontend on the 4WD it may get beat up and it won't matter to you.

If thats too much work for ya, You can still make the front end of the 80 look real good (as a streeter).
It all depends on what you want to do with it.

 

[WIZEGUY]

When you said the 80 is a couple of inches wider, were you talking about the track width?
Check that as well as the other items mentioned.
Nothing looks worse than a body or subframe swap that ends up having the tires sticking out past the fenders. Well, almost nothing.
Even if this is the case, you may be able to correct it with offset wheels. But, be careful again.
The only thing that looks worse than tires sticking out is flat looking wheels that make your truck or car look like a front wheel drive.

Tracy

 

[Inked Monkey]

One of my buddies printed off a sheet with all the dimensions on the two chassis, I'll have to go pick it up from him. I imagine that I will have to run a different offset, but I'm not sure.

 

[LordMaximo]

Your on the right track for the swap over. I am using my old 71 Chevy chassis as the new platform for my 38 IHC D-30 project. It is only 1/8" difference between the two. The Chevy full size truck chassis is one of the best platforms for most older retrofits. You can still get all sorts of chassis parts for practically nothing. Great choice and take your time, as stated before, measure and measure again.

Maximo

 

[FlatBroke]

Measure twice, Cut once