Has anyone swapped a light duty truck cab onto a Deuce chasis?

[Shawn MacAnanny]

Thanks! I really dont feel like towing that thing back 500 miles though haha.

 

[harleyhouse]

Come on harleyhouse you been here long enough to know you can't post active auctions , they just made everyone read the site rules last week.

Sorry saw it to the left of the screen " just sliding it to the right"

 

[RRworker]

I went down this road not too long ago, was originaly,looking for a bigger truck then my nissian titan and something not seen often. I was in the research phase of that project when I figured a deuce would be a good project, might still build my truck one day but gonna need a place with more space. But back on topick.

Here is the layout I would have used, mind you this would have been alot of work but would give you a unique truck.
frame- gmc topkick/ chevy kodiak ('93)
Body- topkick tip hood, crewcab and bed ('95 1-ton modified to run tandems)
Engine-6v53t detroit (multifuel in your case)
Trans- fuller fso-6406 or fso-8406 (both available in SAE 2 or 3 flyhousing)
T-case and axles- A2 deuce or 5 ton (m900?)
Brakes and steering- hydromax and ps box thats on the topkicks with extra parts too brake the tandems properly.
Suspesion- softer leaf springs from a local spring shop
Electrical- a tangle of topkick chassis, crewcab body and custom wire harnesses.

As you can see it would have been a huge project, and i still had more research to do and piles of notes and specs already. In the end i learned about the.deuce and figured it was already 75% of the truck I wanted, with somr modification and updating (still have the tickle to put my detroit 6v53 in it, buy cant argue with the awesome multifuel) it would be 100% the truck I want. Hope this helps and gives you some ideas, please excuse me if i made any forum no-no's kinda new to the site and forums in general.

Howie

 

[bajajoaquin]

If you check out this guy's build on Pirate 4X4, he's mixed light-duty cabs with medium-duty hoods:

Pirate4x4.Com - View Single Post - F-700 4x4 Camper

Of course, he's putting a Ford cab on a Ford F-700, but maybe there's something there.

 

[Shawn MacAnanny]

thanks RRworker, i think the deuce is a great platform im just displeased with the cab of it. I really dont think its all that much work to swap the cab over and really would be much cheaper than buying an entire truck. Its not that huge of a job i dont think.

Ive put a 454bbc in a c60 327 dump truk i had at 17, i built my ls1 and put it in my 1968 firebird with viper t56 at 19, at 20 i put and ls1 and 4l60e in a toyota tacoma and ive been a part of many other projects. i know its completely doable i was just curious is anyone had already done it.

That camper is really awesome. the ford light duty cab mates up with the medium duty front very nicely.

 

[bajajoaquin]

Yeah, elsewhere in the thread he says that the Fords are like that: they share the same sheet metal from the cowl back. Sounds like you're a Chevy guy. You could probably check to see if GM products are designed the same way. Since GM tends to have better parts commonality, I'd be surprised if something like that wasn't possible

 

[RRworker]

Kinda went overboard on my example. seeing that your familiar with the c60 you could just use the mount setup from one of those and a cab from a light duty chevy/gmc if you wanted a crew cab. IIRC the 80's c60 used the same cab as the light duty trucks with the added benefit to use the c60 front clip if the deuce sheetmetal doesnt look right. Your right tho just a cab and possible front clip swap would not be that difficult at all.

Howie

 

[plym49]

I was actually eying up the international crew cabs but they are hard to find. reasons i wanted to use a deuce platform and not something else

Deuce transmission, trasnfercase, axles and frame a very solid and parts are readily available just about everywhere.

The reasons i want to use a silverado cab is for very similar reasons. they can be had cheaply, blower box and heater core as well as all window glass windo regulators etc are widely produced, the interiors are very nice and roomy I dont think it would look too horrible on a deuce. Side by side the trucks are the same size, the silverado cab is actually taller when measured from the frame

I would go for it. It is a perfectly reasonable idea. My only suggestion is to find a way to keep the Deuce nose. No 'common' truck looks like that nor as good..

 

[Shawn MacAnanny]

I would go for it. It is a perfectly reasonable idea. My only suggestion is to find a way to keep the Deuce nose. No 'common' truck looks like that nor as good..

i completely agree about the front end. I really like the deuce front end. I will take some measurements and try to see where it all would fall. i know the deuce front wouldnt be the same shape as the doors but buying a couple fenders could be pieced in i think to make a perfect fit.

My C60 was a 1968 though i did have an 85 and they were pretty much the same asside from the wheels and one had air brakes. Ive been sorting through a few crew cab trucks on craiglist under 1500 which i think is pretty reasonable to get the entire interior and windows doors mortors etc. I can always put a new interior in later.

I am a chevy guy but ive owned and operated most every brand for this project i wouldnt really have any prefference between a ford or a chevy both have large crew cabs, the dodge not so much unless i got a mega cab which i just wouldnt spend the money on.

 

[plym49]

i completely agree about the front end. I really like the deuce front end. I will take some measurements and try to see where it all would fall. i know the deuce front wouldnt be the same shape as the doors but buying a couple fenders could be pieced in i think to make a perfect fit.

My C60 was a 1968 though i did have an 85 and they were pretty much the same asside from the wheels and one had air brakes. Ive been sorting through a few crew cab trucks on craiglist under 1500 which i think is pretty reasonable to get the entire interior and windows doors mortors etc. I can always put a new interior in later.

I am a chevy guy but ive owned and operated most every brand for this project i wouldnt really have any prefference between a ford or a chevy both have large crew cabs, the dodge not so much unless i got a mega cab which i just wouldnt spend the money on.

Glad we agree on that. Yes, I am sure that there is a way to get the pieces to transition from Deuce to Chevy (I am a Chevy person, too). While you look for good used crew cabs, ponder this: would a van body work? An extended full-size van body might almost be easier to line up, it would have all the creature comforts, and the added length might fit the Deuce chassis better. I'm not sure how good it would look, but I bet it would be easier to find a full-size extended van with a trashed powertrain and decent body/interior. Find an armored-car body and you get to keep the flat windshield. Wow, so many possibilities...

 

[misupratwin]

Don't forget about adding a 12 volt charging system to run all that stuff .

 

[silverstate55]

Yeah, elsewhere in the thread he says that the Fords are like that: they share the same sheet metal from the cowl back. Sounds like you're a Chevy guy. You could probably check to see if GM products are designed the same way. Since GM tends to have better parts commonality, I'd be surprised if something like that wasn't possible

Yes, to a point. I've got an 86 GMC 3/4-ton pickup that I'm going to transfer the cab & engine to a 94 Kodiak 5500 frame (with Hydro-Max!!). This truck has a Detroit Diesel engine that needs a flip-front hood.

1973-87 Chevy medium-duty trucks (Kodiaks, C-50/60/70) used the same cabs and cab mounts; for the flip-forward fiberglass hoods, just add the fender extensions and the hood will line right up. BUT, not all of these medium-duty trucks came with tilt hoods; some came with what is referred to as an "Alligator Hood" that is steel & opens like a standard pickup hood. I've seen some HD Chevy medium trucks well into the 1988 & 89 model years with the 73-87 cab & tilt hood, but by 1989 the new cab was used with fiberglass tilt hoods. Get some fender extensions and you can use the 1990-??? newer Chevy cabs with fiberglass tilt hoods from the medium duty Kodiaks (C5500/6500/7500).

GMC trucks are different though; these used the pre-1973 pickup cab with their tilt hood medium-duty trucks, some with 2-piece split windshields. It wasn't until the 1980s that GMC switched over to using the 1973-87 Chevy cab for their medium duty trucks...and used either a fiberglass tilt hood or the steel Alligator Hood.

Ford used the same cab from 1980-1998 for their F-series pickups & medium-duty trucks. In the 1990s they developed a completely new medium duty cab that they ended up selling to Freightliner, which branded the new line as Sterlings. You can adapt the 1980-1998 F-series pickup cabs to accept the medium-duty fiberglass tilt hoods.

Hope this helps.

 

[silverstate55]

I recently saw a truck for sale in Southern California on CL; it was a 1960 or 61 Ford F100 longbed that was grafted onto a bobbed Deuce frame...I think someone swapped in a gas V-8, if I remember correctly.

 

[harleyhouse]

Keep the front clip and build a custom cab.

 

[Shawn MacAnanny]

That is really awesome. I would preffer to use an existing cab, with door windows, motors, heater cores, vents, blower motors etc that can be purchased as replacements easily.

 

[Shawn MacAnanny]

Does anyone have any pictures of the deuce chasis without the cab on it? Or pictures of the cab removed by itself?

 

[Bcurtman]

Ok, that's really sharp, but what is it? I first thought M-37, then corrected myself to a M-601 Danish power wagon. Does anyone claim it?

 

[HELLRIDER]

I bought this Bronco a few years ago. It has the stock frame, with deuce rears, springs and hangers, and power steering box. I didn't build it, but looks super easy to do. It has a 351, and a c6. I haven't done much with it, and it is on my property in Vt. Next time i go up, I will take chassis pics if you would like.

 

[BackWoodsDrifter]

There was a guy at the Bloomsburg 4X4 Jamboree that had a c60 cab and a dually K30 box setting on a deuce frame. looked real sharp, body lines matched up with with cab and box. He had one rear axle and ran super singles. Had thought bout doing that but sold my dually box off my 3+3 parts truck so that was the end of that.

 

[11Echo]

While looking for fiberglass tops for my truck (since the hard top on there is a little worse for wear) i see i can get them for around $700 or so. For that price i can get an entire crew cab cab from a silverado. There doesnt seem to be a whole lot of things what would need to be relocated and from what i have hear the frame railes are a standard 34" or so. I imagine the hood is much higher and would require a cab lift possibly but the factory cab is so tiny i would love to have more room, is this possible?

A couple here. It's a shame they goofed the tipper.