Considering a chassis swap...

[Scruffy49]

I know it is sacrilige but...

My truck hasn't been licensed since 1974. Hasn't been run since 1994. Had not been moved until a month ago.

Sheetmetal is great, stock chassis is great, powertrain is wasted. Cab is nearly gutted.

Across my pasture is a 108" wheelbase, runs like a brand new truck 92 Ranger. Seriuos body damage, frame is straight.

Swapping chassis would net me: 5 speed, factory disc brake IFS, modern rear drums (with parking brakes), fuel injected engine, AC/functional heat/ functional defrost, power steering, power brakes. Modern wheels and tires, common size available anywhere. Plus my stock 16" wheels or my replacement 15" wheels (either set) would fit it fine. Considerable weight savings, yet only cost me 50# on the GVWR.

I've got a 230 I could swap into the stock frame and hook up to my stock tranny. But the newest stuff on the rest of the truck is anywhere from 17-45 years old...

Oh, the Ranger is free. With a clean title. The Pilot House is getting customized anyway.

What would you do?

[41/53dodges]

i myself would keep the stock engine at the least. once you get one running well, they will purr like kittens (which i am yet to hear a kitten purr, but you get the point) i myself think that the newer chassis ruins the personality of the truck, but if you are using it for highway or something of that sort i can see it. the stock setup is a little of a handful, but even just that 100 HP is still more fun than most v-8's in modern cars. it's just my 2 cents worth.

FYI: there are ways to make the old powertrain more road friendly, such as rear end & trans swaps. if you want to learn anything on the rear end swap, send me something! i did it to my truck, and wouldn't turn back! has stock 218 with 3 on the tree.

[Flatie46]

Where is Rosemark, I need to bring beer and sit you down to have a talk.

[Scruffy49]

The engine in it isn't stock either, bored over 218.

Farmer's market will be its primary use. I live outside of Memphis, where 98% of the populace has absolutely no business being behind the wheel of anything. Makes Seattle drivers look halfway human. I spent the last 4 years out there piloting a Peterbilt.

I've considered just swapping the rear end and maybe the trans. But the AC would sure be nice when it hits 100+ degrees and close to that humidity.

Last time I drove the truck (spring 94), 0-60 was about, um, impossible. I live on a 35-45 mph road, but if you aren't going 60 or better, Bubba in his jacked up F350, Silverado or similiar is going to flatten you. Stock rear end in my truck is the 4.78 option. It MIGHT hit 50 mph, downhill with a tailwind.

I was going to swap everything from my 69 D-100 into the Pilot House, but... not fond of slushomatics with something smaller than at least a 383 in front of them. So the 318/727 in front of 3.55s is out. Of course, I do have a 413/727 out back, that runs...

[Flatie46]

My son's '52 Plymouth with the 230 does well around town and on the 2 lane back roads. Well enough I wouldn't swap it (if it we're mine). The engine is in very good shape and dosen't have many miles since a build. Maybe if you bumped up to a 230 and a bit more compression with the 5speed from the ranger you would have the best of both worlds.

[Dave72dt]

Custom bodywork almost dictates a custom drivetrain. The Ranger drivetrain may be free but it won't be cheap to install. I get the impression it's not where you really want to go with this truck. Figure out what you really want the truck to be and build that truck.

[Dave72dt]

Where is Rosemark, I need to bring beer and sit you down to have a talk.

Opposite ends of the state, just nw of Memphis. Take old No.7 instead of beer. This is serious!:D

[Scruffy49]

Ranger was my brother in law's, I'm driving his other Ranger (94) now. He died in January.

49 was my grandpa's. He died in Feb 84.

I just want the thing running and drivable for now.

I've got a complete 230 for it sitting next to my 69 D100. Would take me less than a day to swap engines AND run the new wiring harness. But I'm still stuck dealing with over geared/underpowered. Even if I have to move the spring hangers inboard (not as hard as it sounds) on the stock 49 frame I plan to run the 92 Ranger rear axle. Would also allow a wider rear tire.

I know I can convert the stock front I-beam to disc brakes. That's easy.

Can probably convert the truck to power steering without too many headaches. Kind of a necessity, I have a steel plated shoulder that locks up on me from time to time. I'm also fighting a degenerative joint/disc disease, so the easier I make the truck to drive the better.

Truck will end up a "kustom", but without the usual gingerbread (visor, top chop, body drop, spotlights, fender skirts, etc ad nauseum). Think Spring Special mates with L'il Red Express... With a Chris Craft in the woodpile...

Old #7??? Bleah... Hundred year old single malt.

[50farmtruck]

I wouldn't do it. I'm not opposed to swapping parts, but I would take my time & stick with Mopar parts. There are still enough parts out there for GM, Ford & Mopar that I don't believe any of the three should exchange parts with each other. I agree with 41/53, it will lose it's personality. Just my opinion.

[buds truck]

soooooo, my chopped, frame swapped (91 dakota). 318 with a 727 1953 Dodge truck has no personality????? excuuuuse me.....LOL :D:D

[Dave72dt]

You kept it MOPAR. Price of gas, a 318/727 looks better to me than a 383/727. I'm not sure what he really wants yet. Putting a Ranger chassis under it would be like....like putting an S10 chassis under it.

[buds truck]

S10..... thats what I had under it till I found out the track width was too narrow. dakota is a perfect fit. Ranger may be too narrow also

[Dave72dt]

I figure he'll need to tub the bed panels to get the stock tires under it.

[PatS....]

A guy's gotta do what floats his boat. If that's a chassis swap, then so be it.

Give it a go and keep us informed as to how you do it and let us tag along with you as it progresses through pictures and updates.

Good luck with it and above all...have fun!!!

[Dave72dt]

Or build one from scratch. My next major truck build will require one. I've got 3 or 4 major ones ahead of it though.

[Scruffy49]

Nothing I own is stock for very long.

Example: bought this bike brand new in Feb 1998. Started modding it within a month. It's on its 4th full redo...

I really need to finish the paint and change the starter relay (dual system, relay into solenoid).

Truck will be the same cream as the side panels, orange as the headlight shell...

I use parts from whatever is handy. I've already started fabbing the new mahogany panels for in the cab, found some 1"x8"x14' rough sawn cured oak for the bed floor (sawn in the 1920s by the kerf marks). Left over barn boards. Mahogany left over from projects at Jefferson Davis' home in Biloxi MS.

If it requires tubbing the bed I'll skip the Ranger axle. I will not cut any of the 49s external body panels.

[41/53dodges]

a jeep cherokee rear end is nearly a perfect swap. if you find a 2WD they sometimes even have posi!

[greg g]

Your truck your money your time. Do what you need to do. If you feel you're gonna get run over while driving the stock drive train, and you have a free donor why not build something you are going to be comfortable driving under the conditions you describe.

and if you are worried there is a guy around here with a slant 6 in his F 150 so he's one one side of the ford mopar scale, you'd be onthe other side.

Conventional wisdom would be to use a Dakota as a donor but you got whet you got.

[John Mathias]

Myself: 53' swapped in 9" rear w/disc, front axle disc conv, streched stock frame 4" (I'm 6'6", needed more leg room), rebuilding the 230 for a McCulluch supercharger, 5 speed, newer elec ignition, headers. The only body mods are going to strech the roof and doors to fit the frame, and a Dakota split bench. 54' I'm building for my son. Dakota frame (original was way to hacked up) for the IFS and newer rear w/disc, 301ci poly, 5 speed or auto (haven't made up his mind yet). body mods will be: 58' plymouth headlights, 57' ply taillights, either a 58' ply dash, or a billit dash. would like to switch to right hand drive but the cost of a RH rack-n pinion is stupid, oh and Chrysler style door handles in and out. It's all up to you brother, if I was in your area, I'd probably be the annoying guy coming over every weekend to help you. If you got the ranger there, go for it. Met a nice lady in Colorado Springs who dropped her dad's 50' off at the body shop, and they swapped a ranger under it so she could drive it daily, and still keep dad's memory. If you think the truck already has a personality, it will still be there, just with an attitude change:p My 2 cents.

[moparmonkey]

Chassis swaps can get interesting. Especially if you're planning on running the Ranger drivetrain. At that point you'll need to swap over the ECU and everything else, and that gets to be a headache FAST. Also, just because the wheelbase is 108" doesn't mean everything will line up. Fender and bed length are undoubtedly different, which means the cab will be in a different spot, which means the engine may not fit into the bay properly. Not to mention the track width.

I would suggest using the 5 speed and possibly the rear end out of the Ranger with the 230. You'll get better gears and driveability, but won't have to mess with all the accessories. Just swapping the trans and rear is pretty straightforward. Although I wouldn't move the spring hangers on the truck, I'd move the perches on the axle. Much easier to deal with. And the Cherokee rear end might have better dimensions, not free but they're usually not that much at the local pick a part.

Keeping it to swapping components also keeps things more tangible, less likely to stall out than on a big project like a chassis swap, where you will run into a lot of issues that you didn't see coming.

[Dave72dt]

I dug up some dimensions for you. The 7.5 dif and 8.8 used in Rangers have a backing plate flange to flange dimension of 51" , have 3" wide spring mounts set at 36" inside and 42" outside. Have no idea what the pinion angle is set at. The '93 up axles are 2" wider than the earlier axles but I don't know if the dimensions I gave are for the earlier or later axles. Pilothouse frames are 40" across on the outside and 36" inside. Inside the bed is 49". There's a 1/2" lip to the outside on the bottom of the bed sides so that moves the workable dimension to at least 50" minimum.

Without an extreme deep dished wheel, the Ranger rear will not fit without some kind of sheet metal surgery. It would also indicate the full chassis swap would also need the same surgery in the rear for tires to clear.

I have nothing against chassis swaps. They're a viable alternative to simply swapping components into an existing frame. A year newer chassis than your proposed donor would be a better choice.

I measured my Merc Monarch 8" and found it measured 52 from backing plate flange to backing plate flange with a 57" wheel mounting surface dimension. I found a 15 x 8 with a 2 1/4" backspacing that theoretically would give me an inch of tire clearance if I trimmed that 1/2" lip off the bottom of the bed side and if not, would use a spacer for clearance. Maybe the Ranger rear would work with a spacer.

Edited May 14, 2011 by Dave72dt

[Scruffy49]

Five inch difference in spring outside to spring outside, and that was with the 94 daily driver. Ranger seat is 9" narrower.

Measuring off putting the core support in the same area, it's only off by a couple inches. In my favor, parts junker 92 is a 4 cylinder.

Ranger frame looks like a weak sister toy though compared to the 49 frame (which itself looks like a toy compared to my 69's frame).

I honestly would prefer to keep it a flattie. I like the exhaust note. If I can make the Ranger steering work in the 49, I can trade the rest of the Ford off for other stuff. If I can adapt the trans and rear axle as well, so much the better. Don't need IFS anyway.