Frame Swaps

[GmtGmt]

I was drowling over a build and owner of the truck RandyP
posted some things of a frame swap they where doing for a guy cause the truck got damaged but was very low millage truck so the owner wanted it repaired. A member posted that he loved frame swaps, but its not done anymore because some rule changed in insurence companies so if the frames damaged its a write off.

this got me thinking. I know my truck has had somekind of front end and passenger side damage. When looking at my truck it looks like it has gotten a newer bed and front clip as it does not have any rust at all but the cab and doors are completly gone.



When i tore it down we noticed that the frame was in very good condition, still with lots of the fatory paint on it and you would not think that this was under the old cab. we where looking for the VIN on the frame because we had feeling that it might not was the real VIN in the cab but it was.
we noticed there was 2 VIN number punched into the frame Rail both the same VIN but it looked like someone didnt like it the first time and made a second.

Dosen this sound like a Case where the truck had been damaged and had a New Frame?
I did not have a US Title so i dont know about the had a salvaged title or not

[RandyP]

Frame swaps are common occurrence, or at least used to be. We have frame straightening equipment, but sometimes the frames are hurt in places that just can not be properly repaired, thus a new or used frame is brought in to the equation. Normally, if a vehicle needs this sort of repair they are total losses, but sometimes it is done due to the value of the vehicle or because the owner wants it. Just because it has had a frame replacement, does not mean it was a salvage.
It is not unthinkable that your truck had a replacement frame, after all at one time it was a very high end vehicle. Just think if it were just a few years old and got freight trained in the rear, it could have been done easily.
Usually the frames need to be replaced due to damage in the front, when they get bent behind the wheel area it is very hard to straighten in reality, at least correctly. The rear rails can get pulled back usually, but the front is for some reason just a different ball game due to the front crossmember, transmission crossmember and suspension mounting locations.
Heck, the truck I'm driving now (05 crew) had a new frame figured under it, owner did not want it back, so I bought it cheap. We actually were able to straighten it, fairly easily actually. We fixed it over a year ago, never had issues with anything. Just took it to the local dealer for a 50,000 mile checkup and such, they were unable to find what we had repaired and were only able to tell me they knew the bed was painted since the inside of it was so "nice" for a 5 year old truck.