59 to 72 chassis swap

[Purcell69]

Originally Posted by 59 Bitsa

Thanks for all the advise guys.
let me give you a little better idea of what i am working with and plan on doing.
first of all i would like to keep the truck a truck, sitting like a truck riding like a truck but a little better than a full leaf spring truck. i want reliable brakes and steering that i can get parts for at any local parts shop.
The truck will be used for truck stuff, hauling my vintage bikes, the odd parts run, hauling my ass to work a couple days a week, and dont forget about the friday night cruze for ice cream with the grandkids.

My current frame has at some point in its life fell victim to a cutting tourch happy farmer and a blind welder. it can be repaired but if i am going to spend that much time to fix a 56 year old frame and then proceed to bring it up to reliable standards i might as well spend the time swapping in a better frame.

I do have access to a very nice 72 C10 that had a fire in the cab but other than that the frame and related parts are almost mint. i helped the guy rebuild it about 4 years ago. I also have a complete 58 3/4 ton frame that i can take measurements from and also use the body mount brackets.

My plans for the truck are to keep it mostly stock looking. i would like to keep the 235 cid with a 5 speed swap. power brakes and electric power steering. Down the road i may do some body mods like power windows with no vent windows but i would like it to be a driver first.

It sounds like you have a good plan and a good platform. When I did the Dodge frame, I set it level, and then clamped 2" box tube to the top of the frame rails to use for a reference point when it came to locating the height and position of my cab mounts. This worked ok, but some of my mounts needed to be reworked a bit through trial and error.

The '72 will ride a lot nicer than the stock '58 suspension and power steering and better brakes will make it that much more enjoyable. You may want to explore incorporating the later cab bushings in to whatever cab mounts you create. This will go a long way toward isolating out road noise from your cab. The thin rubber wafers used on the '50s trucks did little more than dampen squeaking from two pieces of metal rubbing together. I found a way to reuse the Dodge bushings in mine and am glad I took the time to do it.

Even though the 72 frame is pretty mint, it's not a bad idea to ensure it is square before you get started moving body mounts. A little extra time spent will be worth it in the long run, given the frame has seen 43 years of use. If it is tweaked, a frame shop can get it squared up before you get started and save you from future headaches.

-Joe