67-72 Frame mounting points same as 60-66??

[rockosocko]

Hey, it's been a while since I've been here but got a project going on where I have a 1981 Cherokee and want to make it 2wd, lowered for my business and to haul anything that I need. (Plus, I don't NEED 4wd here in the Memphis area)
I'm pretty much parts rich and have tons of buds that like to trade.
One bud I traded for a '85 Diesel Suburban front frame section and wanted to graft it to the Jeep frame to have the heavy duty brakes/suspension and be able to swap in a '78 3/4ton 14 bolt for the rear so all my rims will match.
(stay with me now..)
Got the ideas from this gents build on one of my jeep sites I frequent.
He used a '71 chevy truck frame on his and talking to him, he stated that it was almost like it was made for the Jeep body! And just a few mods to make it work. (yes, I know how to weld and have the tools needed)
I like the long arm design versus the Jeeps' standard leaf spring arrangement, and the 14 bolt should swap in and be stronger than the AMC 20 rear.

It's a little reading and a great build but mine won't be as detailed and intricate as his.. Just a low mileage AMC 360/4L80e/14 bolt.
http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=127321

Fast forward and another 'tinkering' buddy came over and we were shooting around Idea's
and he said that the 60-66 frames were the same pretty much, and told me of how guys that he knew had swapped beds and cabs from those years mentioned above.

I searched Google and this site came up with the most hits so I'm asking here.
Could I utilize a '67-72 rear sectioned frame to a 85 diesel front frame?

I'm going to look at a 67-72 bed, that someone just cut from a truck to make a trailer, to measure and see if just the frame section will work for "MY" project. (i already disassembled the '85's front frame, blasted it so I'd really like to use it and not have to start all over again with another front frame.
If this "trailer" is pretty beat up, I may have to look into the earlier rear long arm frames.

Thanks
Errol

[rockosocko]

41 views and no info?
Anyone know this? Dont' want to get the wrong frame and get messed up.

Thanks E

[BILT4ME]

I put a 1969 Chevy body on a 1960 K10 frame 33 years ago.
The front radiator support mounts are EXACTLY the same. The cab mounts are in close proximity to the mounts on the frame (within 2") front to rear. The width of the mounts on the frame are considerably different. I started with the radiator support and worked to the back of the truck. I set the cab and braced it up where it needed to be for alignment, then cut off the mounts and rewelded accordingly. I did NOT weld directly to the frame. I only welded to the outboard riveted-on mounts. I didn't want to induce stress cracks into a frame that was going to see HD use.

Then i set the bed and adjusted the body gap and elevation. The clips on the frame were close, but I had to drill new holes in the wood bed floor for the bed to bolt to the frame. I used a 3/4" thick wood spacer between the frame rail and the bed supports.

The wheelbase on the LWB 1960 is about 1-1/4" shorter (I think) than the 1969. You can verify this from the manuals available here. I left it as was and you could not notice it due to how I installed rubber fender flares on the front wheel wells.

I started with a 235 6 cylinder and the original 1960 K10 axles. Eventually, it all got upgraded to a 350 (bored 0.060 over, ported, polished, balanced+), limited slip 4.11:1 front and rear with a 1975 3/4T Dana 44 in front (hubs converted to K10 disc brakes), and a 12 bolt GM corporate (1979) in the rear. I built custom ladder bars to hold the rear axle where it was supposed to be because the 1960 frame has a 6" tall block between the spring and the axle to support the shocks and with 33" tires and lots of HP, it chewed on the front edge of the rear fenders when bumping the throttle.

Let me know if you need more.

[BILT4ME]

Oh yeah, an advantage of the 1960 frame was the divorced transfer case and (3) driveshafts. If you REALLY wanted, you could put on MASSIVE lift because you can drop the T-Case a couple inches to reduce the driveline angles.

When I was done, it looked like it had about 6" lift compared to a stock 69 K10 just due to the different frame design points and how it all had to be mounted. I would KINDA call it a body lift, but it wasn;t that really.

It had a 1970 Engine, 1975 Front axle, 1979 rear axle, 1987 3/4T transmission (4 spd), 1960 T-Case (Rockwell T-221 gear-driven), a 68 front clip, 69 cab, 67 right door, 69 bed, 68 tailgate, bucket seats from a 76 Trans Am, and a custom Boat Throttle handle for a transfer case shifter handle.

Oh....and over 1 million candlepower of lights.

[rockosocko]

Thank you Bilt4me for all the good info. (..but I'm going the opposite direction. Down low)
Sounds like a great accomplishment! WHere on 'here' can i find these diagrams you speak of?
Did a search and didn't see it/them.

I also have another project thats a '64 2-ton farm stake truck that I'm putting a Caddy 500/NV4500 to a dana 80 (5.13's) and a solid beam axle up front (SOA) so I can lower it and utilize a bus's hydroboost/4 wheel discs. But that's kinda been forced to the back burner
I'm going with adapters from the small 10lug to large semi 10lug to run some super singles. (the adapters are going to be more than the tire$!
E

[BILT4ME]

Yeah, you're going the other way by placing a 60 body on a 69 frame. Then the front radiator supports will be the same. Start at the front and work your way back. It will probably work out that you may have to shim the front radiator supports by 3/4" in order to get elevations to match when it comes to the bed. Basically, the opposite of what I did.

Also, you're slamming it. Do your lowering first, then the body. Just make sure the body doesn't hang below the frame. Maybe find someone who has one of each and crawl under it to see how the body supports go.

Ok, you go down, I go up.......

Below are the service manuals Download them and print the appropriate pages. Look on the 60-66 boards for the same thing for the other body.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s....php?p=5781194

I did a search on the threads for "service manuals" and clicked "67-72chevytrucks.com" and hit Google search. It was the first one that popped up.

Search is your friend.

Good luck!