What year Cab ???

[nhbowtie]

I am thinking about getting a better cab for my 76 K10. Will I be able to still use my 76 nose on a newer cab?

[79Betty]

Yes
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[79 silverado]

The real answer here is yes.... but.

Physically the sheetmetal will bolt on. However, depending on the year you source, and how you are titling/tagging it you will have some work and decision to make.

Here are a few considerations I know of:

1) Cowl/firewall/wipers:

Up through 1980 you will have the same wipers and post length as far as how it projects up behind the hood.

If you buy a 1981-1984 cab, the wiper motor and mounting is compatable with the pre-1980 style, but, the wiper blade linkage needs to be swapped from the earlier type onto the wiper motor to accomodate the hood that extends further back.

If you buy a 1985-up cab the wiper motor itself is different, along with said linkage, and you may need to do some fabbing work to get the earlier style motor mounted on the firewall due to bolt holes, etc, or some adjusting of the linkage arms that drive the wipers...

On all 81-up cabs you will have the holes in the firewall for the portion of the hood hinge that goes through the firewall on the newer cab, and which is not present on the 73-80 trucks.

2) Interior

Your next considerations have to do with the titling and your interior. If you buy a 79-up cab the vin is on the dash instead of the door jamb, and if you have a good dashpad you will need to cut a hole for the vin to show out the windshield (which seems a waste and asks for problems with cracking/splitting down the road) or replace it with one from a newer truck - this comes in to keeping the same or same color interior vs using what comes (or doesnt come) with the donor cab.

Also, if you have a lap belt setup in your 76 that you prefer to keep using, you will not be able to legally put those belts into the newer 77-up cab. 1976 was the cut-off year for factory installed lap belt before the 1977 mandated standard equipment shoulder belts. If you get a newer cab you need to upgrade to the equipment that was standard for your model year, and most states have the title/reg follow the cab/body rather than the frame.

As you probably know the 76-down door panels do not fit on the 77-up doors, so either swap the doors you have onto the cab, or if those also have rust you were trying to eliminate the easy way, then you would need to get some other door panels that match the interior and/or redye them...

[Brockwaykid]

yes, my 75 has a 73 cab on it. someone did a decent job converting it to a 4wd with the tcase lever hole placement. but you shouldnt have any problems with cabs from 73-80. 79 silverado basically summed it up!
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[nhbowtie]

Thanks for the info guys.