hey i had a few questions about my 66

[Jerry8168]

hey i was woundering how hard it is to change cabs and the front clip??

[leftcoast66]

Originally Posted by Jerry8168

hey i was woundering how hard it is to change cabs and the front clip??

front clip shouldn't be bad, little tedious, but cab could be a pain. With a few hands could be done w/o too much of a mess. Lots of disassembly tho.

[Jerry8168]

ya the only thing bad is the truck i am switching to has like fried wiring and i need to switch it out how bad is that

[leftcoast66]

Originally Posted by Jerry8168

ya the only thing bad is the truck i am switching to has like fried wiring and i need to switch it out how bad is that

Wiring is pretty easy. If you go w/ a painless, that's all I've done and that was really simple, they have all of the wires labelled and everything, so a few days w/ one of those and it'll b done. I guess if your gonna just use the existing one and swap it out, label everything, worst comes worst you already will know where the wire goes cuz of a previous label. Also, with some of the tricky spots, I'd take pictures to remember how it all runs.

[LILRED66]

Swapping cabs between '64-'66 is relatively straight forward. Putting '60-'63 sheet metal on a '64-'66 frame and vice versa is a bit more complicated. I am currently doing an engine swap on my '66 Chevy C20. It is easier to remove the bumper, grille, hood, fenders, inner fenders, grille support, radiator support and radiator to do the swap. Very few tools are required and the only set of hands you might need is for the hood. I have removed hoods by myself, but it is easier if your buddy can lend a hand.

The cab is a relativeley easy swap, as well, especially if you are staying within the same years. In this case, all the cab mounts, radiator support and cab support holes match up correctly. I am also replacing the factory underdash wiring harness/fuse block in my '66 Chevy C10 due to some unsightly, poor workmanship by the previous owner. I prefer a stock harness, so you don't have any random wires left over that would feed any add-on options that your truck does not have. They say painless, however swapping harnesses from stock harness to an aftermarket is not always painless. A few aftermarket truck suppliers, i.e. sells a factory replacement underdash harness/fuse block that is excellent in quality and workmanship, at a reasonable price.

Check with:

www.bowtiebits.com

or

www.chevyduty.com

for good quality, factory spec wiring harnesses for '60-'66 Chevy trucks. Your project will be simplified if you stay in the same era, i.e. '60-'63 or '64-'66 for your donor parts. Good luck with your project.

[Jerry8168]

so are you saying i should prolly go with a new all wiring harnest??? thats like $500

[Jerry8168]

hey when i am switching the cabs how do u make it so the firewall is all smooth and stuff and how do i wire it back up??

[leftcoast66]

Originally Posted by Jerry8168

so are you saying i should prolly go with a new all wiring harnest??? thats like $500

Not necessarily. I would prefer to do that, I got a painless harness for a 60-66 for like 350 I think from summitracing.com but if you don't wanna spend the money, i would just make sure you label everything down to the littlest wire. It's a pain trying to trace wires w/ no idea.

Originally Posted by Jerry8168

hey when i am switching the cabs how do u make it so the firewall is all smooth and stuff and how do i wire it back up??

Not sure I understand wutcha mean by that one, cuz when you smooth a firewall, like completely nothing on it kind of deal it's with a welder and a sheet of metal or small pieces to fill in the holes. and then after doing that, you'll need to drill a hole for the wireloom to go through to the front end and that's about it.

[Jerry8168]

ya thats like what i meant

[leftcoast66]

Originally Posted by Jerry8168

ya thats like what i meant

Lemme know if you want any of that clarified, cuz I didn't wanna go into huge detail since wasn't sure if that was what you wanted and confuse the heck out of you.

[Jerry8168]

i just wish i had some one like u here to help me ... this was supposed to be a father son thing but my father went back to jail so i got left out in the open... i don't kno much but i am learning

[SIR]

...this could be helpfull when you pull your cab I used "camper jacks"...someone else built this....

[Jerry8168]

i had another question should i say forget it and just switch axels and motor and keep the long bed or shot i switch im not sure what i wanna do i wanna do the short but not %100 sure

[leftcoast66]

Originally Posted by Jerry8168

i had another question should i say forget it and just switch axels and motor and keep the long bed or shot i switch im not sure what i wanna do i wanna do the short but not %100 sure

I'd swap axles onto the long bed and then if you end up liking the short bed more, you could swap beds and cut down the frame. Sport Trucks is doin an article on how much to cut down the factory frame to make it a short bed next month so i'd watch that and then if you end up liking the shortbed more swap it out.

[Jerry8168]

how hard is it to switch axles like how would i do it?

[Chevy Fleetside]

Originally Posted by Jerry8168

i had another question should i say forget it and just switch axels and motor and keep the long bed or shot i switch im not sure what i wanna do i wanna do the short but not %100 sure

If your a novice at this I would say keep it a long bed. If you have not much experience I would not try it. Get some experience first then try doing a long to short bed. Here is what I am doing with my firewall. I am useing a wiring harness from an 88 suburban along with the engine and TBI unit and 700R4 tranny. I will have to use a holesaw to make a hole for the harness.. And I am not done yet. I have more to smooth out. Just have to get some stuff first..