1999 Silverado 4x4 for $1,700????

[jon75]

Yesterday I went and looked at a possible donor vehicle for my truck. It's a 1999 Silverado regular cab long box 4x4 with manual transfer case and auto transmission with 5.3L. It has 207,000 miles. The interior is pretty rough, it has some jacked up car alarm in it attached to the manual door locks, and the body is quite beat up. I drove the truck and the running state of it is all decent. It has good power, shifts smoothly, and goes down the road....kinda. It has a bad pull.

The guy has owned it for 120,000 miles and said he changed the transfer case fluid once, which I tend to believe it was either once or zero. He also said that he has done the oil changes regularly but that it uses 2 quarts of oil between changes. The transmission feels pretty good and the fluid is dark cherry (typical for Dexron 6).

As for the running gear, the axles didn't make any noise and the front axle seals are the only thing leaking (typical for GMT700/800). Even the inner tie rod ends were nice and tight. The transmission had residual oil from the engine but didn't seem to be leaking tranny fluid. The transfer case was leaking gear oil, but I plan on replacing it because the chain is skipping in 4H, not rebuilding it. The brakes pedal felt good, but the fluid needs changing and the pads and rotors will probably need replacing.

So here is what I want to do with it. The GVWR is 7,200, the same as my K25, and I want to put my cab and box on this frame and running gear. I figure, while I have it out, I will replace the engine and transfer case with used units for around $400-500 each (I already checked prices) and sell the cab and bed. What do you guys think? I mean, it's all there, so that saves me a lot of time rather than trying to fit all the pieces together.

The things working in my favor are:
wheel base - 131.5 vs 143.5 (the frame "slides" together through channels and should be easy to modify the length, as viewed through another member's build)
transfer case - shifter location should be close, and I can always modify the shifter
automatic transmission - even though I have a manual, I can now get an auto-tilt column or use the column from this truck and make a cover plate for my high trans tunnel
throttle linkage - manual throttle body cable, no hassles with the pedal assembly
cruise control - who doesn't love cruise control???air conditioning - I will not have to buy all the stuff to put it back together on my truck!
manual everything in the cab - with manual operation stuff, I can incorporate some of the items from the interior into my truck ie. seats, steering column, etc.
Last but not least, EVERYTHING IS THERE!! - basically it's a fully functioning donor vehicle
Let me see some opinions!!

[bohmankid]

It's a cool idea, and a lot of work! I'm wanting to do the same thing with a 1st gen duramax and a square crew cab..
But is there a specific reason you don't want to just pull the ls motor and trans and throw it in your square?
Have you thought about keeping the dashboard and most of interior of the newer style truck? that'd be cool. Too bad it sounds like the interior is not in great condition though.

[wraprail]

Should this be on the 1999-06 board?
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[jon75]

Originally Posted by bohmankid

It's a cool idea, and a lot of work! I'm wanting to do the same thing with a 1st gen duramax and a square crew cab..
But is there a specific reason you don't want to just pull the ls motor and trans and throw it in your square?
Have you thought about keeping the dashboard and most of interior of the newer style truck? that'd be cool. Too bad it sounds like the interior is not in great condition though.

The dash panel I would like to put into my truck, but I'm unsure of how it will fit until I get them together. The seats I will reupholster and put in the truck for sure. I don't want to do the LS and trans swap because I don't like the way that my truck rides at all. And if you have ridden in the newer trucks, then you know exactly what I mean! It is night and day the differences. I do want the look of my old truck with the reliability and comfort of the new trucks. My long-term plans are to have it as a weekend warrior truck to take camping, hauling, or to the mountains in the winter.

Originally Posted by wraprail

Should this be on the 1999-06 board?
Posted via Mobile Device

No, because I want this truck as a donor to my '75 K25. Read the whole thread before you post.

[y5mgisi]

I would really like to see you try it out!

[bohmankid]

Yeah, that independent suspension is pretty luxurious.
Have you seen this youtube vid? These guys put this truck body onto a newer truck chassis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1wk_bOLa6s

[jon75]

That's awesome! I haven't seen that yet. On another thread I had asked if anyone had ever done the frame swap and one guy thought someone did already. This is what I was looking for! Thanks man.

[bohmankid]

Yeah I've seen a few people do it. There are a few threads on this forum, I'll see if I can find some and post up. The frame will more than likely need to be cut and shortened/lengthened. Then all you'll need to do is make custom body mounts (I hope you're a metal man) and turn the chassis into a stand alone harness to plug into the square body cab.

I actually had the idea of cutting the floor and firewall of the cabs and weld the squarebody cab onto the 99 silverado floor and firewall (keeping all of the 99 dash electronics intact). That would take some ingenuity.

[bohmankid]

This one is pretty cool
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=542647

[jon75]

I've been following that one and is one of the major reasons why I felt this was possible. The only thing I was kind of hoping for is a thread on the 73-87 since our frames are quite different than the 67-72. But it's a great place to see things in action.

[jon75]

I'm not really sure why but I made a mistake on the wheelbase numbers. The new style truck has a wheelbase of 133 and my truck's is 131.5. So its quite close. I have found a couple other people who have done this work but nothing for our year of trucks. It all seems pretty straightforward to get the body on. From there its just a matter of how you want to run the electrical.
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[andrewmp6]

I gotta ask why do all that work and have a ifs 4x4 when you could swap the engine trans and maybe t case in your truck you have now?

[jon75]

I already explained that the ride of the newer trucks is far superior. Not to mention I can just bolt up the body and figure in a few wiring details. I don't have to find a certain transfer case or custom engine mounts or notch the frame to have air conditioning. There are too many benefits to list.
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[mrolds88]

I say to each his own. If this is what you want then do it. One thing that you need to contemplate is the speedometer. The 75 is mechanical and the 99 is electrical. but you can swap in a 90-91 out of a Blazer or burb. Might be able to work out the electrical for that and the guages.

[jon75]

Originally Posted by mrolds88

I say to each his own. If this is what you want then do it. One thing that you need to contemplate is the speedometer. The 75 is mechanical and the 99 is electrical. but you can swap in a 90-91 out of a Blazer or burb. Might be able to work out the electrical for that and the guages.

That is one of the reasons I am thinking of swapping in the whole dash assembly. Basically, I would just need to figure out how to attach the instrument panel to the firewall and that would take care of a lot of my concerns. Another is hooking up the HVAC controls. I'm not certain, but I believe the blend and mode doors are operated by servo motors and I would have to figure out how to modify my existing setup to use that or convert the controls to work with what I have. Another option is to swap in the whole heater core/evaporator box.

I know it's not for everyone, but I'm not everyone. And I understand if it isn't from the factory, it's going to take a lot of work to make it look and function properly. I'm down for that.

[mrolds88]

One other thing I would whole heartedly recommend is an factory electrical manual.

[jon75]

Uh, yeah...do you think anyone has the wires memorized??? I was a factory certified electrical diagnostics technician for GM and I still looked at the service manual every day.