soopernaut wrote:OregonDodgeboy, you have already helped a lot with this swap. Some things about your truck are different though since you have a 72 and a flat bed. I might have to move the front 2 crossmembers for the bed but not sure yet. They stick up above the frame rails and since the gas tank is mounted under them I may not be able to flip them over. I just don't want to have the body sit high above the frame or anything.
I'm glad to help!
I would be surprised if there's any difference in the bed mounting points. IIRC, the bolts go through the frame and (by measure) were the correct distances apart. I don't think that crossmembers really have anything to do with it, but we shall see. As far as my using a flatbed, that was for two reasons; first was because I went from a short wheelbase to a long wheelbase, and because I specifically wanted a flatbed. I could have had a bed, but I built this truck to easily haul stuff.
The only thing I don't recall measuring is wether the core support mount is the same height as the rails under the bed area. The old frame is flat front to rear with the exception of the rise over the axles. The newer frame dips down under the cab area, but I believe it returns to the same height up front.
As far as ride height, You probably won't have a problem. With the core support sitting on it's original body mounts, I had to put about a 3-4" body lift to get the truck floor parallel with the frame. Despite that, my rockers are 12" off the ground with 31" tires on it.
I can't express how badly I have been wanting to have a place to do another swap. This time I'll not only make it even easier to do (by developing a bolt-on adapter kit), but I'll document the heck out of it!
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If you are game, I'm open to working with ya to develop it.
Anyway, I will be anxiously awaiting your results.