1979 ford swap to a 1991 1stgen dodge 12v

zperry69

zperry69

Active Member
Joined
Jul 1, 2007
Location
haw river, nc
i have a 1979 ford f150 ranger 2wd reg cab long bed and also have a 1991 1st gen dodge 12v 4wd, reg cab long bed. And was woundering if there is any one who has swap a ford body onto a dodge rolling chassie and if so are there any tips for me and if no one hasnt done this, then what do you guys think i should start with to see if this will work and the reason for the swap is dodge body is totalled and ford is good but i want a 4wd diesel and im ford guy but i like a cummins motors. thank you for any help.
 
compare the frame designs, lengths, widths, wheel bases. then go from there. it may be easier to just put the motor/trans/tcase in the ford frame and put the dodge axles under it..
 
It can be done but it's alot of work and there will be loads of fab work. Trucks did/doing this same thing. Watch up on some of that and it'll show you where your gonna have issues. Your main issue will be engine bay room. Gonna have to message the firewall and rad support a good bit to get everything to fit.
 
well i got it yroung its a 1993 3/4 ton 1st gen dodge and yeah its starting to look like it will be easier to swap motor, trans , and what not into the ford but i was also woudering would it be better to use the dodge axles or a dana 60 rear and dana 44 front out of a ford and thank you guys for the help
 
I have swapped out these Ford cabs regular lately with different configurations than stock and have learnt quite a bit. If your heart is into it, the best advice I can give you is to just set the cab onto the dodge chassis and just see what happens? Keep in mind the '79 cab is held by 6 mounting bolts and the entire thing comes off as one whole assembly with front fenders, grill and all. It usually takes about 3 test fits to get something workable. The first fit is usually just to move/cut things out of the way to get the cab to sit as level and as low as possible. It helps tremendously to set the bed on as well for it may need more lift than the cab to fit? But find the best scenerio by adding as little body lift as possible to have both the cab and bed aligned. It's pretty regular that the front of the cab and very rear of the bed will be different lifts with pro-rated pucks in between. Alot also depends on the suspension and look you are after. I always try to keep the rear bumper about 2-3" above the front bumper for the best stance/performance.
Hope that helps?
 
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