Im trying to find out if anyone has any info on swapping my 94 body on to an 81 frame.. I have completly restored the 81 frame and drive train to new condition including A 350 and turbo 350, 5:29 gears, all bushings, new leafs, ect, (everything).. Im just not to sure about swapping the 94 body on to it.. Now i also have the original cab and fenders that are primed and ready for paint.. any thoughts.. rinish the complete restoration, or swap the body...????

 

just a caution...you won't want 5.29s with a 350 under the hood

 

81's are cool!! But you could swap if you really wanted to. You'd have to move body mounts and rewire the body to work with the 81.

 

Why not?

 

they're quite a bit weaker than, say, 4.10s, right?

 

Yes, anytime you drop the ratio in the diff, the pinion becomes smaller. But I have also seen guys running hopped up sb350's never break a 5:29 rimg/pinion, and it took me 7 years of beating on mine to finally break it, and I'm not nice to it...

Another factor comes into play, the auto he has will reduce the hard shock loads.

I say go with the newer body, more comforts...

 

Yes, with an auto and a decent set of gears the 5.29s will be ok as long as you don't do anything stupid. To answer the body swap question, you'll probably have to redo some if not all of the mounts on the frame to fit it but it will be comfy. I'd say do the swap and sell the old sheetmetal.

 

i was kinda thinkin the same thing,,, swap it and get rid of the old body.. the first 2 body mount are the same but the last cab mount is 1 1/2 " further away on the 94 body.. and the all of the bed mounts kinda fall the same way... So anyone have a use for an 81 cab and fenders, Or how about 94 fame short bed, 4" sus. lift, 3vze v6, 3"body lift..... Etc...

 

What shape are the fenders in?

 

check out the marlin site they have a very similar rig for sale and i do believe they built it as well, check it out!

 

I'd try to do the swap. That would be one cool rig. But either way your still gonna have an awesome truck. My friend had a 350 in his cruiser and it was great, except he had problems with the rear breaking alot. He drove it like a madman though.

 

I would be OK with 5.29 gears on the trail, but if you have to drive it on the highway (to the trails perhaps), your gonna be turning a lot of revs with no overdrive on the tranny. With 38" tires and 4.11 gears, I thought the revs were too high at 3500 or so on the highway. A 350 ain't no 4-banger (duh!), it likes lower engine speeds, 2000-2500rpm would be about optimal.

FWIW, I grenaded a stock set of 4.10 gears without even really trying. I was making a right turn in town with an open diff.

As far as the body swap, do it and tell us how it was.

 

I agree, just drive it right and you'll be ok. That 350 will be sweet!!! But you could always go with 1 tons if they didn't hold up..

 

If you are having problems with all those mounts being further back, why not swap the newer cab on, and do a flatbed back? Or bob the bed so the mounts line up. This way you only have to worry about relocating one set of mounts.