85 straight axle single cab to xtra cab swap
 

so i was wondering how hard this would be to pull off

i bought the truck for $500 its a single cab straight axle and i want a xtra cab does anybody know if this is possible with out too much problems

Body mount's will need to be added to at the C pillar. The front of the bed will need shortening. Might have to clearance the rear of the cab for the rear tire articulation.
Its been done, search.

:dj:

I alluded to this before on another thread, then was out of commission for a bit due to health reasons and never got to finish either the truck or my post. I am in the middle of this swap right now.

I have an 84 and plopped an 93 x cab body on it. The 84 is a 22r single cab short bed and the first 6 mounts fit with no relocation (2 at core support, 2 in footwell, 2 at B pillar behind seat mounts) The prob with my 93 body swap was the step up wiggle-waggle (technical term) in the frame rail and the front bed mount location.

Bed mount was easy (the final product is a truggy-no bed), wiggle-waggle, not so much...There are a few options, one might be to channel the body around the frame rail ala old school hot rod. cut what you need out of the body and fab up a box to go around the frame rail. Another option might be to section and stretch the frame rail under the cab. I took the cheesy way and installed a 3" body lift and will trim the pinch weld where it makes contact. I'm installing a c pillar mount to the frame under the last set of body holes that will use standard height mounts. BEFORE YOU NAYSAYERS FLAME THE BODY LIFT realise that I am in florida and will likely never see rocks like you see in the west.

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Obviously, the rear axle location will present a problem, I will adderss this in my own thread as I fix it, but for now I'll say the rear axle will be moving back about 6 inches.

As for other stuff, the radiator fit right in the 93 core support using the same holes. I am using an 93 pwr str res, but the 84 would have bolted in. The ignition from the 93 was used with the 84 coil and distributer, and the 93 master cyl/booster was used. I had to fab up a mount for the clutch master and modify the 84 pedal hanger to get a clutch pedal (the 93 was a 2wd auto).

Both trucks had cobbled together wiring, so I used a universal harness/fuse block and totally rewired it. I used the 84 steering column, but none of the wiring (I'll explain in a build thread later). The early column mounts had to be slightly modified to mate to the bolt stubs on the structural cab xmember, but it was easy, I tacked a couple of fender washers to the existing mounts.

You might ask around to see if the early seat mounts fit later trucks-my seat mount brackets were destroyed by cancer so I am going to drop in some aftermarket seats.

Why a gen 3 body on a gen 2 frame? Body was shot on the 84 (hit the brakes and the cab tilted forward). Junkyard 84/85 yotes with little rust do not exist in florida. 93 x cab, doors, glass, inner and outer fenders, hood, core support, p/s res, ignition box, master cyl/booster-$250 at a junk yard!

Oh yeah, the fuel tank no workie now. You would have to section the body around it, or mount a fuel cell.