wondering if cab and engine swap would work
 

ok i have always liked the look of 1st gen ext cabs so thats why i am thinking along these lines. But will a 1st gen ext cab fit on 90s chevy 3500HD frame? I am looking at going with a 12v and either a 9 or 10 speed. This truck will be used for hauling for the farm and maybe some little hotshot runs for friends.

Anything will fit, it is just a matter of the amount of work you are willing to put into it... look at my build. Anything is possible!

it could be done, but IFS frames are wider by ~8" from the firewall back.

yeah i know anything is possible i was just wondering how close the frame dimensions were. your build is awsome by the way if i was closer i would be helping any way i could

the chevy is I beam front idk if that matters

The chevy frame is wide in the back, then at the firewall it bends inward and upwards, i believe its the same on the I beam chassis, I'm not sure though.

ok the 3500HD has a straight frame spaced at 34" from what i have found. the reason i was looking at the swap was a heavier frame and a i thought they had stronger axles yet it looks like they run the same dana 80s like in my one ton so if i go through this that will be swapped for a 110 or so

should be less of a challenge if they are a straight frame. The chevy and dodge spring pads are DAMN near the same width, so that frame should be really close. I've seen the HD chevys, they do look beefy. I'm surprised they run a dana 80, I'd expect them to run a 14b ff with the bigger carrier for 488s.

well i thought they were running bigger rears too because they are 10 lugs iirc and the reseach i found said there are stories of some ff 70s and corp.14s but im not sure on that

The 3500HD with the 10-lug wheels were Dana 80 and disc.

We had a few of those for parts back when I worked at an auto wrecker. Yes, the frame rails have a large cross-section, but they are the same welded tubular style the lighter trucks use.

IIRC, the frame spreads wide under the cab and narrows back down to meet the standard cab&chassis frame width. :humm:

I think you would be further ahead to stretch the frame in the cab region.