Will a '72 body work on a '73 frame?

[Joe Kriston]

Hi all...Haven't been around much lately, but still drive the '72 almost every day...Here's the scenario: My'72 Explorer is mostly original, is in great shape for it's age (unlike the owner) and I need to start doing some serious refurbishing...It has the original 360, 97,000 miles, and well, it's getting a little tired...Plus it only has the two-barrel...

I ran across a guy yesterday, and for reasons I still don't quite understand, he's taking the body off of his original, 64,000 mile 1973 Ranger XLT and putting it on a different, completely restored chassis...At first, he told me he was going to sell the 390 motor that is in his XLT with everything except the four-barrel carb for $400...He has documentation of the mileage and also told me that the original owner had the valves redone to accomodate unleaded fuel...He also said he wanted to sell the rolling chassis off of this Ranger...

So, this is where my bright idea comes in...If I buy his rolling frame with the 390 still mounted for a reasonable price, I go from having a 360 two-barrel with 97,000 miles to a 390 four barrel with only 64,000 miles; I go from having drum brakes to front discs, and I could still use the chrome valve covers I just recently bought...I'm also thinking that all of my body mounts, 'tho not rusted, probably have dried out rubber, as old as they are, so this would be a good excuse to change them all...Will a swap like this work?...Is it worth the effort?..

[mljjones67]

The cab mounts in the exact spot. However the bed doesn't. The frame is wider and longer. It is doable. you would have to move the bed holes and move the spring mounts to line the tires up in the wheel wells. I have seen a couple of this swap on the internet without the moving the rear end and it doesn't look bad just a little weird. I am doing a similar swap but to a 79' I will be using a flat bed so it wont matter on mine.

good luck

[FORDification]

Check out the following link:

http://www.fordification.com/chassis_bu ... ntside.htm

[Joe Kriston]

Thanks very much, Mike and Keith...Very well written 'how to' piece...I can visualize in my mind changing the front end and the box, but the cab seems like it would be the complicated part...The article said "less labor intensive, comparably speaking"...That last phrase worries me a bit...What about all of the wiring, pedal and steering assemblies and so forth?...

[mk]

As the cowls are virtually the same from 67-79 (same windshield, floor etc) there will no major problems with the pedals and column. You may have to modify the plugs on the chassis harness and maybe the column, depending which you use. As for the box length issue, in my measuring I've found no significant difference in the 8' box length from 67-96. The extra 2" was added behind the doors on the 73-up cabs.


mike