Welding 2 cabs together?

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Brothajack93

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This one’s out there guys I know! Just bear with me a second
Have to chassis swap my ‘97 ecsb Canadian rot job and have a ‘95 ecsb from Arizona on the way. It comes with a cab but where I live registration demands appraisal and taxes paid on vehicle or sale price… whatever is higher and I already registered my current truck and paid taxes. If I build on this cab I will have to do it again as it will be a different truck and as most of us know it’s illegal to swap vin badges. I have an idea but first I want to note a few things
1. The entire floor of the original cab is rotted out, don’t think I could find many places to weld patches in and it would be a nightmare trying to get to good metal and cut appropriately off of the donor cab
2. There is damage on the donor where it appears to be hit on the back wall under the window and bent the window frame out of alignment
3. I really don’t want a ‘95 and because it’s out of province/country they will look at it really close for safety which won’t be too much of a problem considering I’m doing a frame up, nut and bolt restoration

I was thinking about cutting the top half off of the original cab and welding it to the bottom of the donor which has next to no rust. Has a little but will pass without issue I think but it will be cleaned up anyway. If I did this I would probably find a 3rd party pillar to weld in and tie it together at a full contact with both sides of the cab for a stable contact point between both halves. Or if someone has a better idea of how to go about this I am more than willing to hear suggestions and advice. I’m also willing to hear suggestions on other ways to keep my registration and deal with my almost complete floor rot I’m open to any suggestions to weigh my options and make my best decision. Project is costing me a lot as it is so I’d hate to have to pay taxes again on a much more expensive rig this time. Any advice on the easiest and most structural way to go about this is much appreciated! Thanks guys!
 

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sewlow

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The cab differences are between A/C equipped or not.
For your truck, I'd stick to '96-'99, just because.

Whereabouts are you in Canada?
No matter where you are in the country, a cab from Arizona is gonna cost an arm & a leg in just shipping alone. Plus duty. Plus taxes. Just for my own piece of mind, I'd be putting some kind of shipping damage insurance on it, too. More bucks.
Out here on the West Coast, rust-free cabs are not all that uncommon.
I haven't been to any of the local wreckers lately but these three usually have a pretty good selection of 400 stuff.
IIRC, all three do ship large parts.

These guys specialize in trucks, & mainly GM.
I bought a clean rust-free box from them & they delivered it right to the shop door. No extra charge, but then, I am local.
Good guys to deal with.
Two-man operation. Sometimes both are out in the yard so have patience when calling.
- Action Auto Wrecking.
10559 120st. Surrey, B.C. V3V 4G4
604-584-6444.

IIRC, new owners since I last visited a while ago.
Huge yard. Decent selection of 400's, although with the new owners they may have moved on to more recent vehicles.
- Stave Falls Auto Wrecking.
29989 Dewdney Trunk Rd Mission, BC, V4S 1B7
604-462-7000.

My 'usual'. Several 400's last time I was there, & they're pretty good at keeping that inventory supplied.
Usually at least a dozen or more at any one time.
BC's largest Auto/truck recycler.
- Empire Auto Recycled Auto & Truck Parts.
1210 Sumas Way. Abbotsford.
1-800-661-5633.
604-864-8856.
 

0xDEADBEEF

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I don't know, but I would try to do it without cutting any pillars.

Is there anything to weld to on the existing cab if you got the complete floor, cab supports, and rocker panels from the donor? Then you aren't really swapping vins, but I am not a lawyer. (Or even a welder, LOL.)
 

Supercharged111

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I don't know, but I would try to do it without cutting any pillars.

Is there anything to weld to on the existing cab if you got the complete floor, cab supports, and rocker panels from the donor? Then you aren't really swapping vins, but I am not a lawyer. (Or even a welder, LOL.)

I wouldn't want anything to do with the bottom of the rotted cab. No matter how much you replace, you won't get all the cancer out.
 

0xDEADBEEF

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I wouldn't want anything to do with the bottom of the rotted cab. No matter how much you replace, you won't get all the cancer out.

You would prefer the pillars cut and welded back together?

I wouldn't trust it personally. I saw on 60 Minutes or something when I was kid that a place was taking salvage vehicles and doing that and flipping them. Some girl had a rollover and it just flattened and killed her.
 

Supercharged111

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You would prefer the pillars cut and welded back together?

I wouldn't trust it personally. I saw on 60 Minutes or something when I was kid that a place was taking salvage vehicles and doing that and flipping them. Some girl had a rollover and it just flattened and killed her.

No my preference is to use the clean cab, patch as necessary, and take whatever comes with that.
 

Hipster

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I was thinking about cutting the top half off of the original cab and welding it to the bottom of the donor which has next to no rust.
Not a good plan. Within the upper pillars is a bar. It is high strength steel. To replace it in it's entirety requires peeling off the outer door frame, roof, cab corner etc off. You can't just cut , sleeve it and weld it back together. Welding/heat destroys the properties of the HSS. There are specific places and procedures where stuff can be sectioned.

The vin is one the truck in multiple places. Partial vins are stamped into sheetmetal in various places so it could still be found if ever goes through a VTU type inspection which might create a paper problem later.

Sometimes a call to dmv will point you in the right direction as to what's required to use a used cab and retain the original vin(or not). Whether you need notorized bill of sales for the used cab and frame etc.

You want to spend thousands to save what you spent in tax-reg fees, nevermind you could put those efforts into something that produces income. Not every truck is worth saving.
 
Last edited:

Brothajack93

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The cab differences are between A/C equipped or not.
For your truck, I'd stick to '96-'99, just because.

Whereabouts are you in Canada?
No matter where you are in the country, a cab from Arizona is gonna cost an arm & a leg in just shipping alone. Plus duty. Plus taxes. Just for my own piece of mind, I'd be putting some kind of shipping damage insurance on it, too. More bucks.
Out here on the West Coast, rust-free cabs are not all that uncommon.
I haven't been to any of the local wreckers lately but these three usually have a pretty good selection of 400 stuff.
IIRC, all three do ship large parts.

These guys specialize in trucks, & mainly GM.
I bought a clean rust-free box from them & they delivered it right to the shop door. No extra charge, but then, I am local.
Good guys to deal with.
Two-man operation. Sometimes both are out in the yard so have patience when calling.
- Action Auto Wrecking.
10559 120st. Surrey, B.C. V3V 4G4
604-584-6444.

IIRC, new owners since I last visited a while ago.
Huge yard. Decent selection of 400's, although with the new owners they may have moved on to more recent vehicles.
- Stave Falls Auto Wrecking.
29989 Dewdney Trunk Rd Mission, BC, V4S 1B7
604-462-7000.

My 'usual'. Several 400's last time I was there, & they're pretty good at keeping that inventory supplied.
Usually at least a dozen or more at any one time.
BC's largest Auto/truck recycler.
- Empire Auto Recycled Auto & Truck Parts.
1210 Sumas Way. Abbotsford.
1-800-661-5633.
604-864-8856.
Not a good plan. Within the upper pillars is a bar. It is high strength steel. To replace it in it's entirety requires peeling off the outer door frame, roof, cab corner etc off. You can't just cut , sleeve it and weld it back together. Welding/heat destroys the properties of the HSS. There are specific places and procedures where stuff can be sectioned.

The vin is one the truck in multiple places. Partial vins are stamped into sheetmetal in various places so it could still be found if ever goes through a VTU type inspection which might create a paper problem later.

Sometimes a call to dmv will point you in the right direction as to what's required to use a used cab and retain the original vin(or not). Whether you need notorized bill of sales for the used cab and frame etc.

You want to spend thousands to save what you spent in tax-reg fees, nevermind you could put those efforts into something that produces income. Not every truck is worth saving.
A lesson I’m starting to learn. Just been trying to figure out whether to scrap the old truck and start again with the new one or not and you have given me what I need to know so I appreciate it. I definitely don’t want to compromise anyones safety in the work I do so it looks like I’m just going to talk to the DMV about a possible registration tranfsfer or legal vin change. If not I guess I will just build the ‘95 and strip anything I can off the ‘97 for either the build or to sell for anyone else’s needs and save a few bucks in loss. Thanks for the much needed advice
 

tpass

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"vehcor" on youtube just did a rollover roof swap on a gmt800 regular cab.... its really the only way to do it right.

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Brothajack93

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The cab differences are between A/C equipped or not.
For your truck, I'd stick to '96-'99, just because.

Whereabouts are you in Canada?
No matter where you are in the country, a cab from Arizona is gonna cost an arm & a leg in just shipping alone. Plus duty. Plus taxes. Just for my own piece of mind, I'd be putting some kind of shipping damage insurance on it, too. More bucks.
Out here on the West Coast, rust-free cabs are not all that uncommon.
I haven't been to any of the local wreckers lately but these three usually have a pretty good selection of 400 stuff.
IIRC, all three do ship large parts.

These guys specialize in trucks, & mainly GM.
I bought a clean rust-free box from them & they delivered it right to the shop door. No extra charge, but then, I am local.
Good guys to deal with.
Two-man operation. Sometimes both are out in the yard so have patience when calling.
- Action Auto Wrecking.
10559 120st. Surrey, B.C. V3V 4G4
604-584-6444.

IIRC, new owners since I last visited a while ago.
Huge yard. Decent selection of 400's, although with the new owners they may have moved on to more recent vehicles.
- Stave Falls Auto Wrecking.
29989 Dewdney Trunk Rd Mission, BC, V4S 1B7
604-462-7000.

My 'usual'. Several 400's last time I was there, & they're pretty good at keeping that inventory supplied.
Usually at least a dozen or more at any one time.
BC's largest Auto/truck recycler.
- Empire Auto Recycled Auto & Truck Parts.
1210 Sumas Way. Abbotsford.
1-800-661-5633.
604-864-8856.
I’m in onterrible which explains how it got this rotted since they’re ignorant with salt here. I miss my Alberta trucks that didn’t get this bad. Body rot is one thing but this is ridiculous. Looks like Based on the info I’ve got that I’ll either have to build a ‘95 or look for a whole new body to put on the good chassis I’ve already started to pay for. It’s already here by the way I bought it locally from a guy who was going to build a truck but didn’t realize how much parts had gone up in price for these trucks. One way or another I’m going to build a clean obs and keep it protected. I may even be moving back out there at some point so my next project will be super easy body wise for the most part. Even if I stay here I’m buying it out there and either building it at my brothers or getting it in shape for the cross country drive to bring here and build. Really don’t like the condition of vehicles here and nobody coats and barely washes it seems
 
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