1500 ext cab swap on to 2500 for 3rd door

[kylenautique]

Can a 1500 extended cab with the 3rd door be swapped on to a 2500 truck? I wanted a 2500, but had to go with the 1500 because I needed the extended cab 3rd door for my kiddo. 8ft bed would be nice, and a heavier duty truck would also be nice. Just curious if this is possible, or if anyone has done it.

 

[kylenautique]

Never been done before eh?

 

[someotherguy]

There's no difference in the cab mounts. Go for it.

There are finer details than cab sheetmetal to be concerned with, though. You didn't indicate what year your 3 door cab is, or what year the 2500 chassis you intend to swap onto is - for best results, go with same or very similar year. With more info, more detailed help can be offered.

Richard

 

[letitsnow]

Dealing with the VIN is what keeps many of us from doing this.

 

[kylenautique]

There's no difference in the cab mounts. Go for it.

There are finer details than cab sheetmetal to be concerned with, though. You didn't indicate what year your 3 door cab is, or what year the 2500 chassis you intend to swap onto is - for best results, go with same or very similar year. With more info, more detailed help can be offered.

Richard

Sorry, I should have provided that. My truck is a 98 k1500 heavy half ton with a 5.7, so I would try to stick with that. I was more curious if anyone has ever done it before for the purpose of gaining the 3rd door? I searched around and haven't found a forum yet of someone doing this. I know its quite a bit of work just to gain an extra door, but man that 3rd door is nice. I did a full interior swap on my truck a few months ago, so I have a real good idea of what the cab looks like stripped down and wire harness-wise.

 

[someotherguy]

Any 2500 GMT400 you get will have a heavier transmission than your 1500 F44 package truck. So for automatic it'll be 4L80E vs. 4L60E, standard will be NV4500 vs. NV3500 or whatever flavor of light duty 5 speed they were using then. If automatic, you'll need the wiring harness associated with the transmission as the 4L80E has a different pinout and 2 speed sensors.

I know a guy that made a 3 door extended cab 3500HD, talk about committed. Extended cab HD's don't exist from factory to begin with. To retain his correct VIN that indicates the heavier GVWR of the HD, as well as matching his title, he cut the cabs mid-A-pillar and grafted the two together. The HD frame is completely different from all lighter GMT400's so a little bit of custom work is needed to fit the extended cab body but it's been done, just as far as I know, not the way he did it! Last I saw pictures of the project he already had the cabs joined and windshield installed. Talented man; wish I had the pics handy to share, but the forum we were discussing it on is gone (3500hd dot com)

Richard

 

[kylenautique]

Any 2500 GMT400 you get will have a heavier transmission than your 1500 F44 package truck. So for automatic it'll be 4L80E vs. 4L60E, standard will be NV4500 vs. NV3500 or whatever flavor of light duty 5 speed they were using then. If automatic, you'll need the wiring harness associated with the transmission as the 4L80E has a different pinout and 2 speed sensors.

I know a guy that made a 3 door extended cab 3500HD, talk about committed. Extended cab HD's don't exist from factory to begin with. To retain his correct VIN that indicates the heavier GVWR of the HD, as well as matching his title, he cut the cabs mid-A-pillar and grafted the two together. The HD frame is completely different from all lighter GMT400's so a little bit of custom work is needed to fit the extended cab body but it's been done, just as far as I know, not the way he did it! Last I saw pictures of the project he already had the cabs joined and windshield installed. Talented man; wish I had the pics handy to share, but the forum we were discussing it on is gone (3500hd dot com)

Richard

Thanks for all the information Richard!