Welding 2 cabs together?

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Brothajack93

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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.
Thank you, this helped me decide that it’s a horrible idea
 

Hipster

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I'm not seeing where that truck has the upper bar in the posts like a gmt400 but that is not to say that some of what he cut off is not HSS and shouldn't be sectioned in this particular manner. Not a bad video none-the -less
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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.
What’s the a/c difference in 95 to 96-98? Probably something to do with tbi to vortec I’m assuming. I could probably get a 350tbi on the cheap so I may decide to go that route or look into what can be done to make it compatible with other options. Honestly I’m pretty open minded on the engine aside from 4.3 and 5.0 which is what’s in it now. But the engine is still running great at 326,000km and the 4l60 was rebuilt 20,000km ago so aside from a new driveshaft and rear end I can keep the drivetrain as is after all the investment in parts im going to be making so I’m good with any option at this point. The cab on the roller chassis has restorable rust underneath. I’m not sure if the cab is from arizona as he was going to sell them separately. I can probably get the whole certifiable cab into shape enough to not leak at the back window and be completely rust restored and just go ahead and pay the taxes when I register it for road. I can probably give my sob story to an appraisal guy to give me scrap value so I can keep that value low. But knowing my luck I’ll do that and get t-boned shortly after with a 1,000 dollar truck that cost me between probably 6-10 after all is said and done. Good news is I want the truck for a daily driver so I’ll get my moneys worth and anything that decreases the value won’t matter cause it’s mine. Only goal is to have the body 100 percent, have it running, driving and mechanically sound and on the road. After that I can focus on a better interior or interior upgrade. I loved these trucks as they were so I can deal with having no ac if that’s the only downside to my current setup which probably needed a rebuild on that system anyway
 

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!
This is the donor chassis. You can see the damage it has just under the window but I’m sure I can do some research on fixing that easier than the extensive work I was thinking about. Has slight rust underneath and may require a patch or 2 down there but nothing compared to the ugliness of the first one. Chassis is mint though and por15 coated already so all I will have to do is light oil coat the body. I have a hood in great shape at least, fenders are toast and with what rust free boxes go for here I will just fix and patch the horrible work that’s been done on the existing one with new mounting hardware and floor supports. Cunningham steering shaft swap will be super easy to do with this much room though! Will have to get info on gear ratio though
 

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sewlow

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What’s the a/c difference in 95 to 96-98?
Not so much a diff with the A/C, but more with the fact that '95 is the red-headed step-child of the 400 family.
("Get back in that closet under those stairs, Beee-atch!")
It's not OBDI & it's not OBDII, so because of that, there may, or may not, be some differences with the wiring, &/or that mass wiring connection on the firewall.
Just me, but I avoid all things '95-400.
Not saying that they're a poor choice. There's lots of '95 owner's here that are plenty happy with their trucks, & just as long as they are aware of the year's foibles & quirks, there's no problem.
There may or not be a difference between the later years & the '95, but me, I'd just hate to do a bunch of prep to get this project done only to find..."WTF is dis chit? Why no worky? The plug-n-play capability ain't copacetic! Arrrghhh!"
 

sewlow

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Will have to get info on gear ratio though
GM offered 2 different S/box ratios for these trucks.
'Normal' & the Quick Ratio 454SS-only box. (The Q/R was used in several other GM vehicles over the years, but in 400's, only the SS got it.)
I had both of my 400's swapped to the Q/R box.
But...2 wheel drive.
GM recommends NOT to install the Q/R in a K-series.
Something to do with the quick turn-in characteristics combined with the taller center of gravity making for a potential roll-over situation. More so on-road than off.
But...there are members here with a Q/R box installed in a 4x4. I guess it's O.K. just as long as the vehicle is driven accordingly.
 

Brothajack93

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GM offered 2 different S/box ratios for these trucks.
'Normal' & the Quick Ratio 454SS-only box. (The Q/R was used in several other GM vehicles over the years, but in 400's, only the SS got it.)
I had both of my 400's swapped to the Q/R box.
But...2 wheel drive.
GM recommends NOT to install the Q/R in a K-series.
Something to do with the quick turn-in characteristics combined with the taller center of gravity making for a potential roll-over situation. More so on-road than off.
But...there are members here with a Q/R box installed in a 4x4. I guess it's O.K. just as long as the vehicle is driven accordingly.
Yea I looked into a lot of these issues last night and with bare bones and donors/open build options the 95 factor isn’t too much of a problem but I did not consider firewall wiring harnesses. I was however pretty much told that if I have the parts and the wires out of a truck going either way that it’s open to my imagination with just a cab shell and not a 95 interior or drivetrain part in sight so I’m pretty happy about that cause I wanted to avoid the “year that shall not be named” myself lol. If my wiring assembly is good I will use it and if not I will look at donor drivetrains I guess. Either way the build is costing me more than it will be worth anyway so I might as well love my truck more than just a cheap date that I never call back. I’ll never get what she’s “worth” or rather that I payed for the build out of her so might as well build her for me. Being an interior guy would you have any examples of clean and resourceful ext cab bench/factory jack delete builds? Not crazy on stereo though will do something nice in that regard as well. I’m thinking storage and such for basic tools, floor jack and roadside emergency essentials for removing and hauling parts for future builds as well as being prepared for myself and friends/family as well
 

Supercharged111

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GM offered 2 different S/box ratios for these trucks.
'Normal' & the Quick Ratio 454SS-only box. (The Q/R was used in several other GM vehicles over the years, but in 400's, only the SS got it.)
I had both of my 400's swapped to the Q/R box.
But...2 wheel drive.
GM recommends NOT to install the Q/R in a K-series.
Something to do with the quick turn-in characteristics combined with the taller center of gravity making for a potential roll-over situation. More so on-road than off.
But...there are members here with a Q/R box installed in a 4x4. I guess it's O.K. just as long as the vehicle is driven accordingly.

I've considered one in the dually. With its mile long wheelbase turn in isn't exactly quick.
 

Brothajack93

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GM offered 2 different S/box ratios for these trucks.
'Normal' & the Quick Ratio 454SS-only box. (The Q/R was used in several other GM vehicles over the years, but in 400's, only the SS got it.)
I had both of my 400's swapped to the Q/R box.
But...2 wheel drive.
GM recommends NOT to install the Q/R in a K-series.
Something to do with the quick turn-in characteristics combined with the taller center of gravity making for a potential roll-over situation. More so on-road than off.
But...there are members here with a Q/R box installed in a 4x4. I guess it's O.K. just as long as the vehicle is driven accordingly.
I have no need for a steering box like that in a ecsb and this truck is 2wd so if I did want one it wouldn’t be an issue installing it but as a guy who’s driven the largest of setups even outside of his license classes on a professional level I’m not at all intimidated by the steering gears of a classic truck so long as they’re in good mechanical order
 

Brothajack93

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I've considered one in the dually. With its mile long wheelbase turn in isn't exactly quick.
I hear ya there… driving crew cab landscape dumper f-550’s through a metro city for my job wasn’t always fun for right turns with one available lane to get into and stupid drivers who don’t understand your wheelbase and that you’re coming out far but not in their space
 
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