chassis swap

[Flea]

anybody ever put a new cab and body on an older smog exempt frame? I heard you can do this and still have a smog exempt vehicle. I have a 1989 ford f150 shortbed and i want to put it on a older f100-150 frame so i can run a carbuerated 351 V8. I love fuel injection and everything and the environment but i just don't have the money to build a fuel injected engine with a good amount of power. that stuff gets expensive! If anyone has any tips or views on this please share them with me! thanx. by the way, hi to everyone. i just registered for this forum and it rips!!

[WFODAN]

Well in theory it sounds easy enough to do . I'm not exactly sure of the law on it , but I do know whenever you replace the cab . You usually have to take it to the CHP to get it re-vinned . I'm not sure how it works when you change the years of the truck . I say just put the motor you want in it and make friends with a smog guy . It would be alot less work that way . You only need to get a smog once every two years . I would rather try and get around it that way , than do all the work to swap it over , then get stuck in the same boat anyway . Just my opinion . Good luck .



Dan Vance

[vwguy]

for your information to be smog exempt your vehicle has to be 73 or before 89 wouldnt be exempt anyway

[Flea]

the truck i have right now is an 89 and if this is possible i would like to put the cab and everything else on a 73 or older frame. sorry i'll try to be clearer next time

[mike_hinson]

The chassis is what is registered with the DMV. If you change bodies, you need to take off the late model identification on the door jam and on the dash, as well as under the hood. This is the info that is used by your local smog shop to Id the vehicle for smog. If the chassis is 1973 or earlier, then smog is not required. You are entering a grey area with the Calif Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR). If the drive train (engine, trans, etc.) matches the year frame of the vehicle, then you will be OK. If you want to do this, you clearly need a 73 or earlier chassis and matching registration paperwork. If you are questioned by local law enforcement, you need to have proper paperwork to show you legally own the combination, and didn't obtain the components illegally. Again, the best way to do this is to use a 1973 or earlier chassis that is smog exempt.

[rdc]

a guy name mike normile is doing this exact thing for a guy named dave webster right now up in atascadero, ca. he is building a super bitchin prerunner on a 67 f100 frame with a 95 cab on it. it is going to have a stroked 460 in it and be smog legal i believe, so you might want to call him i dont have his number but you can call info and get it. his shop is called Normile Concepts.

[rdc]

Although in theory the chassis is supposed to be what is registered with the DMV, the cab is what carries all the numbers. Try to change those numbers and get them through the CHP to register it as an older vehicle........ good luck. And its the CHP's decision not the DMV's when it comes to changing vin's. The CHP views the bare cab as part of the chassis. Look into these issues with the CHP before you get started and save yourself a lot of headache.

Shaun[img]<A target=[/img]http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/otn/ez/ezpi_cooldude.gif</A>">

[Flea]

hey thanx for the great info!! I was wondering, how should i go about getting a 1973 or older chassis and what are the penalties for taking off the vin number on the cab(if any). is that illegal or just sort of a questionalble grey area? Do you know anyone that has done this successfully? and if i used the motor from that chassis do you think it would be ok to use an overdrive tranny from a mustang as long as everything else stayed the same? haha this sounds ridiculous but if it is possible i definatley want to go for it...once again thanx

Flea