73 Crew Cab 2nd Gen Swap
 

Hey guys, I thought I'd share my project with ya. It's a 73 D200 that I picked up last December. It had the original big block 400 and 727, with a D60 rear. I drove it around, moved with it, used it as a daily driver/work truck, and now it's under the knife. I have a few weeks to get it running and driving, as I'm getting laid off from the "big company", and going back to work as a mobile repair guy. I'll be hauling around lots of tools, parts, hydraulic oil and a welder on a daily basis, sometimes towing 10k lbs. and it will be used on the weekends to haul the wife, dog and my twin toddlers around. Eventually, this will be a play truck, and I'll be swapping in some 05+ Super Duty axles and doing a big lift with 46" military tires...most likely in a few years.

My donor is a 95 Cummins 2500 single cab long bed 4x4 with a 47RH. I know the downfalls of the fro I nt axle, but I have the SD's sitting on the garage floor, so I'm not too worried (for now).

Signing the pink slip from the last 18 year owner. Truck has 126k miles. I drove it home and blew a ton of carbon out of it on the freeway.
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My Boxer "Buddy" loves riding in the truck...notice the rust above the door. Every time I hit a bump, rust lands on my dog's head.
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My old 16.5's blew out and I got some Chevy wheels with 33's for $125! I had to do an annoying rough riding 2wd lift (1 ton springs on the light duty non-pocketed A-arms and 3" blocks out back) just for clearance so I could drive the truck while making repairs.
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Here's some of the roof rust....
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More rust Attachment 49081

I got lucky (after 6 months of looking!) and found a good roof at the junkyard. In hind sight, I wish that I had bought the entire cab. It would have been nice to have the "high hump" tunnel and not need to weld anything on the floor.
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Loaded and ready to go....thanks to a good friend who was able to drop everything, drive 30 miles and bring me a cordless Sawzall. I was there looking for wheels, so I didn't even think about bringing cutting tools "just in case".
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Look Ma, I got me a convertible!
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