Anyone ever swap in a set of inner fenders,rad support,cab supports( for inner fenders) from a 73-79 into their 67-72?
With rotten supports,rad support and inner fenders and some 73-79 stuff lying around mint..I figured I would give it a go as i've heard it done before.

So.. it all bolts up ok.. had to slot one of the holes ( the single one) on the cab braces to mount it up. Going to need a little playing to get the 67 fenders to line up but looks to be no problem.
However.. when I went to test bolt up the hood.. initial findings do not look good. Not sure if moving the cab braces "in" as in towards the engine will...fix it, but the hood will not bolt up ( the 67 hood looks as though its hinge holes are further in then then 73-79 hinges will allow for)...

Now this could be a matter of adjustment..and to compensate for the fact that the cab braces are a different width from 67 to 73.... either way preliminary findings appear to be that the 67 hood is closer together towards the insides of the inner fenders.
Is this true or am I on crack? I don't have a 73+ hood to measure at the moment.
Marc

Project update

Well so far moving the J bolts and inner mounts isn't going to work out so well. Tried that tonight with no sucess. I am using the 73 cab brace as the 67's were rotten ( and I chucked them). They are different ( bolt spacing)...
and more narrow ( 2.5 instead of 3 inches I think it was) .
Anyways... To get them to mate to the cab you need to open ( horizontally ) the single bolt on the engine side of them brace. Not a big deal but...

With them slid all the way in ( as much as they slide)...and the inner fenders in with hinges installed you get a centre on centre bolt spacing of 64 to 64 1/4 ... the 67 hood is 61 1/4. So I need 3 more inches. Not going to happen ( you would mishape the inner fender something fierce I think? ) even if you could slide them that much. May work better if I had some correct year braces...but I don't. I may have to re use the 67 hood hinges and mount them on the inside of the inner fenders ( as the factory did)..drill hole and use some plate on the inside of the inner fenders for support.

The big trick to that as I see it ??? Having to mount the hinges compressed.... install the hood. Then try and get up into the engine compartment and mark the hole for drilling. I can't see any other way to go about that..otherwise I will be totally guessing. Then I have to hope it opens without running into the cab. ....Oh boy.

Any more help???
Marc

Whoo hooo... Good news. Well when you bolt up the 73-79 mounts on the inside of the fenders by drilling straight through the rear most part of all three mounting holes... you end up with a hood that sits 3/8" too high and 1" too far forward. SO....that being said, tomorrow I will re drill all 6 holes in the new " correct" position...and viola!! I will have a hood that bolts up, and lines up. Now I can correct the cab/bed body line up issue and bolt on the fenders and grille so it looks like a 67 Mercury truck again.

I want to see if I can get that done this weekend.. and possibly start on the suspension mods( rear shackle flip to start on the rear... hopefully my now too long driveshaft will bolt in after that much lift)... kinda long after the 4spd to C6 swap.... .( 3 inches)

I will post some pics soon...
Marc

Latest issues...

Well initial observations of having to re drill my hole are false. With the balance of the ront clip all back together and adjustments made... I see now it will almost work out. Other then the large gap between my pass side fender and the bulkhead that I will have to try and fix...

So for your info on the swap guys... More information on the inner fender issues. If you located the 73+ hood hinges in the stock hole locations but inside rather then out.. you should be ok if you just elongate the bolt holes in the hinge that bold on the hood. Do this about 3/4 inch more towards the rear ( in other words making it easy to move the hood back towards the windshield when closed) otherwise everything lined up when closed. Had to add 3/8 pipe pcs cut to fit the inside width of the inner fenders to prevent colapse when tightening the hood hinge bolts.

I would have all lined up..but when you push the inder fender combo back to make the hood line up..the fenders don't fit ( hit the door)... so that is no good.

Rad support from the 73+ worked mint ( with the exception of 4 holes you need to drill, but those become obvious when mounting the grille)...a hole for the old style hood latch ( not a problem)...However I will recommend that if you don't have a 73+ rad support that still has the 3 nuts still welded into the top of the support that hold the support/grille/outer fender all together..go find one. Putting nuts inside there with a wrench...is a bitch.
It works..but still not my cup of tea. ( you will know the ones I mean when you go look at one)...anyways its done so whatever.

Inner fenders will need to be drilled for all new bolt locations for the outer fenders (all the ones that run on the top of the fender bolting to the innner. They all end up under the outer fenders now...so the bolt hole will not line up at all. Not a big deal that some bolts and nuts cant solve. They will also need to be pulled up ( as in towards the outder fender) as they are tucked down too low ( less then a inch) but will flex up into place nicely when bolted so no big deal. Took some pics this weekend I will try and develop when I get back from BC. Taking two weeks of as of Friday, Visiting Victoria, Skiing in Whistler and sledding in Revelstoke..should be fun. Then it will be back to her in early Feb. Would like to take her out 4 wheeling in the spring melt.

Hope this helps someone else. More to come soon

Marc

Hello, I have project questions. I have a1979 supercab long box 4x4 1/2 ton with stock front leaf springs. The truck is disaster but the frame is good. How tough will it be to remove the body and replace it with a regular cab and short box. I hope the cab mounts match up and after I remount the rear suspension I hope to simply cut off the remaining frame sticking out past the box. Can you forsee any problems remounting the rear suspension. Me big concern is the supercab - regular cab mounting.

HELP!

the only thing i see is the rear needs that arc where the leaf springs mount and where the shocks are located.man i miss my old 79 supercab1/2ton 4x4 that i sold.

I suspect cab mounting issues....length of frame wont just be longer out the back..the mid section would have been longer to accomodate the cab...but then agian i've only worked on reg cab long box stuff.... only ever seen one 1/2 ton ext with the front leafs in my lifetime... maybe keep it as is..or sell off and just get a reg cab lbox to shorten....
my 2 cents