Sheet metal

[Broncobill78]

I'm in the process of looking for a parts truck for my 88'. To be perfectly honest I have to say I've never been a fan of the big-headlight 87-91 trucks and since I'm in the market anyways I've been wondering if the 92-96 sheet metal is a direct swap. While I'm sure the nose & doors will physically bolt right on what I want to know is if the the character lines & body creases line up & are in the same places. Would the nose & doors from let's say a 94' look out of place on an 88' tub ? I haven't had a chance to go out & really look at & measure any and I thought perhaps someone here had already been down this road. Any info or advise will be appreciated.

 

[BLADE262US]

Yes it will all fit . You must chenge the filler panel between the hood and the windshield as well . The headlight harness will need to be repinned as well . /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[Broncobill78]

Cool. I was reasonably sure it would all bolt into place but what I didn't want was to find out halfway thru that the body crease on the top half of the panels was different from one series to the next and the newer nose & doors wouldn't line up visually with the back half. I don't want it to look like some half-a$$ job done by someone who doesn't care.

I've never had a reason to change (or even look at for that matter) that panel. I assume you're talking about the vented panel with the windshield wiper studs right ? I always thought that was part of the tub (at least it was in the 73-79's).

How is the harness run in the later trucks ? I figured I'd just pull the original harness off the sheet-metal when I took the nose off and lay it back in on the new nose, or am I unaware of something ? I had planned on pulling the harness's from the parts truck to save for the day when mine wear out or start causing strange problems but if they're not direct replacement then I guess I need to look into it more and try to find a pinout of both so I can convert the newer harness to the older truck if/when I need it.

Yes it will all fit . You must chenge the filler panel between the hood and the windshield as well . The headlight harness will need to be repinned as well . /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[BLADE262US]

Yes the vented panel with the wipers sticking through must be changed its just held on by screws . I am talking about the headlight harness . When you put your new front end on youll find that the headlight bulbs from the 87 to 91 will not fit in the 92 to 96 headlight housing . Once you get the correct bulbs you will find that the headlight bulb plug will plug right into the newer bulb . Now you will find that when turning the headlights on that the high beam indicator light will remain on all the time and it will dim when the high or lows are selected . I dont remember exactly which way it went but lets say the older ones had the high / low common in the middle pin in the headlight bulb the newer ones have the common to the right or left ( what the **** they were thinking who knows ) All you have to do is verify the common and take the plug apart and move 2 of the wires and it will operate normally . /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />