65-72 Wheelbase info needed

[mongrot]

Ok, here's my situation. I have a 1965 F100 long box body & chassis (no axles/suspension,no engine or trans) and a drivable 1969 F100 long box frame/drivetrain (no body). I would like to put the 65 body on the 69 frame but I've heard the 65 has a 2" shorter wheelbase than the 69 & I won't be able to put them together.

1. Is that true that the 65 is shorter?
2....if it is true...What exactly is different and what would I need to do to modify/shorten so that the 65 body fits the 69 frame?
3. Would I be able to use the rear end/front I beam suspension/driveshaft/engine/trans from the 69 and bolt it up to the 65 easier than shortening the 69?

[6166 Junkyard Dog]

65/66 long bed 129" and 67/72 is 131" wheelbase, both have 34" frame rails and means chassis are different and will have to be cut someplace many times I have been able to look at truck and see the sides and tell the chassis was not the same also I know will get slack on this but if ever going to sell and frame vin tags and vin #s on chassis do not match, Most places will not accept that as proof for titles in the US and that opens a can of worms, also I don't care what others say that warranty tag on the door is the 1st thing a DMV Officer or any law enforcement official looks at if being on suspicion or trying to change from state to state will not accept and have seen many vehicles rejected at ports due to this when going out of the US since they are more strict Others here reading this BEWARE, on E-Bay, craigslist, Insurance Auctions on a daily basis I have seen this happen, right now a 56 F-100 buy it now for 23,500 with a F-500 cab tag/title and will not wash so just think in future a little bit because it can bite you in the but later on

[9Fingers]

When working on my 65, which had already had a frame cut/splice before I bought it, I though of another possible way to shorten the wheelbase. When I was working on the rear axle and getting it fastened back to the leaf springs, I had a choice with two different height spacer blocks between the springs and axle. And that's when the idea came to me. Why couldn't you fabricate some custom offset spacer blocks that would move the rear axle forward 2" ? Then space the bed forward, with the correct bed to cab spacing, re-drill holes to mount the bed and trim excess at the rear frame? Don't know if it would work, but seems to be way less involved than splicing a frame.

[greentruck]

Option three is the way to go. All bolt on ,frame keeps 65 vin. Also a good time to replace all the bushings.

[chris401]

Ok, here's my situation. I have a 1965 F100 long box body & chassis (no axles/suspension,no engine or trans) and a drivable 1969 F100 long box frame/drivetrain (no body). I would like to put the 65 body on the 69 frame but I've heard the 65 has a 2" shorter wheelbase than the 69 & I won't be able to put them together.

1. Is that true that the 65 is shorter?
2....if it is true...What exactly is different and what would I need to do to modify/shorten so that the 65 body fits the 69 frame?
3. Would I be able to use the rear end/front I beam suspension/driveshaft/engine/trans from the 69 and bolt it up to the 65 easier than shortening the 69?

I didn't know the 69 was longer, thanks for bringing it up. Does that include 67 and 68 long wheel base?

In New Mexico and Texas they go by the vin on the frame. May or may not a different deal in Canada. My research led me to scrap out a good frame and stick to repairing all the cracks in mine.

[slixtyfive]

The bed is only going to 'sit' correctly in one spot that matches the contour of the frame unless you move the crossbraces under the bed floor. (frame rails are not flat along the top). So sliding the bed isn't practical.

I'm not sure about what you are saying you have - you say '65 body and chassis but no suspension. Do you have the frame? I yes - just transfer all the suspension and drivetrain from the '69 to the '65 as mentioned above. You will have to shorten the drive shaft but that is simple.

[mongrot]

Well, so much for this being a fast & easy project. Thanks for confirming the frame differences, I was afraid of that. Looks like I'll be swapping the complete drivetrain onto the 65 since I definitely don't have the fabrication skills to shorten a frame. As for the serial number comment-In Saskatchewan there's less than 800 000 people in an area the size of Texas and everyone is everyone's cousin, nobody cares what number you run as long as you pay for plates on some sort of vin. Bought a truck from a wrecker's one time that was missing the serial number and ground off on the frame, the registration office just told me to make something up with 5 or 6 random numbers (so that it couldn't be an actual vin someone already owns). LOL. Oh, and anything 1987 & older costs $130/year to plate. No inspections, no safety required even if it was sitting for 40+ years.