64-66 P/U/Suburban frame differences?

[monolith]

Hi all, I was wondering what the differences are (if any) between pickup and suburban frames. will a sub body fit on a p/u frame or vice versa?

I picked up a spare decent suburban body to swap out with the rotting one currently on my 64 4x4 and I figured I could work on refurbishing the rusty one in my spare time- problem is- the frame it came on has some issues: bent radiator support(as in pulled in from dragging the truck- it's got about 6" of deflection in it) no motor, trans or radiator- rear diff is empty, front spindles have no brakes, just rotors and wheels. 5 lug.

I have a running 64 GMC long/wide /305/ 6 lug that I was going to use as a cab front/vin/parts donor if it would work out.

My most burning questions are: Would it be easier or more desireable to take the back"half" of the suburban body and mate it to the cab of the 64 p/u and run it on the pickups frame? Or cut the cab and driveline parts that I need off of the pickup, fix the suburbans frame issues and graft the pickup cab section onto the sub?

And would using the pickups VIN be problematic in either case?

Both are leaf sprung trucks.

I'm ok with stripping either truck to swap components..

I realize that this is a hugely ambitious process, but I've been honing my chops on my 66 DD and am anxious to challenge myself.

As usual, any warnings, advice, etc. is greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Baz

[Captainfab]

So are you trying to build a Suburban or a pickup.....I'm a little confused. If all that is wrong with the Suburban frame is a bent lower radiator support crossmember, just replace that. It's not that hard to do, assuming you have a replacement. The Suburban frames are about the same length as a swb pickup, but the body mounts are different. As for cutting and welding different cabs and whatnot, that can turn into a huge job. If you don't take your time and plan the whole project out, you can end up with a big mess.

[monolith]

Thanks for the quick response!

To clarify: I'll be taking a nearly shot suburban body(the rusted to hell one in the 64 4x4 link in my sig) off of the 4x4 frame it's residing on currently, and cutting/grafting the front of a pickup cab to it, replacing the rusted out windshield surround and cab front overhang. I'll be relocating that body to either the frame that the other(2x4 donor burb) body came off of OR onto the 64 pickups frame.

I have a suburban body that I picked up that's in WAY better shape - I'm going to put that on the 4x4 frame after I clean it (the 4x4 frame) up. Instead of just trashing the old rusty burb shell, I'm going to try to get it back into shape eventually and onto either the 2 wheel drive frame (that needs work) that the other donor burb body came on, or use the 64 pickup for a frame as well as cab donor.

So-essentially I'm just going to swap suburban bodies,except that one of them is really rusty and needs replacement donor sheetmetal from the pickup.

I thought it might be easier to just pull the pickup cab off of its frame and drop the suburban body onto that frame instead.

The "new" burb came without a vin- just a body on a rolling frame.

The goal is to have 2 suburbans eventually- I'll build the 4x4 first- as it requires the least amount of fabrication- then move on to the other (rusty) burb project.

The pickup is strictly for parts,so I can use any parts from it that would work on the burb frame, though it's currently running and registered.

I know it's gonna be a hell of a big project- but I'm looking forward to it.

Thanks again for helping me think this through.

P.S. also- how hard is it to change a leaf spring suspension over to trailing arms for these years?

Baz

[Captainfab]

OK, now I understand what you're doing.......

I've read that the Suburban roofs are slightly different than the pickup roofs, particularily right above the windshield. Check out the thread of the guy building a '65 Blazer on the Projects and Builds section. He went thru that issue. Changing from leafs to trailing arms isn't difficult as long as the crossmember is there at the front of the trailing arms. Then you will need the trailing arms, springs and a panhard bar.

[Fursphere]

Not sure if the Panel frames are different from the Suburban frames, but my Panel frame is longer than a pickup frame, and obviously the rear bumper mounting is quite different.

[padresag]

and a true 4 x 4 frame is deeper in the middle section
ron