How bad would this be (just a idea)

[TehNewGuy]

So my 2001 silverado just took a huge beating and the bed and back cab are pretty mangled. I was joking with my wife saying I was going to put the 66 body on my 2001 frame and just drive it with all the newer parts and the old body style. After she stopped cussing at me, I explained it was a (bad) joke...

But i got me thinking, I wondered if it was possible and who better to ask then you guys!!! Because there is just about a whole nother truck in body parts lying in my backyard... (wife calls it the boneyard, something to do with Lion King...)

[Captainfab]

I would not attempt that myself and I have 35 years fabrication experience. The '88 and up frames are very much different than the '87 and earlier frames. I don't recommend installing a '60-'72 body onto a '73-'87 frame either, unless it is a 4x4 and you don't mind a body lift. A few years ago, someone local attempted what you are asking. There was an unbelieveable amount of body modifications going on, trying to make the body fit. As far as I know the project was never finished and abandoned. Aside from making everything fit, there is the legal aspect of a frame with a different VIN than the body.

Now, if you were to take the engine and trans from your '01, and put it into your '66, that is very feasable, and has been done many times with excellent results.

[glos55]

What Captainfab said X2

[Clyde65]

ditto!