1996 bronco on 1978 frame?

[tattoo_skullhead]

i have a 1996 bronco...im not happy with either axles..my friend has a 1978 bronco with a dana 60 front and a corporate 14 bolt rear, it also has a big block and other goodies i want for my truck. the body on his is all rusted out but the frame is in great condition he will sell me his bronco and i was wondering if my body will fit on his frame without alot of fabrication?

 

[BLADE262US]

No his frame is narrower you will be doing alot of fabbing best thing to do is fit those axles under your current frame . /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[Yardape]

I did not know that. Now I feel smarter, Thanks Blade. You learned me something today /

 

[firelt90bronco]

Dude, leave the 78 Bronco on the 78 frame, the 96 is a different frame.

 

[ocalabronco]

it would be easier to buy the 78, swap the running gear over to your truck, and sell whats left of the 78

 

[BLADE262US]

LOL no problem Yardape . You might be interested in this too you can take the rear end out of a 78/79 and bolt it right in a 1980/1996 but a 1977 and back rear axle the spring pads are about 2 inches further inboard so you have to cut the perches and reweld to use a 1977 or older axle in a newer truck . The front of the frame on a 79 and back is a couple inches narrower than the 1980 and up if anyone is interested I have one of each frames sitting here a 78 bronco and a 92 bronco I can get exact measurements of the front end difference /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

 

[ocalabronco]

sure, if you've got them why not. this also brings up an interesting point concerning solid axle swaps. since 78/79 frames were narrower in the front, the resulting narrow spring perch spacing on the front axle (dana 60 for reference) allows the use of leafs with less arch for more lift and better flex since the axle housing itself has more leverage against the leaf springs. makes for a cleaner install too, IMO, if you go with a leaf setup on a 60