GEN II body on a GEN I frame?

[377Z]

I have a 1991 Explorer 5 spd 4x4 that I love to death. Being in the rust belt has not been kind to the body, so it has rust popping up in more and more places to the point where I'm not sure I can keep chasing it. GEN II's don't seem to be as bad with this--so this got me thinking. If I somehow turned up a '95+ body in good shape (like, say, some soccer mom's high mileage 2wd or something), are the body mounts in the same spots on the GEN I's & GEN II's?

I am aware of the magnitude of the job, as well as issues with the VIN #'s, and the relative unlikelyhood of finding such a body, but I'd like to know whether or not its possible. My '91's chassis is in great shape, I just rebuilt the entire front suspension/steering, I have no issues with the TTB, and am currently changing the clutch. Possible?

 

[GaSouthern1]

I dont think it has ever been tried, Perry's has some cool fenders that you could replace the worn out ones with on your car.

 

[bipolarbob]

I have seen it done with toyotas but don't know about ex's

 

[377Z]

I'll check out Perry's, but I'm also worried about the body structure itself--All the seams under the body are rusting, the dogleg area is pretty bad, the metal strip between the glass in the back doors is going, the hatch is rusting along the bottom and by the wiper holder thing, radiator support, misc areas under the hood, on the leading edge of the hood, etc. Even if it was all surface rust the anount of effort it would take to get it all would be about as much as swapping bodies. I'm really not sure what I will do besides curse Ford for their 'rustproofing.'

 

[GaSouthern1]

I would just get new body panels for whatever you need or try to find a Gen1 body with no rust, taht is your best bet.

 

[annabanana]

I think the only mounts that are different are the very front ones, which can easily be adapted. But I'm not 100%. The frame rails are pretty much the same on the rear of both but change in the front for suspension differences.

This is a very possible swap, but it would be a lot more work than you're seeing. You would have to basically change out the whole interior body harness with that of your 1st gen. You'd also have to adapt your HVAC system to work with the new dash/firewall. Then there's steering. Some custom adaption will be needed there too.

So its probably possible... just mucho worko. I'd look for a '91 with no motor and trans (in AZ or somewhere ) that you can swap your stuff into.

 

[377Z]

Yea, you guys are probably right. I'm not afraid of the work, I'm afraid of what it might end up costing me to iron out all the little details. Rust is SUCH a *******.

 

[Brett]

I wish I would have know about 6 months ago. I took an entire rust free 91 4 door shell to the crusher. I posted it here, but nobody wanted it....

 

[Rhett]

Originally posted by 377Z
I have a 1991 Explorer 5 spd 4x4 that I love to death. Being in the rust belt has not been kind to the body, so it has rust popping up in more and more places to the point where I'm not sure I can keep chasing it. GEN II's don't seem to be as bad with this--

GenII's are also not as old. Give GenII trucks a few more years to age and we'll see how they rust.

As far as swapping a GenII bod onto a Gen I frame, I don't know of it being done, but with enough money, time, and skill, anything is possible. Gen I owners have bolted the Perry fiber front end on, and really unless you are up-close and/or are knowledgeable about Explorers, you can't tell their trucks apart from 2nd Gens.

 

[377Z]

The oldest GEN II is 8 years already; the GEN I rust problem was very old news by then. As early as '93, Ford added the tupperware (as standard IIRC) to mask the problem. One guy at work had a '91 new and it rusted through before the warranty expired. He had it fixed and it rusted out again 9 months later. It was basically a design flaw and is difficult to successfully address as the area rusts from the inside out; somehow moisture collects in there, so it doesn't matter what you do to the outside, it will still rust.

I have the cheapie patch panels and may try to fix it (since I already have the panels) with some strategically placed ventilation and liberal use of POR-15 (and cutting out ALL rusty metal in the area, NOT painting over it), but I have a feeling that I'll still have mixed results. Then I'll drive it until it no longer becomes economically viable to maintain, then look at some GEN II's to buy. I just wish 5 speed 4 doors were more common.