Ericthenorse Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 I have been wanting an old Datsun truck for a while, but I have problems fitting in them (6'5") I have been drawn towards the 620 because it was the first King Cab. Well, a guy down the street has a decent '74 he said I can have for free, and I have a buddy with a King Cab cab sitting in his yard...... Will the king cab fit on a regular cab frame? I know I will have to do something about shortening the bed, I just want to know if it is just a matter of moving/adding some cab mounts, or would it be more complex... Since here in CA we have this thing called smog, I would like to have a king cab that doesn't have to be smogged... (take the cowell from the '74 and graft it to the back of the kc which is a '77 so it would still technically be a '74) I am sure that after I drag it home next week, I will have more stupid questions.....and pictures.. :) 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 Yes... the KC will bolt to a reg cab short bed frame. The six cab mounting bolts are in the same location and the extra cab will extend to the rear. However the box will need about 9.45" (my figure, you better verify) shorter, ahead of the rear wheels. It might be easier to make a wooden flat bed with sides. Then there's the gas tank. Up to '78 the tank is bolted to the bed between the axle and the cab. Again a wooden flatbed you could mount it across behind the rear end. As long as it's a '74 frame then it probably will pass as a '74. Keep the '74 engine tag on the KC cab. 1 Quote Link to comment
Ericthenorse Posted July 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 Thanks.. I plan on using the bed, and I know I will have to trim it. I might even do a little trimming behind the rear axle also to make it a super shorty. Eventual plan is to use the KC to get the extra length and stretch the door to get a bit more room... Had an old '33 Chevy truck that I ended up welding 1 1/2 doors together to make it long enough for me to fit. The Datsun shouldn't be too much different.. :) 1 Quote Link to comment
Ericthenorse Posted July 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 A quick and dirty Photochop of what I want to do to the cab... (random picture stolen from the interwebs...) Before After.. I know it is kind of silly, but that is what I am going to do... :) 2 Quote Link to comment
hobospyder Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 I mean, I get wanting a king cab, I'm 6.5 feet myself. I fit in my single cab just fine (I'm comfortable in small spaces) but I also own a kc just so if I ever get it running I can daily it and be more comfortable. But why not just try to find a kc and build that? You'll have a little more space in the bed at the end of it all. And now that I wrote all that in the process of looking to see if I had an extra set of doors you could use I see cali and I understand kinda. Also I'm too far away for my doors to be usefull Quote Link to comment
]2eDeYe Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 The stock door openings are plenty wide for this 6' guy, The kingcab portion really helps in the pedal to waist aspect which is my biggest issue with the standard cabs. 1 Quote Link to comment
hobospyder Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 Edit: hah, found it Six and a half feet next to a 2 inch dropped standard cab 620. 3 Quote Link to comment
Farmer Posted July 29, 2015 Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 DId this very same thing back in the early '90's. King cab will bolt straight up. But you'll have to remove the first set of bed supports on frame. So you'll end up with only four bolts holding your bed on. And the gas tank will be in the way. You'll have to relocated it. I ended up cutting the back of the cab (notched) and made a cover around tank. Wish I would of thought about taking pictures back then. Its around 9 5/8 inch off But heres one of the finished project. 2 Quote Link to comment
Ericthenorse Posted July 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2015 In addition to being 6'5" I am also 295lbs... and not fat... There just isn't enough room in the regular cab for me... My height is mostly in the torso... My legs fit fine, but I can't sit up straight The stretching the doors thing might never happen, but it was something I was thinking about... I don't want to use the king cab frame because they didn't make one that is pre-smog... I have a FREE '74 regular cab, and a FREE KC cab... Those are my main reasons for swaping the cab... I want to build a truck that handles, and I want a short wheelbase, so the '74 is the ticket... I actually found this forum because I was searching the net to see if antone had ever used Miata suspension on a truck. I have a full set of spares for a '75 Civic AWD project that I thought might be a good addition to the truck. I stumbled across the "MX520" thread here, so I figured it was fate... :) I am not going to go as overboard awesome as he did, but I should be able to run it arround some cones... :) Going to stick with a Nissan/Datsun powerplant though. (that will be the easy part.. :) ) Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted July 30, 2015 Report Share Posted July 30, 2015 The KC and box will fit the '75 long bed frame. They are the same but for the two front bed mounts. I guess '75 isn't any help either. Quote Link to comment
Ericthenorse Posted July 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2015 '75 is the smog cutoff... 75 and earlier is good.... But I already have a free truck.. :) Wouldn't that be a longer wheelbase? I don't want the extra length that would be in the frame... Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted July 30, 2015 Report Share Posted July 30, 2015 KC and reg cab long wheelbase are the same frame except the two front bed mounts are slightly too far forward, maybe 8-9". KC and reg cab long wheelbase trucks use the same bed. Quote Link to comment
Ericthenorse Posted July 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 30, 2015 Exactly the issue.... I have a short wheelbase truck... I don't want a longer one.... If anything, I will make it shorter... Here is a pic of my baby waiting to be dragged home... Anyone want an '89 Ramcharger 2wd... I need the space.. :) 4 Quote Link to comment
Ericthenorse Posted August 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Even though the search function failed me... My Google-fu lead me to this old post here where someone did it... http://community.ratsun.net/topic/24404-bills-725-kc-short-bed-build/ 4 Quote Link to comment
denmarkboy Posted August 4, 2015 Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Exactly the issue.... I have a short wheelbase truck... I don't want a longer one.... If anything, I will make it shorter... Here is a pic of my baby waiting to be dragged home... Anyone want an '89 Ramcharger 2wd... I need the space.. :) I love the 2 tone! 3 Quote Link to comment
Ericthenorse Posted August 4, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 4, 2015 Yep.... That's "custom".... 2 Quote Link to comment
margaritaville Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 Well, any progress on the KC, short bed??????/:-) Quote Link to comment
red13 Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 if you havent seen it yet http://community.ratsun.net/topic/64900-77kc-620-build-threadbags-in-marchhopefully/ Quote Link to comment
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