Body mounting question ... 1987 GMC 1/2 ton longbed to Earlier Frame

[ramrodw31]

I have a 1987 GMC 1/2 ton longbed 2wd pickup , vehicle is totaled due front frame side damage .. Can I use a 1979 1/2 ton frame without modifications . Or do I need to stay with a 1981 - 1987 2wd frame .. Doesn't really matter to me , but won't to make the swap as simple as possible without modifying body mounts / holes / etc .. It doesn't really look it , but the frame is offset by 3 inches and the frame shop here can / won't do it due to State Regulations for it to be put back on the highway .. Thanks

 

[RecklessWOT]

Damn that sucks your frame shop is a bunch of dicks. As long as it's not kinked to holy hell, there's no reason they shouldn't be able to repair a strictly lateral impact on a full frame vehicle, I've seen MUCH worse fixed. The pre-80 frame can work for the most part, but there are some differences (mount holes and such, bumper placement, that kind of stuff). Would be a lot more "plug and play" to find a newer frame, but with some light modification there's no real reason you couldn't use an older frame, the truck was largely unchanged for the entire production run. As long as it's another 2wd pickup frame, you won't have such luck trying to use a Suburban or Blazer frame unless you want to do some serous fabrication.