E350 van body swap

[jhennie]

My 1997 E350 Turbo diesel was T-boned yesterday. All the damage was to the body, not the frame. I have a 2002 E350 Triton V-8 which has a good body and is sitting around gathering dust. I prefer driving the diesel and was thinking of unbolting (and cutting where necessary) the 2002 body and putting it on the 1997 van so I would have a good van for the street again. I would make a flatbed for the 2002 van to use as a hay truck on my farm.
From all measurements and appraeances, it looks like a straight swap. Does anyone know if this would work or where I can get the information on the potential differences in the two?

[dieselcrawler]

I have never thought of this before, but I would think you could swap the bodies. If the wheelbase and body are of the same configuration, do a full swap. A garage with a lift would allow you to disconnect the body, raise it, roll out the gasser frame, and roll in the diesel frame. The dash and wiring stuff could be swaped. I would do that before I cut any body parts... body mounts and such should line up. Good luck.

[wilmar13]

Originally Posted by jhennie

My 1997 E350 Turbo diesel was T-boned yesterday. All the damage was to the body, not the frame. I have a 2002 E350 Triton V-8 which has a good body and is sitting around gathering dust. I prefer driving the diesel and was thinking of unbolting (and cutting where necessary) the 2002 body and putting it on the 1997 van so I would have a good van for the street again. I would make a flatbed for the 2002 van to use as a hay truck on my farm.
From all measurements and appraeances, it looks like a straight swap. Does anyone know if this would work or where I can get the information on the potential differences in the two?

Here is someone that did something very similar, and took some decent photos of the project:
Supermoto Junkie
Supermoto Junkie
Supermoto Junkie

The entire thread is here, where there is some more information in posts 200-250.
Supermoto Junkie