The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop 5 window swap?

alright. we have a 1952 chevy truck its not a 5 window, and thats a problem. When My dad was looking for a 50's chevy truck he really wanted a 5 window. but he found a good deal on the 3 window that we currently own. He bought a 5 window cab, but unfortunatley for him, its a 1947 cab. That means the gas tank is not behind the seats. He still wants the tank behind the seats so using the 1947 cab is not an option. but has anyone ever transplanted that rear window section from one truck to the other? if so any problems? Would it be easier to just look for a 5 window cab with the tank behind the seat? help!!

guess i don't know that much about 47s i thought all the tanks from that style were behind the seats, where is the stock tank location on that my 39 has it under the seats

we assume its not behind the seat. there was no hole for a fuel filler neck, and when we tried to fit in a gas tank, it would not fit. Im just afraid my dad's gonna start chopping up both cabs, and get in too deep, and then we might not have a cab at all.

Sent you some pictures of the surgery.

brad allen, would you mind sending the photots again?
I didn't seem to get them

personaly i would keep the 47 cab its far rarer and it looks cool not to have the cap there he can always build them both

I originally wanted a 5-window,but had much less choice over here.
I've resigned myself to the three window now and personally I am quite happy,even 5-windows are relatively common here now!

It's a lot of work to convert them properly and as Daniel said,I would just keep the '47 as is.
JMO.

My neighbor has a '47 that I've been trying to buy for years. The gas tank is under the bed on the passenger side. There is a hole in the bedside above the splash apron for the filler. Using that as a refernce I thought they all were under the bed until I got serious and bought my '50. I like under the bed myself. Factory solution to the "sitting on a bomb" problem.

I tried to send again (no kick back)is this the right address?
'[email protected]'

Well since this seems to be turning into a "where best for the fuel tank" thread, I go some feelings on that.
The tank inside the cab is probably the safest place that you could possibly find for it's location. If you get hit from the front, back or side it's protected. A side impact would not only have to take out the frame but the body is in the crunch zone also and that section of the body and door is quite strong in an AD. If you got hit in the side hard enough to damage the tank I don't think it would matter to you at that point.
Where I wouldn't want it is under the tail end or under the side. A light rap in the rear end and you would be sitting in a pool of gasoline. And it wouldn't take much to rupture one on the side under the frame rail and again, you're sitting in a pool of fuel under the truck.
In all my 67 years I've never heard of anyone getting french fried by a ruptured fuel tank behind the seat. And contrary to popular rumors, there are no fumes in the cab if all the seals, hoses and connections are maintained properly.
However the records are littered with stories of rear end collisions resulting in ruptured fuel tanks in the rear. http://www.safetyforum.com/cvpi/ , http://www.autosafety.org/fire-recurrent-peril-jeep-collisions , http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Ford_Pinto_-_Safety_problems/id/5289671 , http://motherjones.com/politics/1977/09/pinto-madness , http://forums.automotive.com/70/6228262/jeep/jeep-liberty-fuel-tank-fires/index.html , http://www.safetyforum.com/fordfuelfires/ . And the list goes on and on.

Oh and my three window cab, I can see out of it to the back and side just fine! Five windows would just give me more glass to keep clean.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

Check out my photos of how I did a 1951 3 to 5 windoow conversion.
http://rides.webshots.com/album/563657000UGmLzM?vhost=rides
All photos of the truck are on my Webshots page.

jeeezz. don 't check the forums for a day and there is suddenly 2 pages worth of info! we are most likely gonna leave the 47 cab untouched. But if it is rare like yall say then we are gonna sell the cab. Much smarter than chopping it up and selling it for scraps. And yet again this forum is an excellent source of knowledge. THANKS

lol thing i remember bout my 59s tank in the cab as a teen i didn't need to experiment with drugs in high school the smell of gas vapors kept me stoned most of the time lol

zaboomoafoo personally if your somewhere close and the 47 is in decent shape i would trade you my 39 straight across for that

I live in houston. So Tulsa is a drive sways

lol yeah like i said if i were closer

The cab will mount differently in the rear.

I bought a 48 for the 5 window cab and decided to keep the frame since the cab fits. The gas tank is under the bed, behind the cab, and the truck has a good passenger side bed side for the tank. The tank looks like I can use it, too.

I have a good 5 window cab from a 53 3100. It needs patch panels (which I have). I just don't care to do all the welding. If you are interested I have it listed in parts for sale.

FAIRLY EAZY SWAP. THE ROOF CAP IS SPOT WELDED AT THE BELT LINE ON BACK OF CAB.
AND WELDED CLOSE TO MIDDLE OF W/S POST.
CUT & CUT AND WELD YOU HAVE A 5 WINDOW TRUCK.
ALSO YOU WILL NEED TO CHANGE YOUR WIND LACE TRACK 47 & 52 ARE NOT THE SAME..

GAS TANKS 47 & 48 ONLY WAS UNDER THE BED.

why destroy a fairly rare 47 cab? if your bound and determined to mess one up just get the cab panels from one of the aftermarket companies but don't destroy the 47 just because you want a five window

I have a 5 window cab in Sioux Falls, SD I'll sell. PM me if interested. I believe it is a 1951. It is already stripped of parts and is quite solid. $600 for the bare cab. I have pictures somewhere that I'll have to dig up, and it is buried in the snow until spring ....unless you want take a look and bring a shovel.