83 J10 cab interchange with 84 J10

[FLguthrie]

I have an 83 J10 that needs some replacement sheet metal, is an 84 cab the same?

thanks

Anthony

[Bob Barry]

Yes, it should be identical.

[FLguthrie]

swapping cabs

thx for responding, turns out its an 86, but the rust at the A pillar to roof and in front of the windshield dictate the cab swap, will swap my 83 dash and fuse box into the 86 cab.

thanks,

Anthony

[Bob Barry]

thx for responding, turns out its an 86, but the rust at the A pillar to roof and in front of the windshield dictate the cab swap, will swap my 83 dash and fuse box into the 86 cab.

thanks,

Anthony

You might be better-off keeping the '86's dashboard, as it has the voltmeter rather than the ammeter. You'll have to change the pins around on the engine-side firewall connector to the positions on an '86, and add a separate charging-circuit from the alternator to the starter relay, but you should do that anyway with the older-style dash to avoid ammeter fires.

[joe]

So far as which dash to use. Either one 86 or 83 on an 83 truck will require some changes. you either deal with the wiring for the volt/amp gauge change or the fuel gauge sender changes. An 86 fuel gauge won't work with the 83 fuel sending unit in the tank. 86 gauge works opposite of a pre 86. An 83 will read EMPTY at 73 ohms and FULL at 10 ohms where an 86 will read EMPTY at 0 ohms and FULL at 88 ohms. Depends which issue you want to deal with.
Personally I like the amp gauge over a volt meter. There is nothing wrong with the OEM amp gauge and not the cause of FSJ Car-B-Q's. Sure swapping a bigger alt beyond the amp gauges working range will fry it but mostly the possible fires are from lack of maint. While you have the dash out it'd be an excellent and advised time to check the amp gauge connections for "clean and tight". Loose/dirty connections cause the resistance/heat that burns down the vehicle, not the gauge itself.

[FLguthrie]

cab swap

I will have to decide, I am painting the truck Bikini Pearl with black interior, the 86 dash is Tan, planned on removing bad dashed form 83 and painting the dash...I think to simplify things things I'll stick with the 83 dash, wiring wise...install the 83 fuse block on the 86 so it'll all mate up. I will rehab the instrument cluster at the same time.