Can it be done / is it possible, to swap a 1990’s flat-front Scania cab for a more modern P cab?
all depends on how deep your pockets are to be honest
without having the two trucks sat side by side to compare i wouldn’t like to guess exactly how deep they would need to be 
oh dear 
enter from stage left, dbt, who had the bright idea of fitting a 164 engine into a 143, and even though everyone told him it was a very bad idea, he still wanted to do it 
Anything can be done if you have enough time and/or money, but I would be very surprised if they are a straight swap. Even if the cab mounts by some great stroke of luck are in the same places (which I doubt they will be) the electrics will certainly be completely different.
Paul
repton:
Anything can be done if you have enough time and/or money, but I would be very surprised if they are a straight swap. Even if the cab mounts by some great stroke of luck are in the same places (which I doubt they will be) the electrics will certainly be completely different.Paul
Exactly, the manufacturers make more money out of replacement parts then they do truck sales. I doubt they are going to use the same wiring loom or even connectors as the previous model 
Bad Idea, if you are bored, build a kit car 
I’m sure it wouldn’t be easy. I’ve always had a bit of a daydream about buying a new Volvo FH12, finding an unused F series cab somewhere and doing the transplant as I considered the F series to be a far better cab. I really do think it would be a labour of love though as virtually everything would need very heavy modification. I’m not even sure that the cab would fit over the engine.
Thanks guys, though this idea wasn’t just a whim.
A new contract we’ve just scored requires us to have another (very custom) truck.
We don’t want another truck, but we’ve got to have it, so we’re looking for the cheapest.
We’ve found one that fits the bill perfectly, it’s in top notch mechanical order and everything is ‘right’ for the job it’s got to do.
Only problem for us is, the old style cab isn’t in fitting with the rest of the modern fleet.
So it looks like we’re going to buy this truck, but it would be nice if it had a more modern look to it.
Not the end of the world if not, like I say it’s in good sound condition and it’s well within budget.
shuttlespanker:
oh dearenter from stage left, dbt, who had the bright idea of fitting a 164 engine into a 143, and even though everyone told him it was a very bad idea, he still wanted to do it
So did it work or did the idea stay on the ■■■ packet you got me intrigued now Rob
Maybe i should start a thread . . . . . . I need my tools taking away, i bet theres been some cracking ■■■■ ups to be seen
philberg182:
shuttlespanker:
oh dearenter from stage left, dbt, who had the bright idea of fitting a 164 engine into a 143, and even though everyone told him it was a very bad idea, he still wanted to do it
So did it work or did the idea stay on the ■■■ packet you got me intrigued now Rob
Maybe i should start a thread . . . . . . I need my tools taking away, i bet theres been some cracking ■■■■ ups to be seen
it was, and possibly still is, a pipe dream
dbt calls me regular, and he comes out with some of the wildest ideas that you would ever have heard
another of his ideas was to take a petrol tanker over to the middle east, fill it with diesel and bring it back to sell or use it himself to save money on the cost of fuel over here
he couldn’t get it through his head that he would probably use most of what he brought back just on the journey there and back 
cieranc:
Only problem for us is, the old style cab isn’t in fitting with the rest of the modern fleet.
So it looks like we’re going to buy this truck, but it would be nice if it had a more modern look to it.
Can you not do what some bus and coach companies do, and just get a new-style front grill etc for it? I’m sure you could find a new or new-ish grill and splice it on, if you really wanted to? Stick a dateless numberplate on it and off you go
That may be the way forward, I’ll see what the tin bashers say.
Can’t put a private plate on it, it gets a roadworthiness test rather than a MoT test, but you need an MoT cert to get a private plate, the DVLA won’t accept a roadworthiness cert
Cheers
Yer it could be done!! if you peeps cast your mind back a few years ago there was a plant hire firm “sure it was a plant hire firm” who did a similar conversion with a f88 and but a f12 cab on it anyone remember that■■? so yer it could be done but its a case of how much do you wanna spend,
someone once put a merc sk cab on a scania!!! 6x2… and old cpt chubbs may remeber the cut and shut man up denholme way!!! thats who did it
when cpt chubbs finaly goes to the old l"banko and gets a bit of wonga out we may do a scaf conversion… as we will need a hell of a lot of ■■■ packet backs to make that conversion work thats why he needs to go to the bank"o of franko so he can buy plenty of ■■■■ so we got the packets to be able to do the conversion of a misters motor V8and fittings and a down hill kettle boiling racers s.s.cab…
then Chubbliners will be up and running 
cieranc:
:?:
me too But i do remember the cut and shut man .
what about the bloke with a white 4 series topline who put an R series grill on, that came out ok, theres a picture in the photo forum, Hobson was the company i think. ( i cant be arsed to look for it for you.)
He’s talking about a 3 series being retrofitted with a 4/R series cab So not as difficult as it might appear, the cab mountings will be the easy part, the hardest will be the electrics, but that isn’t as hard as it sounds because the 3 series were not EDC (except the 500s) so all that’s needed would be a bit ( ) of splicing here and there to make sure the lights worked
Although it would cost a few quid even if done on the cheap, there must be plenty of newer four wheelers out there that would cost less (than an old one with a newer cab) and be exactly what you want from the start 
Another way of doing it would be to make it look even older, put 2 series badges on it and an old number plate, make it look like it’s been totally restored
Look at it another way, older truck in your livery, try and keep it in good condition and you’ve got something which will really turn heads, it’s always nice to see some decent condition older trucks still pounding the beat.
newmercman:
Although it would cost a few quid even if done on the cheap, there must be plenty of newer four wheelers out there that would cost less (than an old one with a newer cab) and be exactly what you want from the start
That would involve stretching a tractor unit, building and integrating 2 subframes for crane and body, not a 5 minute job!
cieranc:
newmercman:
Although it would cost a few quid even if done on the cheap, there must be plenty of newer four wheelers out there that would cost less (than an old one with a newer cab) and be exactly what you want from the startThat would involve stretching a tractor unit, building and integrating 2 subframes for crane and body, not a 5 minute job!
Read it again Buy a newer four wheeler is the relevant part No mention of doing any conversions at all
newmercman:
Read it again
If you read his earlier posts on this thread it is a very specialised vehicle, that is the whole point of the thread. If it was just any old 4 wheeler rigid it would obviously be a no-brainer but it isn’t hence the original question. He isn’t going to be able to easily find a newer vehicle that is to the right spec.
Paul