06 Silverado 3500 8.1 6 speed Questions

[determined]

Hi new here I have done a pile of reading and still have some questions.
I have 18 Chevys ranging from 1950 to 2006 1/2 ton to 3 ton, so I am not new to this, just new to this body style
My 98 7.4 Dually is pretty near worn out so the search for another trailer hauler has been ongoing for the past couple of years.

The decision made was to find a 2006 as it was the last year for the 8.1 and the first year for the Allison 6- speed on a 3500 4x4.

Found one in good mechanical shape with 140 000 miles on it.

The body condition was poorer than I wanted but being such a rare truck to find in the first place It came home with me.

Far from perfect and needing repair or replacement was 1 front door, 1 fender, front bumper, hood, headlight etc.

Found a loaded 2005 Silverado 1500 that had been hit hard in the rear and bought it for the body.

Here is where my questions start, I have quite a few if you can help on any of them before I tear into this project it would be greatly appreciated.

The 2006 is a very dark blue and the 2005 is a dark charcoal grey with a body that is a good 9 out of 10 in condition and paint.
Plan is to swap all doors, hood, fenders grill etc.
Color close enough I am not worried about the roof and strip behind the back doors, flat deck and headache rack are black.

06 has the HD hood but if I am changing grill as well I believe the normal hood from the 05 will fit up fine.

06 has power lock but no keyless entry, once I swap doors I believe the RH door has the fob receiver in it all should work, might have to relearn fob.

Mirror with temp and compass from the 05 should bolt right in, just need to move the temp sensor.

06 has am fm cd 05 has Bose system with 6cd changer built in.
Is this a workable swap? Recoding possible?

Heater controls? Is it worth the effort to put the electronic climate controls in?

DIC display I have read is an easy swap but not sure if it will work/recognize the manual shift info for the Allison.

Steering wheel with the buttons, guessing I would need it for the DIC.

Basically want to swap over whatever goodies I can and it would be nice to get some insight as to what will and will not work.

Thanks in advance.
Dave

[determined]

Quite the quiet bunch you all are.

Day 1 of the swap, got both trucks inside and thawed out.

Hoods, doors, grills etc off and first new fender hung.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1519738250

[determined]

Day two progress.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1519776095

[truckdude239]

Don't knkw tbe answers but man u can put one together

[determined]

Day three front end done along with power seat and keyless entry all working, Bose speakers sound amazing.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1519866837

[determined]

All the old parts put back on the downer truck, will make a decent cow checker/yard truck.
Next up will be some new tow mirrors, a set of stainless wheel covers and some new window deflectors.
New bumper cover on the way.
Soon as the snow quits the deck is going to the sandblaster and the whole thing will be covered in black bed liner.

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1519950701

[determined]

Took a day off to feed cows and fix a hydraulic line on one of the tractors.

Yesterday managed to pull rear view mirror and temp sensor along with driving light switch and wiring, fancy front mud flaps, nerf bars and door lock cylinders from parts truck.

A picture of it before I started.
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1520176940

[jrlucky]

It's nice seeing someone else working on an 8.1, I found a nice set of tow mirrors on amazon. My crew cab had manual mirrors but converted it to electric tow mirrors. Your DIC display won't swap over though sorry... Mine is burned out and I've asked around and every answer I get is that it's vehicle specific. You could get it rebuilt like I'm planning, I know there are vendors on craigslist that will rebuild them pretty cheap. Are you wanting to swap the BOSE into your truck? I know the speakers will swap but the radio will have to be reprogrammed at a dealer then.. Good luck!

[determined]

Originally Posted by jrlucky

It's nice seeing someone else working on an 8.1, I found a nice set of tow mirrors on amazon. My crew cab had manual mirrors but converted it to electric tow mirrors. Your DIC display won't swap over though sorry... Mine is burned out and I've asked around and every answer I get is that it's vehicle specific. You could get it rebuilt like I'm planning, I know there are vendors on craigslist that will rebuild them pretty cheap. Are you wanting to swap the BOSE into your truck? I know the speakers will swap but the radio will have to be reprogrammed at a dealer then.. Good luck!

I ordered in a set of power mirrors as well and I am quire happy with them.

The DIC will stay in the yard truck, not worth the hassle.

The stereo that came with it along with the Bose speakers I gained when I swapped the doors sounds great so it can stay.

Put the new bumper cap on along with the tow hooks that were missing.

Cleaned up and installed the tube steps and a set of front mudflaps.

Waiting for a nice day now to swap headliners, I figure if I need to drop it to get the wiring in to the compass/temp mirror anyhow I might just as well swap them and gain the overhead console and map lights.

A set of simulators from Pacifc dualies cleaned up the wheels nicely

One snag I ran in to was on the rear seat belts, the male end on the 2006 is a tiny bit wider than the ones on the 2005 so a few more parts to change yet.

Getting there little by little.







http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/a...1&d=1522418086

[esbstuff]

If its a help, my 03, 8.1L, Allison truck hasn't see the light of day in 2 years... Slowly, but surely...