Up here in Jacksonville (AKA "Bubba truck" capital of FL) I have an '87 Chevy conversion Van I want to "Bubba" out so I talked to a local tree guy who has a fleet of home made 4 X 4s including one F
RD (LOL) van. His suggestion was to find a rolling 4X4 chassis with all the 4X4 components( i.e front and rear axles transfer case etc.) Craigslist,local trade flyer wherever and have the front shackle mounts installed by a pro(he does all that since he builds competition rock crawlers etc.) and the drive train and so on. He told me my van was already on a 3/4 ton chassis and doing a body swap would be costly and a waste of time. Another side note was that if you can find one with the EXACT same wheelbase you won't have to get into costly drive shaft shortening etc.
Then to the 6 inch question..My opinion is get the kit for the truck you harvested the parts from ( or start with a shackle flip first if money is tight.) since the components are more or less your constant once installed.
My question is the logistics of the 4X4 shifter. I haven't mapped it out but I'm pretty my doghouse will prevent a standard shifter and I might have to look into a dash mounted electronic shifter. What have been your findings?
My fear is once I lift mine is my already top heavy van going to be forced to take corners at 10 mph or less!! LOL
Hope my 2 cents worth helps:walkman:
Any tips you find in your venture would be GREATLY appreciated when my money gets "right" I will continue my venture into this myself. :wallbash:
RD (LOL) van. His suggestion was to find a rolling 4X4 chassis with all the 4X4 components( i.e front and rear axles transfer case etc.) Craigslist,local trade flyer wherever and have the front shackle mounts installed by a pro(he does all that since he builds competition rock crawlers etc.) and the drive train and so on. He told me my van was already on a 3/4 ton chassis and doing a body swap would be costly and a waste of time. Another side note was that if you can find one with the EXACT same wheelbase you won't have to get into costly drive shaft shortening etc.Then to the 6 inch question..My opinion is get the kit for the truck you harvested the parts from ( or start with a shackle flip first if money is tight.) since the components are more or less your constant once installed.
My question is the logistics of the 4X4 shifter. I haven't mapped it out but I'm pretty my doghouse will prevent a standard shifter and I might have to look into a dash mounted electronic shifter. What have been your findings?
My fear is once I lift mine is my already top heavy van going to be forced to take corners at 10 mph or less!! LOL
Hope my 2 cents worth helps:walkman:
Any tips you find in your venture would be GREATLY appreciated when my money gets "right" I will continue my venture into this myself. :wallbash:
