So, I don't know if this counts as fabricating... if this belongs somewhere else, let me know!
I have a 73 Commando that had a 304/3spd/D20. The timing chain was bad, although it did run. When someone said they were looking for a 304 and I thought I would rather drop in one of the many 360's I had around. SO I sold the 304 and thought about the direction of my buildup.
I always have several Wagoneers laying around and I thought I wanted to use Waggie SPrings, axles steering gear, etc... I had a perfect frame from the 86 Wag that I had removed the body to make a 4 Door cab for my J20 (maybe my next Fab entry!). The Wag has a 109" wheelbase and the Commando (72-73) has a 104".
So I cut 5" out of the frame and had a better welder than me get it back together. I used the two pnuematic bumper jacks I have to lift the body off by the rockers, which was really stressful as the body is really tail heavy and the rockers rusty, but I finally got it out.
It ended up being a really great idea to swap frames as the original frame is broken in several places. WHen you turn the steering wheel, the frame from the trans xmmbr forward moves independent of the rest of the frame about a half inch before anything moves! THis was a plow rig in CO and looks like they got their money's worth!
As you can see, I have to nip the tail, which I expected. The middle body mounts for the Wag are WAYYYY tall. A buddy said I should just treat it like a body lift and go with it, but I am not going to. I will keep posting if anyone is interested.
I am going to be putting a CJ front clip on and probably cutting the body to settle on 37's. Right now running 360 with 727 and D44's. I will eventually change to J20 axles, HD D44 and D60 rear and a T18A with D20... yeah I like standards!
Tell me what you think! BLAST... can't find my camera cord, so I will have to send pics later. Never postd pics before, but shouldn't be too bad! I just had knee surgery on Wed or I would find the cable but my elephant leg doesn't like stairs!
Have a great weekend,
Jesse
Jesse
