Toyota body swap or drive train swap?

[Grommit327]

My buddy has a '81 2wd yota with a good cab and a '83 4wd with a not so good cab. How is the 2wd frame for doing an SAS on? I haven't had a chance to compare them yet but I thought I had heard they were a little bit better shaped frames? We want to redo the suspension anyways during the swap so figured it might be easier to leave the cab on the frame and just swap drivetrain.

 

[TTF Fabrication]

I can't verift for sure on the first gens, but my 92 2wd has the same frame dimensions as a factory sfa truck. has a hump in the frame for axle clearance whereas factory ifs trucks don't.

 

[super samurai]

not sure on the frame as i have not dealt with 2wd but i do know the front body mounts are different on the 2wd,no biggy though.

 

[toyotalandman]

i just got done with one. the frame does have better clearence, but their are disadvantages to the 2wd. the big thing is the crossmember, you will have to use a front range off-road cross member. besides that, the rear spring fits a 4wd spring & the front is standard sas. a few other things u need... ifs box, crossover steering, the column has no u-joint in it,& the brake booster is smaller. All and all it looks sweet when done, if you are willing to do all the swaping and spend some cash. I also did a cab swap, it was alot easier, just got to swap columns, brake booster,plug wiring together and re-attach the breaks. http://nw-wheelers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33098

 

[Grommit327]

i just got done with one. the frame does have better clearence, but their are disadvantages to the 2wd. the big thing is the crossmember, you will have to use a front range off-road cross member. besides that, the rear spring fits a 4wd spring & the front is standard sas. a few other things u need... ifs box, crossover steering, the column has no u-joint in it,& the brake booster is smaller. All and all it looks sweet when done, if you are willing to do all the swaping and spend some cash. I also did a cab swap, it was alot easier, just got to swap columns, brake booster,plug wiring together and re-attach the breaks. http://nw-wheelers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33098

Thanks for the info...hadn't though about the booster or the column but both those can be stolen from the 4wd cab. It's getting duals so the crossmember would have been done anyways. Transplant the better motor from the 4wd into the 2wd along with the drivetrain mount up springs all around and steering and should be good to go.

 

[toyotalandman]

no problem, I forgot to mention that the jigs they give you, don't work if you do the sas without the engine in. you can use a bar or broom to make sure they are straight. Sounds like you got all the parts covered. we did the same thing, swaped all the useful parts before it went to scrap. Like i said, it looks sweet when it's done. I should be updateing pictures on my build soon.