i'm back in the game... help me with plans

[N-Smooth]

so i impulse bought a 88 comanche, short bed 2wd with the 2.5 4cyl and a 5spd trans. it runs solid and is in pretty good mechanical shape besides a few stupid little things... so now comes the planning stage and i want some advice.

the plans are to run mild moab trails like hell revenge, poison spider/gold bar/golden spike, moab rim and the 5 mile pass trails.
it has to be mildly streetable, does not have to drive like a corvette or anything of course. i would like 33-35" tires

so, how do i build it?

OPTION 1
i can get a 4wd trans and t-case and its a direct swap, so is a dana 30. i would get a 4cyl front axle so i could get 4.10s and then i could get a xj 44 and regear it with 4.10s and a spool. i would maybe do a sye, if not i would extend the drivelines to help. lift would be a soa in the rear and 4.5-6" up front with long arms. i will cut the fenders as much as necessary.

OR

OPTION 2
i can get a 4wd trans and t-case and its a direct swap.
i could get axles from an old 3/4ton ford: dana 60 rear and hp44 up front, also achieving 4.10 gears and i would put a spool in the rear and a probably a lockrite up front. lift would be the same as above.

OR

OPTION 3
add a divorced np205 behind the existing 2wd tranny, then i would have a fixed yoke and twin sticks. i would do the 3/4 ton axles with this option. lift would be the same as above.

OR

OPTION 4
i can get a 4wd trans and t-case and its a direct swap, and then add the np205 behind that for additional gearing options. i would do the 3/4 ton axles with this option. lift would be the same as above.

i realize this is a crap-load of reading, and i would have formatted it differently if i was thinking. give me some input anyways, we can have some fun with it.

 

[gripguru]

The ford stuff is a good option and I happen to have a rig ready for that slaughter in the for sale section.

I ran 3/4ton stuff and then stepped up to 1ton stuff after a few years. I think a 'manche would be really fund to build.

 

[Chevycrew]

Im fullwidth in my 4runner, hp 44 up front and a 9" in the back. Its very hard to beat the stabilty of a fullwidth, but a little odd getting used to on tight trails.

One thing to consider, fullwidth, it will never be streetable.

I like the idea of a drivetrain swap, 4.0L with trans, and t-case.
then the ford axles. 63" chevy leafs in the back SOA, then coils and longarms in the front. H1 beadlocks, and you tire size of ?...

But with the effort of a 4.0 swap, you could also find a donor chevy, with 4.3l and a 4l60e, and t-case (Ifs chevys had driver drop) that would work well with your ford axles.

When I did mine, I used engine, tranny, t-case, wiring harness, computer, guages, and steering column from a 93 chevy truck..

Use your imagination and you can have great results.

 

[N-Smooth]

i actually know quite a few people with fullwidth street-legal rigs. that is not a concern of mine. i guess i should also mention that it won't be a dd or anything, i have a car too. it would be like a drive to work on fridays a couple times a month and drive to the trails. not a big deal.

motor swap is not an option unless the motor goes out, and it runs strong. i had this motor in my last crawler and it did just fine. while it isn't a v8 or anything, it can crawl like a champion. the jeep 2.5 has more torque than the toyota 22re by miles and miles in my opinion.

 

[Gravy]

I vote option #2 or #3
then when you get bored. swap in a 60 front, and a doubler.


mine is fullwidth... it's very streetable.

Sounds like a cool build idea. post some pics... is it a "sport truck" model?

 

[xjallday]

mj are for chumps and it is super hard to do a 2wd to 4wd driver conversion on them!!!

and full width axles on a xj with 37's can never be street able.

 

[N-Smooth]

you're right, i should give up now
wait a minute, you did a 4x conversion on a mj and you had a streetable xj with fullwidths and 37s... is this some kind of trick? i'll be giving you a call sometime soon so you can check the manche out.

mj are for chumps and it is super hard to do a 2wd to 4wd driver conversion on them!!!

and full width axles on a xj with 37's can never be street able.

 

[N-Smooth]

i guess i should mention the new plans!
for a couple hundred bucks i am getting a running xj with a 4.0 HO that was rebuilt 9k miles ago, and an aw4 and np231... i will also be using the front axle, and maybe the 8.25 temporarily.

i was thinking of getting the trans/t-case from a 4cyl comanche in the junkyard, but this will actually be cheaper!

i have read up a little about the swap and it sounds pretty basic, especially since the xj is running. it is just going to be a matter of swapping all the wiring to the mj, which shouldn't be too bad, just tedious.