FSJ project....couple of questions

[JeepsAndGuns]

I just foud me a kick but project but have a couple questions. I found in the corner of a junkyard around here a late 70's cherokee cheif 2 door (my dream Jeep) :D The good: the main body tub and frame are good, hardly any rust. the inside is a little rough but all there. The bad: it is missing the whole front clip and drivetrain (engine,tranny,t-case and axles) :( The doors are there and good shape but the back tailgate has a rust hole in it and the back windsheild is busted out. He wants $450 for it.
Now....I have also found a '79 J-10 with a good drivetrain (360,T-18,model 20 xfer,and dana 44 axles) but a bad body. The frame is good.(as far as I can tell) the front clip on it is good except for the passenger side fender (dented)
Now my question, To save me a little trouble...could I put the cherokee body on the J-10 frame? It would save me from having to swap the drivetrain. If it wouldnt work its no big deal. If not, then how hard would it be to put the J-10 drivetrain in the cherokee? My main concern is the tranny crossmember, will it bolt right in? or what. :confused: The cherokee was originaly a auto tranny, bit I will be putting in the manual. How hard is that? The truck is complete..so I'll just swap parts (pedal assembly and linkage) Cut a hole for the shifter and swap the steering column out of the truck to get rid of the auto tranny shifter.
If you guys can think of anything else that could help me then let me know. Thanks a lot.
(I can't wait to get started!!)

[Stuka]

No, the cherokee has a much shorter wheelbase then a J10 (even a shortbed J10).

The J10 cab will go on the chero frame, although the bed has to have the front bobbed to fit.

The front clip for the J10 and chero is the same. So that could be put onto the chero. So long as the chero came with a V8, it would be easy to swap that all over. The cross member is the same for both. There is two sets of holes depending on if its a stick or auto.

The front axle will bolt right up fromt he J10 onto the chero. The rear axle will have to have the spring pearches moved in. The rear J10 axle is also around 3" wider then the factory rear axle that came on the chero.

BTW: welcome to the forum!

[JeepsAndGuns]

The rear axle is 3 in wider than the stock one the cherokee came with? That seems like a big diffrence. Are the axles out of the J10 the same width, or is the rearend wider than the frontend? Do the cherokees not have the same track width as the J-10s? The one im looking at in the junk yard is the cheif model. they had the wide track axles didnt they? I think I'm a little confused as to what your saying. Are you saying the rear axle is 3 in wider than the front or the J-10s had a 3 in wider track. Thanks for your help.

[tomd]

The rear axle spring perches are farther apart so they will need moved inward, the axle isn't wider AFAIK.

If the J10 is a longbed, the bed would need bobbed both front and rear to fit on the Chero frame, and new mounts made also, if its a shortbed, only bobbed in the front, and new mounts IIRC since the J has a wider frame.

I would just swap the drivetrain, i dunno 'bout the crossmember, shouldn't be too big of an issue. The front axle will bolt in, rear axle will need perches moved as mentioned above.

[JeepsAndGuns]

Ok..I've decided aganst puting the cherokee body on the J-10 frame, It was just a thought. So if the axles are not wider then what is stuka talking about. Did he mean the pearches are 3in farther apart? I'm not quite shure what the stock engine in the cherokee was. What if it was a 258, what would I have to do mount the 360? Thanks for your help

[Stuka]

On J-Trucks the rear axle is wider then the front axle. This is done to allow for 4ft between the fender wells, as well as add more stability when towing and hauling.

EDIT:

For the 258, the while radiator support area has to change (make room for V8 radiator), and motor mounts have to change.

[ July 20, 2003, 10:10 AM: Message edited by: Stuka ]

[JeepsAndGuns]

I was talking to my dad the other day and he reminded me that he's got a set of 3/4 ton axles from a 79 F-250 (fullfloat 60 rear and 44 front) Yea I know i've got a 44 in the front now..but this one is the 3/4 ton version, with the bigger brakes, hubs, and 8 bolt wheel pattern to match the rear. How hard would this swap be? the rear wouldnt be that hard..the front might be. What do you do aboout the steering? they use two diffrent styles and it has spring over mounts. What about anything else? I might even go ahead and swap in the NP 435/NP 205 combo from the same truck the axles came out of, since the tranny has the same bolt pattern. And best of all..those parts are free!!

[Stuka]

The front will almost bolt up, it will be sprung over, so it will give you about 7" of lift in front. For the back i think you have to move the spring pearches, and then get a shackle inversion kit from riverbeast to make up for the lift in front.

The NP435 can bolt up with a T176 bell from a 80's FSJ.