Hello everyone, This is my first post, but i have a feeling ill be on here a lot from now on! Over the past couple months ive been looking around for a unique, affordable truck that i can use as a daily driver, for offroading, and hauling stuff. A couple weeks ago i didnt even know that kaiser ever made jeeps-let alone a truck. From the beginning i knew i wanted to do a diesel swap, a Kaiser gladiator came up on craigslist at the right time so i bought it. Its a six cylinder, 4spd, 4x4 at the moment with basically no floors, no rocker panels, and no bed. But for $500 you cant lose rite!
Here you can see how nonexistant the rocker panels are. The picture of the interior is decieving- the floor is gone, what you are seeing is a thin sheet of aluminum, with sheet metal screws holding it in.
Now, i would love your guys' opinions, help, and expertise...
As far as the engine goes, im hoping to find a good cummins 5.9 for around $1000 or a GM 6.2 for less. Would i be able to (or want to) adapt the transmission and transfer case (T18? and dana 20 correct?) to either engine easily?
With either engine would it be O.K. to run the stock dana 44 in the front with light/medium duty offroading? I plan on adding a dana 60 in back no matter what.
I want to run ~37" tires, Ive seen the chevy 63" springs are a common swap on here for the rear. To get ~6" lift do they need to be lift springs or just stock? Also, what springs can i use for the front (63" chevys also?)-im not afraid of modifying the frame, extending the rails, etc...
Finally, i dont believe that truck bed is factory, and its so far gone, i dont think its worth patching...has anyone retrofitted a bed from a different truck without major resizing (like from an f150, silverado...)?
Thanks guys for looking and all of your help...maybe one day i can return the favor!
EDIT: Added better quality pictures. 8/21/11
Here you can see how nonexistant the rocker panels are. The picture of the interior is decieving- the floor is gone, what you are seeing is a thin sheet of aluminum, with sheet metal screws holding it in.
Now, i would love your guys' opinions, help, and expertise...
As far as the engine goes, im hoping to find a good cummins 5.9 for around $1000 or a GM 6.2 for less. Would i be able to (or want to) adapt the transmission and transfer case (T18? and dana 20 correct?) to either engine easily?
With either engine would it be O.K. to run the stock dana 44 in the front with light/medium duty offroading? I plan on adding a dana 60 in back no matter what.
I want to run ~37" tires, Ive seen the chevy 63" springs are a common swap on here for the rear. To get ~6" lift do they need to be lift springs or just stock? Also, what springs can i use for the front (63" chevys also?)-im not afraid of modifying the frame, extending the rails, etc...
Finally, i dont believe that truck bed is factory, and its so far gone, i dont think its worth patching...has anyone retrofitted a bed from a different truck without major resizing (like from an f150, silverado...)?
Thanks guys for looking and all of your help...maybe one day i can return the favor!
EDIT: Added better quality pictures. 8/21/11
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