want to go sas for my 87, buy a kit or an 85 rolling chassis?

[4x4climber]

so I wanted to ask you folks since I am a noob to these boards. I bought my 87 with intentions of crawling/offroading it. So I was planning on doing a sas kit. But, I was looking around my area and ran across a guy with an 85 rolling chassis with tranny rear end, xfer case, front end. No driveshafts, no interior. Also has a motor with a bad head gasket. Gutted cab. With lots of rust in the body, but it is an 85 nonetheless with a solid axle front emd and lots of big buck spare parts.... So I was wondering, for they money I was maybe gona make it cheap n easy n just swap my motor tranny, x-fer case, interior parts and maybe the body to the 85. Trying to get solid front axle without spending over 1000 bucks and havin to weld and all that. Do you guys think it would be worth it for 700bucks? Or should I just wait til I get the money, buy the kit and fab it up? Hopefully you guys can give some quick answers and insight. I will be goin to check it out today after work, if time allows. Thanks in advance!

 

[fourwd1]

Get the guy down to say $500 and buy the 85 for parts.
Keep the front axle, trans, t-case and drive shafts. Sell anything else you can and junk the rest. You now have a front axle for your SAS, a second t-case for dual cases, and a spare trans.
That's really going to be the simplest and most economical way to do it if you want to do it right.

 

[4x4climber]

thanks for responding! So you think doing a sas on the 87 would be better for me than putting my rear end on the 85 and my interior and stuff on the 85? Since it is already a solid front end. Then on down the road I could beef it up? I am not builing a super crawler, more a really capable offroading vehicle that I can use for rock crawling. I know the front end can be inched forward if I do the swap but does it make that big of a difference aside from clearancing the firewall? I mean I will probably only runn 33's on it. And yes I like the spare parts, and was jazzed about putting on a dual transfer case setup. I se you know what yer talking bout and have been a big help to many on the boards, so I appreciate the inpuut!

 

[fourwd1]

It's like this-
- swapping a 4Runner body to another frame is going to be a big deal unless you have a shop with overhead hoists, etc. I've swapped just a p/u cab and bed with just come-alongs. Could never do that with a Runner body.
- you'll end up put 4 new spring lift packs on either truck
- you'll need to convert to a crossover steering setup either way, which requires an IFS steering gear box. Your 87 already has one on it.
- the 87 already has a running motor and drive train, no need to swap.
- you think you'll only run 33's now, but you will go bigger later

I could go on and on.

But I've done frame swaps, body swaps, engine and tranny swaps, and I really think it would be better in the long run to SAS the 87.

You said the 85 body has a lot of rust, what's the frame like. Frame rust is a major issue in most parts of the country. And you can't tell by just looking at it.

 

[4x4climber]

:wow: Sooo... I stopped by the guys house to check out this 85. He said it is a rustbucket, maybe it is cuz he is a Californian.... LoL.... I scoured thru that thing and found body rust alittle bit, especially compared to my truck.... the bedsides have a bit of rust... the tailgate has a wee bit of rust, and there is a little bit of rust on one of the doors. just a little bit. Hardly any rust at all! AND no frame rust whatsoever! I lived in mainefor a while so i know how to look for rust... and I am happy with my find of this truck! It makes my 87 look like the total rustbucket it is.

I think i will be using he 85 as my project. It is in GREAT condition. I looked over the truck for about 90 minutes... scouring thru it. It is exciting! It is very clean! Has a little bit of a lift with good aftermarket shocks, and some 31" all terrains in real great condition! Waaay better then my street tire 28" tires. It is a solid vehicle! No body swapping cuz it is way better condition in many,many ways than my 87. I think i just totally scored. I am gonna pick it up wednesday and start the project! Oh yeah, and his idea of a gutted interior meant, it doesnt have the dash... it still has bed covering leather stuff from factory! AND all the seats, plastics and paneling! Everything but the dash stuff. I am stoked! YAY!!:hungry:

 

[fourwd1]

Well that's great, usually it's the opposite and the truck is worse then described, not better.