truck for wife

thanx kev i'll check it out.  
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So did you get a chance to check out the CJ8?  What do you think?  They are also called Jeep Scramblers.  

yeah i looked into them. i like them, at least i wouldnt turn one away. i think they are more user friendly then a cj5 would be  
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Yeah they are rare but you can find them.  Look on Craigslist in your area.  

i tried craigs list but before i found one of them i found an 89 s-15 jimmy. the wife likes it and the guy only wants $300 for it. all it needs is a brake line and battery. i figured i would swap my 1/2 ton drive line into it and that should be strong enough for it. what do you guys think?  
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Why not leave it mostly stock expect maybe for a mild lift? It would handle and ride a lot better that way. It will not ride or handle like a S10/15 after that swap. IFS is not the best or strongest thing to lift but it beats solid axles in overall handling and ride hands down in near stock configuration.  

i thought about that but it's only gonna be a four wheeler with absolutely 0 street time. we're not even gonna title it. just strip it down and wheel it. i thought about swapping my 1/2 ton axles under it when i get my 1 tons cuz i figured that they would be strong enough for that little truck especially once its all stripped. i know what your saying about ride quality but for this truck its not a concern. any advice at all is appreciated, thanx.  
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I would suggest then if you re-axle it that you forget about using wide axles from your truck (unless you plan to narrow them) and look for some axles out of a old IH Scout. They were D44's front and rear and a lot narrower too. Axles out of old full sized Jeep wangoneers (thru about 91) and cherokees (not chiefs and thru 83) were narrower too and again were D44's front and rear.  

thanx but everywhere we plan to run is full size rig compatable and my axles are free so i'll run them. unless you know of a problem with trying to fit them on this rig, then i'd appreciate your input.  
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Spring pad spacing is going to be off and granted you can fix this somewhat but the axles sticking out much further than stock places additional torsional stress on frame as the leverage of axle and wheel further out place more stress on frame to keep wheel in place. ALso front pumpkin is on wrong side here (A dana 30 out of the front of a 84 on cherokee would have pumkin in right place as would a wrangler) If you go thru with this swap with wide axles I strongly suggest that you beef up frame from front to rear to combat additional stress.  

Relocate the springs on the frame and beef up the frame.  Swap in a transmission and transfer case out of an older GM truck; maybe even a small block V8, but a 4.3 V-6 should do ok with the right gearing.

I once had a 1989 S-15 Jimmy (4.3 V-6) until I traded it on a 1996 S-10 Blazer.  Both just stock daily driver for the wife.  Haven't had that 96 S-10 for 9 years.  I kind of wish I had kept it.  

yeah i was just thinkin about totaly rebuildin the truck from the ground up. thanx for the tip about the frame. how exactly would i do that? just box it? if i get the truck my plan is to swap in a 283 with a 700R4, havent decided on a t-case yet, and swap in my 12 bolt and d44. i think i'd like a 112" wheel base. it would be a dedicated wheeler only. what do you guys think?  
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