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3/4 Ton Wagon - what am i looking for? nother unlikely build that prolly won't happen

Check out the Matt’s off-road recovery channel on the YouTube
 
Provience said:
now THAT's a tie rod :eek: :eek:





edit: the 3 door travelall is amazeballz :eek: :eek:

I wonder where i can park it for a bit :laughing:
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How long is a bit?

Never mind. Thats the one up north.. If it was the pdx one, I'd yard art it for ya for a while
 
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Twankie said:
Check out the Matt’s off-road recovery channel on the YouTube
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that's a pretty good looking body. hadn't even thought about looking up corvairs. are they close to full width or are the narrow?

corvair.png
 
Thefishguy77 said:

Find a rolled Denali or something similar and then swap the interior into the wagon, wagon onto van chassis, then sell remaining LS/tranny combo on CL for more than you paid for the rolled rig in the first place.

I have yet to see a 3/4 ton Griswald Truckster yet. :flipoff2:
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I definitely read that as "wagon queer"​​​​​
 
If you absolutely must build a trar I would buy a 1st or 2nd gen Subaru Outback and stick it on a shortened torsion bar truck chassis. It is already built for a longitudinal drive-train. It has the requisite engine bay width and length to accommodate the V-engine. The interior of the wheel wells are big enough for what you need to do. The space for the radiator is nice and wide so you can use the one from the donor truck if the subaru one isn't enough. The conventional engine and rear suspension cross-members will be easy to replace with adapter brackets to frame you build. It's a relatively low car to begin with so it won't be awkwardly tall after you trar. The body electronics are basically discrete from the engine and drivetrain so it won't complain at you without the drivetrain there. Gauge cluster is mostly simple resistance based stuff.

Whatever you do do not use a wagon newer than 2005 or so regardless of make. The revised roof strength requirements around that time resulted in stupid fat pillars, small trunk openings and a general reduction in usable interior space.

Pat McRotch said:
How long is a bit?

Never mind. Thats the one up north.. If it was the pdx one, I'd yard art it for ya for a while
Click to expand...

That's not the tie rod. That's some weird L-channel abortion that IH put on some of those trucks to keep you from whacking the tie rod. I saw one in a junkyard once.
 
arse_sidewards said:
If you absolutely must build a trar I would buy a 1st or 2nd gen Subaru Outback and stick it on a shortened torsion bar truck chassis. It is already built for a longitudinal drive-train. It has the requisite engine bay width and length to accommodate the V-engine. The interior of the wheel wells are big enough for what you need to do. The space for the radiator is nice and wide so you can use the one from the donor truck if the subaru one isn't enough. The conventional engine and rear suspension cross-members will be easy to replace with adapter brackets to frame you build. It's a relatively low car to begin with so it won't be awkwardly tall after you trar. The body electronics are basically discrete from the engine and drivetrain so it won't complain at you without the drivetrain there. Gauge cluster is mostly simple resistance based stuff.

Whatever you do do not use a wagon newer than 2005 or so regardless of make. The revised roof strength requirements around that time resulted in stupid fat pillars, small trunk openings and a general reduction in usable interior space.



That's not the tie rod. That's some weird L-channel abortion that IH put on some of those trucks to keep you from whacking the tie rod. I saw one in a junkyard once.
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not necessarily a TRAR, just a wagon that is a wagon but is also able to tow well above it's weight class. only shooting for ~7k lbs bumper tow comfortably.

I haven't been looking at anything newer than 1990 simply to help avoid excessive attention, but really looks like 50's is going to end up being the window before they got too big (long)
 
Provience said:
not necessarily a TRAR, just a wagon that is a wagon but is also able to tow well above it's weight class. only shooting for ~7k lbs bumper tow comfortably.

I haven't been looking at anything newer than 1990 simply to help avoid excessive attention, but really looks like 50's is going to end up being the window before they got too big (long)
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80s big three wagon, beef the frame. full float D60 rear. 7k towing with the least amount of work. But it will have a stupid rear overhang and 7k probably won't be comfortable without WDH and sway control which are kind of a pain and you run a high risk of something that is less useful overall than your van and the wife might be scared to drive

You need to get into modern wagons if you want to get into stuff with less rear overhang. To tow 7k with one of those you're going to need to stick it on a real frame or build a hell of a hitch and live with everything in the rear suspension being a regular wear item. Stick it on a truck frame and you'll draw a lot of attention though.

Frankly, I think you should just spend the effort making the van not suck. Or just buy an ex-airport van E-350 that will do everything you want with nothing more than a cleaning and some TLC.
 
Mid 90s B body wagon. Came with the same running gear as a 1/2 truck but more power with the LT1. Get the tow package and you can put a locker or gears for a GM truck or suv in it.
 
DMG said:
Mid 90s B body wagon. Came with the same running gear as a 1/2 truck but more power with the LT1. Get the tow package and you can put a locker or gears for a GM truck or suv in it.
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not sure how i feel about that one, might have to sit with it a bit more. should be a fuckload cheaper to get into a decent body though

Buick_Roadmaster_Wagon.jpg
 
arse_sidewards said:
80s big three wagon, beef the frame. full float D60 rear. 7k towing with the least amount of work. But it will have a stupid rear overhang and 7k probably won't be comfortable without WDH and sway control which are kind of a pain and you run a high risk of something that is less useful overall than your van and the wife might be scared to drive

You need to get into modern wagons if you want to get into stuff with less rear overhang. To tow 7k with one of those you're going to need to stick it on a real frame or build a hell of a hitch and live with everything in the rear suspension being a regular wear item. Stick it on a truck frame and you'll draw a lot of attention though.

Frankly, I think you should just spend the effort making the van not suck. Or just buy an ex-airport van E-350 that will do everything you want with nothing more than a cleaning and some TLC.
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no question the van is the cheapest and easiest. hell i might get a quote on paying somebody to do a full interior on it and use that as a price comparison pitch to the wife. I need to fix the significant floor rust in the rear wheelwells where the seat/bed is mounted, but otherwise carpet kid, recover the seats, and generally ignore the wood or sand/reaseal it might not be too bad. it already does all the things. heck it wasn't THAT scary before i had the trailer brakes hooked up :laughing:
 
Clean B bodies are actually starting to get expensive. Most of them are rusty at least in the rust belt they are.
 
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