Putting Together a '92 & '94

[troverman]

So here is something of a dilemma: our '92 Classic has a no good engine (shifted liner or pourous block) but the body is pretty good (no rust on original lower gate or inside rear doors) and the paint is shiny. The truck is a County with about 190,000 miles, and is ardennes green with gray leather, dark burlwood. The interior is very nice and everything works except the heated seats and the a/c. However, the brakes need mountains of work throughout, the springs are weak, and it probably needs bushings. We have a '94 county (color BRG) that runs and drives, with a good 3.9 w/ 121k on it. It has a rough body, but good running gear, decent brakes, and a fresh EAS conversion to coils w/ 1" lift and bilsteins. So, is it best to take all the running gear out of the '94 (newer, less miles) and put it in the '92, or is it possible to remove the body from the frames and switch bodies? (put the '92 atop the '94 chassis) Or is it possible to just switch outer panels? Anyone done this?

[Funrover]

if you have acces to a lift the body swap would be your best bet....

[OkieRover]

Remember how these suckers are assembled. Don't buck the system.
Funrover has it right. Body off swap would probably be best. And once it's off you could add that lift kit and do all the bushings and such repaint the frame if you live in one of the corrosive climates.

[Badger1]

Originally Posted by OkieRover

Remember how these suckers are assembled. Don't buck the system.
Funrover has it right. Body off swap would probably be best. And once it's off you could add that lift kit and do all the bushings and such repaint the frame if you live in one of the corrosive climates.

I would say New Hampshire counts as one of those climates.

[Bene]

If you go for it, I would line-X the whole frame and underbody while you have them apart.

[RageRover]

Y'all don't have to tell me about body corrosion. My hood is proof on what Michigan winters and friggen' SALT...can do to steel.

It is a miracle that my frame has not an ounce of rust on it, especially for a box frame design.

[Paul Grant]

That's because the rust is on the inside where you can't see it Patrick. BTW, I still have that black bonnet for you!
Cheers,
Paul

[troverman]

Thanks for the replies--I may well do this. How much work is it to undo those body mount points and where are they all? Also, there must be a way to do this w/o a lift! One of the Rovers ('92) is immobile! Can the body be jacked away from the chassis or some other means be used? How much does the body alone weigh? A small portable crane?

The '94 complete rolling chassis has a 1" lift; not looking to make this a radical rover but one that looks very good stock.

Another thought: I know the suspension is mounted to the frame, but does the EAS system (and now the coil conversion) match up correctly to the '92 (non - EAS) body? The one difference I see is that the '92 has coil-overs in the front and the EAS conversion puts the shocks outside the coils.

[OkieRover]

Yes you can do this without a lift. You'll have to have jacks and stands. But the body lift kit can be put on without a lift so you can assume you don't need one.
You are going to have to lift it a great distance to ge the chassis out. BECAREFUL!