It looks like you're wanting to stay with the 1.5 ton truck theme. Have you thought about a chassis swap with an Isuzu truck?
Big BerthaBig Bertha buildSeveral years ago my dad got a deal on some NPR's from a mail delivery service. The price? FREE, just haul them away, which is what we did. Some had blown engines, others blown transmissions, etc.. In hind-sight we could've built a couple good trucks out of the lot. Instead, we parted out what we could, sold the boxes, and sent the rest to the chipper. Anyway, my point is, you may be able to get a good chassis with power steering, disc brakes, etc.. for little or no money. Just a thought.
