HI ALL, SEASONS GREETINGS; PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF MY POST SHOULD BE SOME WERE ELSE?
I LOOKED AT A 1985 ISUZU NPR TODAY. I WOULD GUESS IT IS A 1 TON? IT IS A 14' FLATBED, 8 LUG IN REAR, 5 LUG IN FRONT. FRONT LEAF SPRINGS SUSPENSION, 3.9 DIESEL (NO TURBO) & FIVE SPEED TRAN. THAT'S ALL I KNOW ABOUT IT SO FAR. THE OWNER JUST PURCHASED IT, WITH 200,000 MILES ON IT. IT RUNS GOOD, SHIFTS GOOD, BUT SMOKES WHITE SMOKE, (A LOT).
I AM LOOKING AT IT FOR A DONNER TRUCK. I HAVE A 1939 CHEVY COE CAB & SHORT TOW TRUCK BOX. RECENTLY I PURCHASED A 1980 P30 FRAME WITH INDEPENDENT FRONT SUSPENSION WITH DISC BRAKES. NEXT I PURCHASED A FORD FULL FLOATING REAR END WITH 354 GEARS. BUT I STILL HAVE NO MOTOR/TRANS. SO I AM THINKING THAT MAYBE I SHOULD PURCHASE THIS TRUCK & START ALL OVER WITH THE 85 ISUZU COMPLETE CHASSIS & RUNNING GEAR.
FIRST QUESTION WOULD BE, IS THE FRAME THE SAME AS MY P30 FRAME? CAN I ADD MY P30's INDEPENDENT FRONT SUSPENSION TO THE ISUZU FRAME? NEXT QUESTION WOULD BE, DOES ANY ONE KNOW THE REAR END GEAR RATIO IN THE ISUZU?
I MAY BE ABLE TO PICK THIS TRUCK UP FOR AROUND $5 BILLS & IT WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE MY HOLE RUNNING GEAR ALL FROM ONE YEAR / MODEL, FOR FUTURE REPAIRS & MAINTENANCE. ALSO, I DON'T HAVE A MOTOR/TRANS AS YET & EVEN IF I NEED TO REBUILD THIS ONE, I WILL HAVE A GOOD FUEL ECONOMY DRIVER. WERE I PROBABLY WOULD HAD ENDED UP WITH A 350 OR SOME OTHER GAS GUZZLER RIG WHEN I'M DONE. ALSO, THIS TRUCK IS ALL THERE WERE I WILL BE BUYING EVERYTHING I NEED ONE PIECE AT A TIME & TAKING FOR EVER RESEARCHING EACH PART NEEDED TO DO THE SAME THING.
IF ANY ONE HAS ANY KNOWLEDGE OF 1985 ISUZU , PLEASE LET ME PICK YOUR BRAIN A LITTLE. I KNOW I WILL SPEND MORE THAN THE $5OO. TO GET A GOOD MOTOR/TRANS/RADIATOR/ALL THE OTHER LITTLE STUFF I NEED, WERE IT IS ALL IN THIS ONE PACKAGE...
