freebeard:
Hah! I've seen something similar on Craigslist, though no hardtop and stretched on a 2WD S10 chassis. Okay, lessee, going by what I know of US trucks, that's at least a RHD windshield of '76 or newer, '76 or newer doors/top sides, pre-'79 rear upper hatch (but newer than sometime in the mid-late 60's), pre-'79 front bib. '76-'78 gas door. Hmm. No way to tell if 4x4 or 2x4 - can't see the front leaf spring shackles, might be hidden by the non-stock bumper. Area under the right front fender is too dark to make out any suspension details. Very likely a non-US truck. Rust looks about the usual, though the area below the right front door is surprisingly nice compared to the rest. Might be patched, though. That might be a power steering box sticking out of the bib over the framerail opposite the two guys standing by it. That would confirm RHD. Not a typical Saginaw conversion fitup, so might be on a donor frame, or some non-US swap. Front frame horns appear too short, and the usual crossmember under the front bib appears to be missing, which points even more to a frame swap of some sort.
I'd have gone the rest of the way and chopped the top, too, if I were doing such a beast. Looks like a "what can we make from what's lying around in the field behind the shop?" special. Not my cup of tea to take something that was factory 4x4 (with no 2wd option that era outside of possible specialty applications) and remove that capability, but a rusty FJ body isn't worth much. The other 'way round, though, that I can see. VW Transporter on a Steyr-Puch Pinzgauer chassis, for example. Sort of a DIY Syncro. Would need a custom center chassis section with some sort of lockable viscous coupling between the front and rear axles, and a custom gearbox with the low-range box inline to allow hanging the engine off the back end. Might need to swap the ring gears side to side to correct rotation, too, depending on how it turns out.
Yes, I seem to gravitate towards complicated...
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