If I were using a 4WD donor, I'd use the same V-bar fixtures front and rear.We had another young man on the forum who was using a '96 Dakota frame under a '40 Dodge business coupe.
You can be measuring from holes in the frame on the Dodge and the Dakota that you know are the same distance left to right in order to keep the wheelbase equal. Hopefully, you'll be able to position the centerline of the front wheels/tires somewhere close to the point you determined when "eyeballing" the front wheel/tire position on the International that looked best.Do the same with the rear, making a tricycle with a caster wheel so that you can just wheel the clip up into place, same way you did in front.The thing with using an OEM chassis is that everything is engineered to work together. Do this front and rear. Use OEM components when possible. 4. Remove the hood and fenders.
You will need this information later if you need to change springs. It'll be all stock with the Dakota ride quality and Dakota steering geometry and Dakota brakes. If not, use the Dakota frame that has a longer wheelbase than the body being used and section the frame between the cab and differential, then have the drive shaft shortened or order a custom drive shaft.Generally speaking you don't want any part of the truck lower than 4.00" from the ground when measured at curb weight (with driver and 1/2 tank of gas), so don't go nuts with the positioning of the body.
You'll need this information later when you mate the Dakota clip to the International center section to make certain the clip is on the same fore/aft attitude as stock so that you don't screw up the caster that's engineered into the front suspension. Also with a V8 donor, you'll get the power steering pump and all the brackets to work on your 360 "A" motor. When customizing the B-Body platform with air bags for example, you’ll find pre-configured, tried-and-true kits ready to install, and far more affordable that building a setup from scratch.As the donor car comes apart, we can not stress enough the importance of BAGGING, TAGGING and MARKING EVERYTHING you take apart. This way, you could roll the entire clip/motor/transmission into place for connecting to the International frame mid-section and be assured that the engine/firewall, transmission/tunnel and header/frame/body clearance would be good to go and that the motor/trans would have the correct 3 degree back tilt to them. We’ve put together the Chassis Swap Donor Vehicle Search to help you identify potential donor vehicles.
Several millimeters are usually negligible, but little else takes away from a ride as much as tires not centered or properly placed in the wheel wells. How good does it get?
The last of the shovel heads were a great engine, but the EVO's are better.
(THIS IS WITH THE DAKOTA DONOR TRUCK STILL ALL TOGETHER AND SITTING SQUARE ON A LEVEL SURFACE WITH TIRE PRESSURE EQUALIZED AT MFG. Many dimensions are in the manuals, saving you time and ensuring accuracy.Narrowing a chassis may make sense in particular projects, however.If you are set on a particular mismatched swap, or you simply want to “make it work”, ensure you are fully aware of what’s involved including the skills required, tools, knowledge and time.Out of placement wheels are very noticeable, especially on lowered vehicles, and it makes the build feel half-assed. Don’t be that guy.We like the 4th Generation (1991-1996) B-Body chassis.
The resulting connection might look somewhat like a "Z" as viewed from the side. 10 tips to help you. The factory has well-paid engineers and mega-buck computing systems to figure everything out so that it will work well together and I like taking advantage of that, doing a frame swap or front/rear clip swap and using all the parts that I can from a donor car/truck.I'd weld a piece of 2" X 2" square tubing on the bottom of the Dakota clip cross member and extend it toward the rear of the clip. Remove the door from the door frame, leaving the hinges screwed into the door.
Now, with the Dakota chassis secured at stock Dakota ride height, just like in a real, running example of the truck, mount the motor and transmission into the chassis on the stock mounts (you'll want to use new insulators while you're at it).