need advice on donor truck or van for this project, any comments that would steer me right ? years and models please

 

1st gen Dodge trucks..... I don't know what year they moved away from leaf springs at all four corners though... Don't know if that was a second gen truck thing, or what. Either way, whichever axle you use, you will need to cut off all the current front suspension, and then weld up mounts for the new stuff. Not an exercise to be undertaken lightly.... Doing it wrong can get you dead... and possibly others around you if it fails. Need a trans and t-case from a 4x4 truck as well. Likely have to lift the rear some too.... Quigley (an australian company) made 4x4 conversions for a while. Check out some of theirs. (google search for 4x4 dodge van)

 

My 90 still had leafs so i would suspect they kept using them till the second gens. I would look for a complete 4X4 frame and drive train(second gen) and swap the van body on it. But expect a lot of fab work.

 

Didn't Dodge offer this factory in the late 80s? Do some salvage yard surfing might be able to score one

 

Actually, yes, they did. You can still find them for sale on the used market.