4x4 conversion

I have a 1984 pontiac parisienne full size station wagon and i am very
interested in converting it into a 4 wheel drive. I"ve seen many cars
such as olds cutlasses and even camaros that have been changed to 4x4's
and i was just wondering if someone could point me in the right
direction on how to go about the conversion. Any replies appreciated

On Sun, 8 Jul 2007 14:36:49 -0400, (Amber) wrote:

>I have a 1984 pontiac parisienne full size station wagon and i am very
>interested in converting it into a 4 wheel drive. I"ve seen many cars
>such as olds cutlasses and even camaros that have been changed to 4x4's
>and i was just wondering if someone could point me in the right
>direction on how to go about the conversion. Any replies appreciated


Typically you "marry" a 4x4 chassis to a car body. Usually is in based
on something like aold full sized blazer chassis or the like. It
cannot be done without adding a chassis under it to hold the needed
drive components. AMC did make the Eagle for several years as a 4x4
car from factory. There is still a few of them floating around you
might consider that route if you want a 4x4 car without a lot of work.
-----------------
TheSnoMan.com

On Sun, 8 Jul 2007 14:36:49 -0400, (Amber) wrote:

>I have a 1984 pontiac parisienne full size station wagon and i am very
>interested in converting it into a 4 wheel drive. I"ve seen many cars
>such as olds cutlasses and even camaros that have been changed to 4x4's
>and i was just wondering if someone could point me in the right
>direction on how to go about the conversion. Any replies appreciated

I'm guessing your wagon has a full frame with the body mounted to it.
What type of rear suspension do you have?

Your simplest conversion would be using a full 4x4 set up from an
older fullsize truck or Blazer. Basically you would want the front
and rear axles (with leaf springs), and the transmission and transfer
case.

If the engine is a V-8 or maybe a 4.3 V-6, you should be able to mount
up the 4x4 transmission and T-case with little trouble. I'm guessing
the tunnel in the wagon won't have room for the T-case, meaning you
will either need to rework it, or maybe you can go with a 2-3" body
lift.

After you gut the old suspension, custom leaf spring mounts would be
needed front and rear and then you could bolt in the axles. (If you
already have leaf springs in the back, you may be able to work with
those mounts and springs.

Of course there are a million small details to handle including
brakes, steering, shocks, shifting mechanisms, driveshafts and etc.
This is a BIG project.

Some might offer up the solution of finding a 4x4 frame with a
matching or near matching wheelbase and just bolting your wagon body
on to it. Lots of folks did them this way back in the day. Of course
you still have to deal with body mounts, steering and electrical
issues. Still a BIG project.

If you go ahead with it, post pics and a writeup on the web so we can
all see.

Matt
99 V-10 Super Duty, Super Cab 4x4