[brian_]

I wonder if the cab and bed, with these two main dimensions(track and WB) being so close, could be dropped onto the cut-away and reinforced unibody.

I think that it would probably be easier to build a custom frame, designed to work with the Leaf front subframe and battery pack, and using some suitable suspension (possibly the Leaf, but hopefully something better).

There may not be enough clearance around the back end of the battery for a leaf spring based rear suspension.

I agree: the front mounts of leaf springs of a good length would need to be ahead of the rear of the battery case, and wouldn't be spaced widely enough to run up each side of the battery.

 

[brian_]

Also, you need to think about the modern, refined suspension and braking systems of the Leaf compared the primitive, harsh ridding existing systems in the Fargo.

True. It's also worth considering what decades of upgrades and custom work have done with the suspension of trucks of this era. A common approach is to discard the entire original Fargo frame and chassis, placing the cab and box on the chassis of a newer (but still old) compact to mid-sized pickup (historically, that's typically a Chevrolet S-10); that still gives you a lousy rear suspension, but this approach might be useful for the front suspension and front part of the frame, if doing a rear-wheel-drive or 4WD conversion. Replacing just the leaf-sprung beam axle of an old truck like this with a modern independent pickup truck suspension is a common "street rod" / "hot rod" modification.

Any pickup front suspension may not be viable if using the Leaf drive unit as-is to drive the front wheels, because there may not be enough width available for the transverse drive unit.

 

[brian_]

You could do a de-dion axle in the rear. Being you have all the leaf’s ifs parts.

Shades of the Ford Ranger EV.

The original plan (Leaf drive unit for front wheel drive) is more like the other factory battery-electric truck of the era, the Chevrolet S-10 EV (which used the GM EV1 drive unit).

 

[brian_]

Somewhere on the forum I remember seeing a similar project that was done by a guy near Cincinnati, Ohio. Will look around some and link it in if I can find it. He did a cutdown Leaf on an old truck and built a tube reinforcement to mount the truck.

And that's nothing at all like either the Ford Ranger EV or the Chevrolet S-10 EV.

 

[brian_]

I believe the poster in post#23 is referring to my posts about cutting down the Leaf unibody.

Perhaps, but that post only quoted my comments about the Ranger EV and S-10 EV designs, which are powertrain changes in conventional truck frames, completely unlike the unibody modifications.