[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).

 

[QuantumEngineer]

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).

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. Could help you decide if that's the route you want to go.

 

[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.

 

[electro wrks]

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

I believe the poster in post#23 is referring to my posts about cutting down the Leaf unibody.
What I'm referring to is similar to what custom auto shops do to change a hardtop sedan to a convertible. The remaining frame structure, after the top and parts of the support pillars are removed, is reinforced to make up for the removed structure. Yes brian, I know it is not exactly the same, that's why I wrote the word similar. Please turn down the OCD for once for the rest of us mere mortals!

 

[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.