ChaosSaint Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 So my 95 pathy has been sitting for a while and I'm trying to decide what to do with it... I was thinking about cannibalizing it into some cool buggy-ish vehicle or something. The motor and drive-train are all still in decent condition, and I have a decent set of 30" mud terrains on toyota wheels, but the frame is pretty much shot. I've kind of given up hope on it being sturdy enough for rough trail use. Maybe tear it down and fab my own tube frame but keep a similar geometry to drop the drive-train back in place? I dunno, just thinking out loud. I'd like to turn it into some sort of project as I have garage space and 2 alternative vehicles to drive. If you had a pathy to do whatever you wanted with (on a reasonable budget of course) what would you do with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted September 1, 2011 Share Posted September 1, 2011 2 door, roof chop, sas (if going crazy, maby some built 1 ton axles), low COG with bigger meats and cut fenders/quarters, desert runner painted panels protected by a pink exo-cage, mostly gutted interior, etc etc... it would be a mess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 Is this going to be street legal? B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 My occasional fantasy with mine (for if the body somehow gets totalled, and I somehow have the skills, tools, and money to do this before my dad makes me buy something sensible) is to pick up a 30s or 40s lead sled Studebaker or Cadillac or something, then put the Pathfinder running gear under it, with truck tires, and either leave the faded stock paint or do it up in Hammerite. Maybe SAS it while it's torn apart. Bolt up some nice MTs on black steelies. Then cram a turboed VG33 or something under the long hood and replace the chrome bumpers with steel plate, welded up to mimic the shape of the chrome. Maybe add a few louvers to the hood for an intercooler or whatever, give it a few Road Warrior touches, and put a zombie hunting permit on the dashboard. Shotgun rack is optional, but encouraged. ... I've clearly put too much thought into this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 If it were me, I would either SAS it, or, lift it with the ifs, and run some 33/35's. Fixing the frame would have to be done anyway though. You know they make patch kits for them now that you just have to weld on. I hate roof chops. But that is JMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaosSaint Posted September 2, 2011 Author Share Posted September 2, 2011 cool ideas! I saw a roof chop in one of these sections and looked a little goofy. I would like to lop the back off and make it a 2 door and make a roll bar or something, but at that point I might as well figure out if I can swap in a pickup cab and plop it on the frame. Not sure how feasible that is... I would like it to be street legal so I can cruise it in the summer and still get around in heavy snow. SAS is kind of a "standard" route. I'm not opposed to it, just trying to think of something creative that hasn't been done before that I can do with this thing. Trying to think outside of the box on this one. Another thought - If you had a fully functional motor and drive train but no frame to drop it on, what you do with it? And yes, no matter how I shake it, I still have to do something about the frame. Maybe that's where I'll start - pull the motor and try to lift the body completely off and then roll the frame out to work on. Maybe sandblast the whole thing and start cutting and welding till it's back in decent shape. At that point a SAS would make sense. For some reason I have something dune buggyish pictured in my head. I really like the look of the truck on http://www.purenissan.com/hardbody.htm but if i was trying to go that route I should probably just start with a pickup I highly approve of the zombie hunting permit on the dashboard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 IIRC one of the two-door guys (Morningwould?) cut the top from the back half of his Pathy. It actually looked pretty legit. Or... pure dune buggy... put the mechanicals under a Bug body. Can't hunt the undead without a permit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 2 door chop is WAAAAY different looking than a 4 door chop, personal taste but the 4 door cut looks too Avalanche-ish for me. Think 2 door cut leaving the triangle windows was my chop thoughts/ideas if it were ME. Wanna go different you could try to graft in a Ford TTB front end Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismothunder Posted September 5, 2011 Share Posted September 5, 2011 Body swap too a chopped 73-91 blazer frame, 396, roots blower, 465 with a ranger (16 forward, 4 reverse gears) Dodge AAM 38 splin rear axle, portal front and 35 inch Irocs (cause I rock) and 1 million dollars too drive it every day with its nasty 2 gallons a mile fuel econmy and for replacement tires. Nothing Nissan but the body. This is a very common swap for mini trucks in the mid west. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 Pathy Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 What I was going to do to my rotting Pathy was SAS, lift for 35's, pull motor & drop in small block 350, exo-cage, pull doors, pull interior & rhino line interior, snorkle, etc.....Get it ready for Top Truck Challenge & get the Nissan Pathfinder name out in the 4X4 world. Getting really sick of all these JEEP owners being A$$ES & thinking JEEP is the only thing out there. I'd love to own a new 4dr Wrangler, but JEEPs everywhere. Want to keep something different & show them up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94 Pathy Posted September 17, 2011 Share Posted September 17, 2011 Hoping to have another vehicle soon to drive so I can do some of this stuff to this current Pathy once the motor is shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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