LUVTruck.com

first of all, Hello like the title says, im getting a chevy luv in the next few days from my uncle, the body is rusted out really bad, the bed is about to fall off, but the frame under it is rust free (weird??) and the engine runs good still

i dont know what year it is or anything about it really, i live in central florida and i want a small truck i can go nutts with in the woods and trails, im not new to the isuzu 4bangers, i raced a geo storm which is just like the luv, isuzu car sold in the USA by GM under the geo name, it was just like the FWD impulse, 4EX1 engine, i ran it for years on a short track then moved up to a modified street stock class

anyway, i was just wondering where i should start first, the beds got to come off, and the cab is pretty bad aswell, i plan to put a full rollcage in it, front to back, should i just hang my own custom body on it or find a new body from another truck... so many choices and i havent even gotten it yet!

As far as the body work goes, youll probly be hardpressed to find a good LUV body, its kinda like the Holy Grail. They exsist just vary hard to find. I think you would be better off piecing a new body together from lots of other LUVs. That will probly be your best bet.

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1980 LUV 4x4, going under re-construction...

is it possible to put a new body from another truck on the frame? or even just the cab, the hood and front fenders arnt in bad shape, just the rest lol

what bolt pattern is the 4x4 luv? its a 6 lug but thats all i know

Swapping the body isn't very hard on a LUV, compared to some rigs, but it is a big project. From the bumper to the back of the cab only 6 bolts hold the cab to the frame, but there are a lot of connections to worry about. (Brake lines, wiring, steering, etc) What part of the cab is the trouble? You can find rocker panel replacements, and the floor pans aren't too hard to patch up. The bed is really easy to swap, so I wouldn't recommend putting too much trouble into repairing it, but the cab might be less work to fix than replace. You also get into issues with the title/VIN number when swapping the cab.

The bolt pattern is 6 holes on 5.5", same as older Chevy 1/2 ton, Nissans, Toyotas, and a few Jeeps.

well its going to be an off-road only truck, i think im going to just leave the bed off and make a box to stick stuff in then wrap it in rollcage, i have a spare fuel cell from my racecar ill stick on it too

the cab is rusted all around the bottom, the top from the bottom of the door up is ok, but you can actually see inside the cab in some places around the bottom i do suppose fixing it would b easier, i can just roll some sheetmetal around it to cover the holes, i havent seen inside yet so im not sure how the floorpans are

the body shouldnt be to much trouble, once i get the truck this weekend ill probably have alot more questions about the drivetrain

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79 Chevy LUV 4X4- soon to be modified

86 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE
98 Dodge Neon Sport
GM metric frame Modified Street Stock

I built some rocker covers on my old 79 out of some aluminum diamond plate to cover its salt road rot. I used some fairly thick stuff and it ended up tougher than the original body work ever was.

You will want to look at the floor pans, the middle cab mount on either side is right by the kick panels, and the rear mount is just behind the seat. If the floorboards are rotted out the cab won't be hanging on very well. You should be able to shore it up without too much trouble though.

On the mechanicals, we'll be here ready to help out. Sounds like you've got a cool concept in mind and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

thanks for the help

the goal i have in mind for my luv is pretty simple, i want something i can play around with in the woods and mud, i use to ride a yamaha atv until i blew it up, never got around to fixing it and now everyone has trucks they play with, so i figured i would join them

depending on how much i get into this, my luv could turn out to be alot like my racecar, striped, gutted and a full tube chassis built up from the bare frame etc., or i might just leave it alone and have fun with it the way it is

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79 Chevy LUV 4X4- soon to be modified

86 Mazda RX-7 GSL-SE
98 Dodge Neon Sport
GM metric frame Modified Street Stock