Anyone know anything about the right hand drive postal jeeps?I read somewhere they all came with possi rear ends,They seem narrow enough for a rod project,and have a straight front ax.Can you convert to left hand drive and would these make a good choice to put under a low power driver?
Go over to Duckus****us. Olds215 used to have a rodded postal jeep. He's a really nice guy and I'm sure he'd answer your questions. Tell them I sent you when you register. Or his son, Duckus****us is a memeber here under the same screename. He's also a very nice dude. Later Josh.
The 2WD postal Jeep frames work awesome. Yes, most of them are Dana 44 posi. Not all, but most. They also use a straight tube axle up front. The hot ticket is if you can find a non-postal DJ-series Jeep Dispatcher, they'll already be left-hand drive. A few years ago I stumbled upon two LHD Dispatchers for sale for $200 each. The bodies were rotted but the frames were intact, and they both ran. Easy swap to toss in a V8, chuck the body and pop something else on there. With the straight axle, it's almost like it's already set up to be a poor man's g***er or altered!
I was a mechanic for the postal service for 7 years. All of them I ever serviced were posi rearends. They were mostly phased out by the time I worked there (1994 to 2001) but there were still a few bumping around in our fleet here in Ft Worth area.
I drove them for a few decades.They might be too narrow and too short.All the ones I drove were posi.And top heavy.They roll easily.If you use one, channel the ****er.And they had the worst brakes of any vehicle I ever drove.Most of them had bent steering wheels from the letter carriers pulling up on them while trying to stop.
I had a p***ing interest in one for a while.. All the links I had seem to have gone dead. I do remember a Postal Jeep group on yahoogroups.com. Might snoop around over there and find something.
I drove one for many years (Letter Carrier since 1971). The later ones with the 6-cyl. were fun, but all are extremely top-heavy. The 'box' is much wider than the frame and they turn over very easily! I came around a corner one winter day many years ago, to find a co-worker up-side-down on somebody's lawn, hanging by his belt, tires still turning, with mail all over the place, after sliding into a ditch and rolling over just that half-roll, thankfully! Somehow he was unhurt, just embarr***ed. The right-hand drive is surprisingly easy to get used to. That's not a problem. The problem is the sloppy, inconsistent steering. As I said, they roll over in a heartbeat. I'd be astonished if there were any still around, but they're too dangerous for my taste. Back in the '80s, as they phased in the current LLVs, they wanted about 3 Grand for one. They were pretty well shot by the time the Service was ready to part with them then. I can only imagine what they'd be like now. Good luck!!! Bill Stinson USPS Troy, MI Oh...I'm also a cartoonist...
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Thanks for the info.I was not thinking of using the jeep or frame just the axels front and back,on another build,I would like to build something without selling the house to pay for it.
Check your local PullaPart or similar yard. At one time there were 4 postal Jeep's in the one up here. Of course they're gone now but with s**** creeping back up you never know what you'll find.
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