Ford Dana 44 swap to '72 Blazer?

[wcelliot]

Sorry for the basic question, but I'm trying to build a modernized '72 Blazer and do so on a reasonable budget. This is more for highway/street driving with only light/moderate offroad capabilities needed. Fuel economy is important though for highway use, so I definitely want an O/D trans.

I have a complete '72 Blazer 4x4 (350/TH350/passenger side drop) and a complete 1998 k1500 (350/4l60e/driver side drop)

My original intention was to shorten the k1500 frame and mount the Blazer body on top with custom body mounts, retaining the IFS, ABS, etc of the newer truck.

The alternative plan would be to simply drop the 1998 running gear (including the driver side drop transfer case) into the '72 and forego the IFS, etc.

I understand a driver side drop Ford Dana 44 will pretty much bolt in and allow me to use the modern transfer case. I have access to a nice set of Dana 40/60 axles (F&R) from a '79 F250 parts truck that I may be buying anyway (for a F*rd project I'm also playing with).... would these be appropriate for use in the Blazer?

I guess a third option would be to retain the transfer case from the '72 and modify the 4L60e to work with it (which I understand requires essentially a full teardown?) ... though I don't really love the early Chevy disc brakes and would likely want to upgrade those as well. More $$

Or should I stay with my original frame swap plan?

Opinions appreciated!

Bill