Finding the right truck or build it

[Bulldog]

I need to find a trail rig. I was thinking about a Jeep or Samurai for the trail and keeping my 1 ton truck for towing. This brings up some extra costs, like insurance, licensing, I/M, and maintenance like tires, batteries, etc... I think I want to get one vehicle that can do both.

I thought about lifting my current truck, but it's a crew cab long bed with a diesel. Too wide, long, and heavy for any real offroading.

I have always wanted a 1987 3/4 or 1 ton Chevy/GMC short box truck with a 454. This would make a decent sized trail rig and would tow my 10,000# trailer also. The only problem is finding one. 1987's are hard to find because it was the last year of the old straight body style and the first year of TBI. The other rarity is a short box 3/4 or 1 ton. I'm pretty sure they made short box models in the heavier trucks, but I could be wrong.

So now I am thinking of finding a 1981 to 1987 truck and fitting in a 454 fuel injected engine or maybe even doing a 6.5 diesel conversion. I'm pretty sure I'll need more power/durability than a 350 will hold up to in the long run. Seems like I can find 1/2 tons by the dozen, if I buy one of these, is the frame as strong as 3/4 or 1 ton frames?

Or would I be better off getting a 1 ton long bed and cutting down the frame?

I'm thinking of about 6 inches of lift and 35" to 37" MT tires for daily driving and most offroading. I also want some tractor style tires or boggers for serious offroading. I would just mount these for weekends when I didn't need to tow. I need the MT tires since I'll be towing heavy loads and most boggers aren't rated for these type of loads. The MT tires are available in D or even E load ranges. I'm also planning on gearing low for towing and big tires.

Just looking for some info and suggestions. Thanks.