I love the humor, but you actually aren't far off from what I was thinking. If I spend the energy to pull that engine, I'm gonna look into swapping in a 4.3L GM or maybe even a small V8, rebuilt 4L80 or 6L90 trans, and a dual-shift transfer case. (Hey, a guy can dream big, eh?)
The stock diffs should be plenty tough enough, but I'd want to see about some kind of lockers.
* Checks his bank account, carries 1, divides by π (pi), can't swing it with this job. *
Here's the good news. I took a shower, had dinner, and then my thinking juices started working again. I popped the water pump off and there she was, stickin' out of the block! I removed it with my bare fingers. Niiiiccce.
View attachment 79894