2wd 1/8 buggy... interesting.... you will need to replace the front shock tower with a buggy style one. Buggy typically have a lower mounting point then a truck no? I guess you could just have the body sitting high up.
why nust just get an inexpensive roller? you would be surprized how cheap a used rolling chassis can be on ebay under the right circumstances (time, not the newest version, ect).

Good luck with it thought, can't wait to see how it turns out.