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So my 5.3 XJ is heaps of fun and does whatever I tell it to, but getting it there cost a lot of weight and I'm not happy with the COG/Roll Center, nor the knowledge that I'm always one flop away from having to redo 80% of my work (UNIBODY!! WHYY!!?)
So, starting a new build. The plan is to keep it relatively low COG/RC, 5.3/4l60e (no idea on case yet), BJ60's (which will probably be widened a touch, and I may end up running rear steer), leaf sprung on 63's for now (link later), rollin' on 38's or so. I've never even looked at a Toy. A buddy put me on to the BJ60's for my Jeep, and somehow I ended up picking up an 85 runner with a perfectly good 22re, mint frame, thrashed body.
As I know zero about toys, I'll have a few questions along the way. The v8 swap is cake for me at this point (done a few and they generally take a few days). But, the runner's engine bay is smaller than I've worked with before and clearance is my first issue.
Stuck the motor in today for test fitting and this is where she sits:
So the hood closes. That's a good start.
I've got the motor just set loosely right now. Motor is wedged into the stock frame mounts with some 2x3" blocks (3" between mount and motor). Bank 2 head is 1/4" from the firewall where the bulge for the HVAC fan is. Currently I have about 1.5" clearance from the front of the fan pulley to the front of the cab. I've seen pictures of other swaps where guys manage to stick a 2" thick rad plus a puller fan behind it and I'm completely at a loss as to how they have that much room. What am I missing?
Header clearance same issue. A set of block huggers would be a tight fit, but I think I could make it work. Probably have to extend the header so the flange exits a few inches further back on the passenger side, and wrap the driver side behind the pan. Still, I feel like my positioning isn't quite right as other guys seem to have more clearance.
As for axles, I've got 2 front BJ60's, 1 rear BJ60, and 3 rear minis. As I haven't got proper shoes for mock up, I'm not widening them yet. Will decide that once I've got some 38's available. Plan to cut/turn the knuckles and point the pinion proper.
For the rear, I've heard lots of guys say they run the BJ60 rear offset to a center out case, without vibes. Is this true? Should I bother centering the rear right away, or just run it and see how it feels? I'd prefer an offset rear output, but that really limits my case selection, and drives cost way up. I've got a line on a 231 doubler mated to a d300, with a chev trans adapter for $750 which is hard to turn down.
Ah yea. So where the suspension is sitting now, is roughly where I want it to sit on 38's, so I've gotta lose a lot of lift. That's going to cause pan clearance issues most definitely. Plan thus far is to either chop off the corner of the pan and weld it at 45, or throw on an f-body pan, which'd give me almost 4" more clearance all around.
Even with the f-body pan though, keeping the rig where it is on 38's, pan clearance is going to be very tight. I'm sorta just crossing my fingers that I can get 5" compression, but even that may be a little liberal, unless I hack an f-body up.
Great pics, very helpful info and you're definitely off to a good start. Where are you located? Because if you typically do a V8 swap in a few days I gotta come see you! lol
I know a higher COG isn't what you're looking for, but moving the motor up will help with exhaust (I think) and with your oil pan clearance. Most folks go with a 2-3" body lift to help with firewall clearance and to give you some more room for exhaust when you move the headers up over the frame rails. Hooker manifolds are the narrowest off the shelf option I've seen but they run $300 and I've seen folks hack up a stock manifold but you have to weld nice and it takes more time.
Firewall to radiator clearance has been helped by a shorter accessory drive like from a corvette. That gives you like an inch. I've seen several swap guys who would have focused on moving the firewall if they had it all to do over again. So if you don't want to drop another $300+ on a shorter accessory drive, modifying the firewall for the extra clearance is what you want.
THIS THREAD has some good info and pics. Decent starting point. Good luck!
Great pics, very helpful info and you're definitely off to a good start. Where are you located? Because if you typically do a V8 swap in a few days I gotta come see you! lol
I know a higher COG isn't what you're looking for, but moving the motor up will help with exhaust (I think) and with your oil pan clearance. Most folks go with a 2-3" body lift to help with firewall clearance and to give you some more room for exhaust when you move the headers up over the frame rails. Hooker manifolds are the narrowest off the shelf option I've seen but they run $300 and I've seen folks hack up a stock manifold but you have to weld nice and it takes more time.
Firewall to radiator clearance has been helped by a shorter accessory drive like from a corvette. That gives you like an inch. I've seen several swap guys who would have focused on moving the firewall if they had it all to do over again. So if you don't want to drop another $300+ on a shorter accessory drive, modifying the firewall for the extra clearance is what you want.
THIS THREAD has some good info and pics. Decent starting point. Good luck!
˟˟˟˟, forgot to update. Figured out lots.
Yes, a swap typically takes me a few days at this point, assuming I know where I want the build to go before I start, and have all my parts on hand. I spend more time tracking down parts (cause I have to order everything from the US because Canadian vendors are useless) and looking for my ˟˟˟˟˟˟˟ sockets, than I do actual swapping motor. The 6.0L swap we did a few weeks ago pretty much took 2 full days of work.
Higher COG unacceptable. The entire reason for this build was because I wasn't happy with my XJ's side hilling stability. It's already pretty damned good, and miles better than most rigs I wheel with and/or run into on the trail, but I know I can do much better. The XJ's motor ended up 1-2" higher than I'd have put it except that when I did that swap, I didn't know what I was doing and ordered conversion mounts from Novak. They put the block arbitrarily high. Compound that with the Unibody being top heavy and having a suspension that actually articulates (most XJ builds are stiff as hell), and I just don't feel comfortable on anything > 40 degrees at all.
But, I did manage to get the motor very low. I've currently got the top half of the stock chevy motor mount bolted to the block (just so I have something for reference, and to support the motor temporarily). The motor is far back enough that the stock mount is actually 1mm behind the stock yota frame mount. This gives me enough room to put the stock runner rad in front of the motor, though probably not enough to put a decent flowing e-fan behind it. Not sure what i'm doing about that yet. May chop the firewall and bring the motor back another inch or two.
But for now, I've got clearance everywhere, and the hood fits, with no body lift.
These are the same headers I used for the last 6.0L swap in the 1500. They're block hugger shorties with rear dump. Impossible to find in Canada, absolutely everywhere in the US. Picked these up from Amazon for $180 -
They fit almost perfectly. Had to trim some of the inner fender just to lose some of the annoyance. The collector clears the frame rail, but the flange ring does not (I was expecting this). I'm going to just chop off and extend the collector 2-3" so the ring is below the frame.
The next issue was driveshaft clearance. The LS motors and transmissions were all setup with driver drop in mind, thus, the engine and transmission pans are offset towards passenger. With a D300 behind the 4l60e, the DS would run directly under the trans pan, even with the case clocked flat. It might have worked, but I want all the clearance I can get as I still needed to lower the suspension 8-10" and I'm not stoked about running a 1" shaft. Also, the oil pan was dangerously close to the pumpkin even with the motor spun counter clockwise a few degrees, so I decided to just go to a driver drop pumpkin (at least that's the plan so far).
Yes, it could have worked, but I just wasn't stoked about the tight clearances. So the plan right now is to flip both the front and rear axles over to put the pumpkin on driver, flip the thirds around, and spin the knuckles 180. This is actually pretty convenient as the BJ60's leaf perches are on the bottom of the axle, so after flipping them, they sit SOA without having to cut anything. I'll just notch out the housing for the RG and it should all be good. The third itself has the pinion on the driver side, so when the pumpkin was on passenger, the pinion was further driver. This meant oil pan clearances were even tighter. With the third on the driver, the pinion is almost perfect. I may have to clearance one boss on the third for OP clearance, but not a big deal.
On the rear axle, this was even more convenient because it's also offset passenger with the pinion on the passenger side. Flipping and spinning the rear axle puts the pinion very close to center, with no ˟˟˟˟ing around to center the axle. I don't know why more guys aren't doing this.
Have the front axle flipped and mounted right now and it's looking very good. Loads of clearance in every direction. I'm really just hung up on deciding on a DD t-case setup. I want a twin stick, which means pretty much all chain driven cases are out (which is fine, cause I'd prefer geared anyway). Suggestions on a DD, geared case that's easy/cheap to adapt to the chevy hex pattern and 27spl shaft? I'm still thinking about the 231 doubler/300 as the 231 is very easy to adapt to the chevy hex/27, but then i'd also have to flip the 300. Undecided yet, but it'd be nice to start with something DD.
I'll get more pictures of the axle setup later.
As for suspension height. I removed 2 leafs from the front pack and bolted them back up. With 4 very thin leafs, engine weight in, I've only got about 2-3" of arch left, but my ride height is pretty near perfect. I also lifted the hangers and shackles right up to the frame. This gives me 23" frame height on 29's, or around 27" on 38.5's. That's higher than I want to be, but it's a good start and I may just roll with it for a few weeks once it's on the road, just to get a feel for the RC/COG. Costs me nothing to test right? I'll probably end up linking front/rear, but for now, this is a good way to see what I can do with the leafs.
Okay, so I've got the motor placed and temporary motor mounts mocked up. I've got clearance for headers to sneak through, everything clears under the hood, oil pan to diff clearance is good (with a driver drop). But I've got a problem.
Flipping the LC 60 axle around for driver drop 1. because there's way more DS clearance on the driver side and 2. I can't find a pass. drop case with a front output far enough out from center to clear the trans pan without running the DS right under the trans.
I pulled the front axle again and stripped it, and cut the front cover off as it'd have to be spun 180 for the now rotated third/ring gear.
I was planning to staying leaf sprung for now just because I want to see how far I can take a leaf sprung rig. I'll link it later, but for now, it's leaf.
The leafs are raked up at the front (just the nature of the toy frame), which puts the center of the pack (it's a rear back, so the center is actually a bit forward of center) at about 5-8 degree angle. With the stock axle perches, this points the pinion down into the ground (cause it's flipped). So I already rotated the knuckle balls (roughly) but now I've gotta rotate the perches and here's where I'm running into a wall. I've gotta rotate the perches around 20-25 degrees forward, but to do so, and keep the mounts low, I'll have to chop open the pumpkin to keep the perch at stock height (the straight line at stock height, goes about 1" into the housing).
So I'm looking for input here for two issues:
1. If I chop the housing up at the pumpkin, my plan would be to just cut the stock perch risers off at the angle and height I need, and just keep cutting at the same angle into the pumpkin, and just weld in some filler where it opens up. Is this going to end up weakening the housing overall?
2. I've no idea how I'm going to put ubolts in. The pumpkin side will neither be square nor round on the bottom, so I'm really not sure the best way to get a bolt in there. I was thinking of just welding up a rounded edge on the bottom of the housing to just run regular round u-bolts.
It's just seeming like a lot of work to stay with leafs. Realistically, it'd be about the same amount of work to just 3-link it.
Thoughts/input?
P.S. A buddy is in the middle of his ridiculous build. 454 big block in a first gen pickup truggy. He was also going to the BJ60 axles, but then I gave him a free 14b and he decided he wants to go tons now, which means his 15" wheels won't clear the brakes anymore. He got a ridiculous deal on a set of 39.5x15r15 TSL bias, but when he realized there's no 14b brake that'll clear, I jokingly offered him $2000 for the set (more than he paid, but still about $4000 under price as they're brand new). Amazingly, he agreed to sell them to me, so what started as me going over to his place for a rear BJ60 cover to put on my front, turned into me coming home with several spare BJ60 axles and a set of 40's. So after mocking them up, I've decided that I'm fine with my frame height being in the 25-26" range, cause adding 400lbs unsprung weight should make up for the stability.
Okay, so I've got the motor placed and temporary motor mounts mocked up. I've got clearance for headers to sneak through, everything clears under the hood, oil pan to diff clearance is good (with a driver drop). But I've got a problem.
Flipping the LC 60 axle around for driver drop 1. because there's way more DS clearance on the driver side and 2. I can't find a pass. drop case with a front output far enough out from center to clear the trans pan without running the DS right under the trans.
I pulled the front axle again and stripped it, and cut the front cover off as it'd have to be spun 180 for the now rotated third/ring gear.
I was planning to staying leaf sprung for now just because I want to see how far I can take a leaf sprung rig. I'll link it later, but for now, it's leaf.
The leafs are raked up at the front (just the nature of the toy frame), which puts the center of the pack (it's a rear back, so the center is actually a bit forward of center) at about 5-8 degree angle. With the stock axle perches, this points the pinion down into the ground (cause it's flipped). So I already rotated the knuckle balls (roughly) but now I've gotta rotate the perches and here's where I'm running into a wall. I've gotta rotate the perches around 20-25 degrees forward, but to do so, and keep the mounts low, I'll have to chop open the pumpkin to keep the perch at stock height (the straight line at stock height, goes about 1" into the housing).
So I'm looking for input here for two issues:
1. If I chop the housing up at the pumpkin, my plan would be to just cut the stock perch risers off at the angle and height I need, and just keep cutting at the same angle into the pumpkin, and just weld in some filler where it opens up. Is this going to end up weakening the housing overall?
2. I've no idea how I'm going to put ubolts in. The pumpkin side will neither be square nor round on the bottom, so I'm really not sure the best way to get a bolt in there. I was thinking of just welding up a rounded edge on the bottom of the housing to just run regular round u-bolts.
It's just seeming like a lot of work to stay with leafs. Realistically, it'd be about the same amount of work to just 3-link it.
Thoughts/input?
P.S. A buddy is in the middle of his ridiculous build. 454 big block in a first gen pickup truggy. He was also going to the BJ60 axles, but then I gave him a free 14b and he decided he wants to go tons now, which means his 15" wheels won't clear the brakes anymore. He got a ridiculous deal on a set of 39.5x15r15 TSL bias, but when he realized there's no 14b brake that'll clear, I jokingly offered him $2000 for the set (more than he paid, but still about $4000 under price as they're brand new). Amazingly, he agreed to sell them to me, so what started as me going over to his place for a rear BJ60 cover to put on my front, turned into me coming home with several spare BJ60 axles and a set of 40's. So after mocking them up, I've decided that I'm fine with my frame height being in the 25-26" range, cause adding 400lbs unsprung weight should make up for the stability.
I'm not familiar enough with all the axle work to help there. If you're on Pirate, someone there will likely know.
About those headers - the price is nice and they look great. I can get stainless re-welded easier than cast so I'm interested in those if I have to modify something. How did you get the clearance you need to get them between the rails? Some of your pics from above look like the flanges sit nearly in the middle of the frame rails.
The flanges would not fit between the rails without modification. I knew that when I bought them. I've got the motor set VERY low (stock engine mount location is almost directly between the rails).
I cut off the flange. There's enough room for the 2.5" tube to clear with a little angling, but the flange ring itself wouldn't fit. Will just extend the flange so it pops out just past the frame rail.
Just got my gears/lockers/RCV 300m shafts, so I'll be busy with that today, and hoping to have the ECU back sometime this week. I'm hoping to have the motor ready for a test fire sometime next week.
The flanges would not fit between the rails without modification. I knew that when I bought them. I've got the motor set VERY low (stock engine mount location is almost directly between the rails).
I cut off the flange. There's enough room for the 2.5" tube to clear with a little angling, but the flange ring itself wouldn't fit. Will just extend the flange so it pops out just past the frame rail.
Gotcha, so basically cut at red line (see pic) and extend the flange until it clears the frame. Straightforward, sounds nearly easy over the internet.
Gotcha, so basically cut at red line (see pic) and extend the flange until it clears the frame. Straightforward, sounds nearly easy over the internet.
It really SHOULD be that easy. I cut off the flange (right where you marked) and just hand mocked up my extension. It'll need a few degrees angle to it, but it should clear without any problems so long as you stick to super hard motor mounts.
If you really need more space, you can always just chop an inch out of the frame and plate it back in. The clearance is SOOO close that you really don't need to chop much.
I'll hopefully have mine extended sometime next week. Just holding off on it until I've got the entire driveline mocked up properly so I can be damn sure I know where the exhaust will go and stay.
Still going at it? Keep it up, your pictures are super descriptive and might just motivate me to tackle this myself (or convince me to farm it out haha)
Still going at it? Keep it up, your pictures are super descriptive and might just motivate me to tackle this myself (or convince me to farm it out haha)
Yea, sorry. I've actually got lots done but haven't really been updating. I'll get some proper documentation time in pretty soon here. For now:
Axles pretty much done. The rear hybrid 9.5/8" will be good enough for now, for the purposes of having something to roll on for the first test drive. Slammed in the 8" outers, bolted it all up and just eyed it level :p. Also sleeved it for good measure.
Front is mostly re-assembled, but it'll all have to come back apart. I just wanted to make sure everything still lined up after all the welding. Need to replace the tube seals and then button it all back up, but putting it off for now as I'm not sure if I'm happy with the pinion angle, but I don't want to change it until I'm sure where my t-case is going to sit. Haven't decided between the 241c or an Atlas.
I stuck the GM PDC into the driver front well and it fits like a glove with minor trimming, so the Engine is essentially already wired up and ready to run. Just need to plug in the battery and grounds. I'll be tying all the toyota electrical into the GM PDC as the GM stuff is much better documented, and all modular.
Assorted pictures of axle stuff.
I'm hoping to have the engine running this week, and probably start rebuilding the wheel wells. I finally blew up my D30 in my XJ (my first gear setup I ever did, and it survived 3 years of abuse and complete neglect), and I really don't want to fix it, so I'm going to be pushing hard on the runner now.
Last edited by Ben Feral Selinger; 05-10-2016 at 06:54 PM.
Okay, this is the worst build thread ever. I've been too lazy to update.
So here we go.
So in the last post, I showed my gear setups. I'm happy with the front setup. Pattern is near perfect. The rear though is a little close to toe on the drive side, and with the amount of tooth I had to grind down for pin installation, I'm just not happy with it.
That said, after I'd ground down the tooth and pin and actually tried installing a c-clip shaft into that third, even on a bench it took me 2 hours to do one shaft so I said ˟˟˟˟ it and built a hybrid rear to eliminate the c-clips. Really sorta wish I hadn't ground down that gear now. Oh well.
So update for today.
Axles are both under the truck and mostly complete. Rear axle needs new seals installed, both axles need shock tabs, gussets and trussing, but I'm holding off on that until I've gone for a test drive as I have no idea if the axles are even remotely aligned.
I started on the installation of the GM PDC yesterday. I figure because the toy electrical was mostly ripped out anyway, and the GM stuff is far better documented, modular, and has loads of room for expansion, the GM box just made more sense.
Looks like it was meant to fit here:
The plan is to just give the PDC power, ground, and ignition all into the stock locations, as well as pipe the fuel pump relay out to the toy harness. From there I should be ready for a test fire. Holy ˟˟˟˟ is this ever the way I should've done the Jeep.
Once that's all working, I'll just tie the rest of the toy electrical in. There's really not much else needed besides lights, wipers, horn, and the rear window. I estimate I'll spend a total of maybe 4-5 hours on wiring by the time I'm completely finished.
The box itself fit really well. I trimmed it a little, which is fine because MOST of the box is just dead space. Hit it with a sawsall for 5 minutes until I was happy with fit, threw in a couple plus nuts, and she looks like she's home.
Then I got side tracked today because I'm annoyed that every time I flex any corner out, the rear tires would bind in the wells.
Decided I'm happy with the actual axle location (though it is a longer wheel base than I was originally planning for), so started chopping. Again, my god is this ever easier than on the XJ.
I just cut about 1" out from the center pinch seam on the under side, then took an inch off the outer fender just so I'd have easier access. From there, I made a real long marker out of some sockets, so that I could just level the marker against the inner well while scribing a line on the outer. This gives me a very nice line until the rear 1/8th of the flare, where I had to come back a few more inches, but I managed to draw that bit by hand, and then chop it all out with a small cutoff wheel.
Not positive if this is where I want it yet. I may go a little higher on the outside, but everything else I'm happy with.
Hopefully get some sheet metal tomorrow to burn in this side. I'll use some thick construction paper for mock up to get my shape, which is WAY more planning than I ever did with the Jeep :p. But, this really should be dead simple. Just a mostly flat piece of sheet, tack it in to the inner well, tack to the outer, burn in and trim the outside. Should be an hour per side (maybe not including the time it takes to clean off all the underbody coating. (Anyone have any magic tricks to get that stuff outta there?)
Here's my current problem.
Previous owner had this thing lifted so high that pitman/tie rod interference wasn't a problem. With dropping it down almost 7 inches though, I'll either have to move the box forward another 2" (it's already hitting the cab), or find a reverse rotation box and mount it a foot or so back. I happened to have an old BJ60 box, which is reverse rotation, but is a manual gear. I haven't decided what I want to do here yet as I know nothing about the various toy steering gears. What makes more sense? regular or reverse rotation? Either should give me enough clearance, but the regular rotation box mounted way forward will ultimately give me MORE clearance.
Other than the pitman/TR interference, everything else looks like she'll fit. Articulated a few directions. I seem to have more than enough clearance to the frame and the oil pan (plus the oil pan will be moving up with the f-body swap).
Front axle fits perfectly with the RUF swap.
Yes, I'm aware I'm doing way too much work to such a ˟˟˟˟ body. I figure worst case, when it's done I just can't make it look presentable (for the po-po) and have to throw another body on top and re-do all the work, but I figure it's only maybe half a day of work to do it again, so this is all just experience and prep.
Not looking forward to having to do my rear fenders! You make it sound easy...
It actually really wasn't that bad. Did the passenger rear today in about 2 hours. That includes cutting the sheet out of a chevy box, prep, chopping, an hour looking for gloves and tools, welding, more cutting and folding, welding, and a coat of paint to protect it overnight from the rain.
Here's the donor
Then I started on the runner by cutting a straight line 1 inch to the outside of the center pinch seam in the well, then just sorta randomly cut out the fender just so I could pull the old stuff out and see what I had to work with.
From there, I lightly hammered the outside of the pinch seam up a little so it'd be level with the inner well, so I could (using my special "LONG MARKER") to scribe a line on the fender (outer) that would be flush with the inner well.
Once I had that line, I just chopped it out as well.
Then I took my piece of sheet and stuck it in for a test fit.
Test fit looked good. I WAS going to just tack it into the inner well, then cut it to fit the fender, but decided I didn't want to also go completely homicidal with edge welding, and instead cut some slits in the fender and just hammer the outer fender in and up to meet the new sheet. This was WAY easier than the same job on the Jeep.
So I tacked in the inner well, then cut off any excess sheet sticking out, pushed it up inside the body, cut some slits in the fender and hammered it all up. Then just started tacking.
The rear got a little ugly because of the change of plans half way through, but once I'm ready to make it pretty, I'll just hammer it all flat and slather it in sealant. It'll all be covered by the flares anyway. I'm more concerned with making sure it's sealed and not going to rust.
So this is how the one side sits now. Needed some paint to survive the rain tonight.
Then my buddy showed up with a spare drag link and a couple TRE's so I could figure out where I'm going to put the steering box. I think it'll be fine if it gets moved forward about 1.5", and tilted way back. I was going to clearance the frame for the castle nut to pass by, but looking at it flexed, I'm already near buried in the fender and those leafs cant' really go any further anyway, so I'm goona call this good.
Box is just resting there cause I ran out of hands and my GF has Zero interest in helping. Just pretend it's moved up as high as it can go and still have clearance for the castle nut to the frame. Should be more than enough room to clear the tie rod as well.
All in all, a pretty productive 3-4 hours today. Depending on how lazy I am tomorrow, I'd like to get the other fender done, and chop off the old steering box bracing and re-mount it in the correct spot.
Last edited by Ben Feral Selinger; 05-11-2016 at 07:22 PM.
So it's transfer case decision time. Not having my case is holding me up on the exhaust, and I don't want to truss/gusset the front axle until I know where my DS is going to be.
I was originally going to run an np241 just cause it's cheap and easy, but as I cant' actually find a 241 with removable tail cone, and when I do, I'd still need an SYE, I still spend $1000+ on a boring chain driven, 2 speed, single shift case.
So I was looking at an Atlas, which will cost almost the same as my entire build to this point. I called NWF to discuss options, and Chris suggested a Blackbox Titan mated to a Ford NP205. To me, this sorta makes more sense than the Atlas. This setup would be essentially indestructable (stronger than the Atlas), give me 4 speed, independent front/rear wheel drive for digs, and come out around $500 cheaper than a 2 speed Atlas. It'd add 30 lbs sprung weight, but that's not enough to worry about.
Looking for input/suggestions here. I know the 205 has a big casting at the top of the front output for a torque bar, but I didn't have room to run a flat rotation anyway. At the end of the day, I can get the Blackbox Titan, 205, setup triple stick for around $3800 bolted up. WAY more money than I'd ever intended to spend, but would probably be the last case setup I'd ever need, and should be completely bomb proof.
Think ahead to any future builds you may want to use it in - if it fits and you think it's bombproof, you'll be keeping it, loving it, and running it for a long time then I'd say it's worth it.
Think ahead to any future builds you may want to use it in - if it fits and you think it's bombproof, you'll be keeping it, loving it, and running it for a long time then I'd say it's worth it.
That's what I'm trying to figure out. I don't deal with a lot of other wheelers/fabricators. I just sorta lone wolf most of my stuff and it's worked pretty well so far, but experience counts for a lot with t-case selection when you're talking about spending $4k one way or the other.
The only guy I discuss my build with a bunch, knows his ˟˟˟˟ but he's also very biased towards his own build choices. He's one of those "it's what I got, so it's the best" sorta guys. He thinks I've wasted time/money on the BJ60's and should've gone tons, shouldn't bother with the v8 and instead go diesel, should run an Atlas 4spd, etc :p.
The Atlas I'm confident will hold up to my abuse, but at the same time, I can't get a straight answer from anyone on the front output offset distance (even AA gives me different numbers every time I've asked). Some of the numbers I've got wont' clear my trans pan and some wont' clear bell housing. Some say it's the same width as the 241 which I know will fit.
The 205 I always hear is 10.5" which is the same as the 241, but "ton guy" insists that the Atlas is a better case (cause syncros mostly).
At the end of the day, I KNOW a 241 will work and hold up to the abuse, because my 231/241 hybrid in the Jeep has held up to the same engine, but 1000lbs heavier rig. 241 is just annoying because I hate to spend a dime on a chain driven case. I could probably get away without the SYE as I'm staying pretty low, but I'd still need to build conversion CV driveshafts. Just annoyed that the case selection is STILL holding me up.
Just finished reading. I have a driver drop 241 but since I'm passenger on the front axle I'm running a 208 for the simple reason that I had it and it fits. I'll have to do a SYE to be able to run my stock driveshaft, but I don't mind as long as the setup comes together/works like I'm planning in my head when the time comes. Plan is SYE 208, cut down front shaft of rear 2-piece driveshaft and either conversion u-joint at SYE or flange to mate to driveshaft.
Just finished reading. I have a driver drop 241 but since I'm passenger on the front axle I'm running a 208 for the simple reason that I had it and it fits. I'll have to do a SYE to be able to run my stock driveshaft, but I don't mind as long as the setup comes together/works like I'm planning in my head when the time comes. Plan is SYE 208, cut down front shaft of rear 2-piece driveshaft and either conversion u-joint at SYE or flange to mate to driveshaft.
Yea, I'd have loved to stick to pass. drop, but with the 4l60e's offset pan and valve body, it was just too tight to squeeze a DS in there. Even a two piece would have been near impossible.
No pictures from yesterday and it's raining now, but got a few things done.
Engine mounts are in. Took the GM mounts and cut the frame end of the mount off, and flipped the engine side around 180 so it points almost straight down. Drilled an enormous hole in it to accommodate an enormous bolt. Welded on a chunk of 2x2x0.25 tube and drilled a hole in it to match. Stuck a hockey puck in between and torqued down. I think it'll work.
I had some wicked oil leaking from the donor motor. PO said it was the rear main, so pulled the trans to replace, but the seal looked good and I don't think that's where the oil was coming from. Thinking it may have just been the oil pan gasket. Oh well. Did the rear main while I was in there, as well as the valley cover and valve covers while I was at it.
Bolted up the np243c to check fit. I think it'll work. It has the 1350 yoke front output, which I'll probably swap out with the 1300 series flange (the long flange, cause that's what I've got, but I'll do a shorty if I can find one). Then I can probably use the GM DS flange and just swap out two caps for toy caps, and mate a Toy double cardan up to the GM flange. I THINK this will work.... If not, I'll be on the hunt for a GM double cardan again, and just swap out the caps on the diff end.
For fueling, I think I'm going to just run a hose from the toy pickup to the bottom of the tank, then pass that to an inline 255lph pump. No idea if this is going to work, but it's cheap/easy and if it works, it should work fine. I've never used an inline pump so I have no idea if they have trouble priming.
04-07-2016, 09:53 PM
