Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

Talk to Shilo about the Shackle reversal. I'm currently following his plan now in order to save $500. As long as you can weld it can be done. If you cant get a friend who can. His superford page has the info you need under D60.

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

Can I have the link for the Shilo's Superford site?

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

Yes, a complete parts truck is the best bet. I've got a buddy who found a '97 F350 4x4 for $1900 with a seized 460. He rebuilt the 460 and put the whole drivetrain in his Bronco. If the cab hadn't been jacked up from a roll it woulda been easier to just chop the frame on the F350 (the bed was already removed) and run it that way.

However, my reco's are as follows:
ideally you want an '86-91ish F350, this will net front king pins rather than ball joints. Stronger, more reliable, much easier to install high-steer. Ball joints won't much like 44's if that's what you want to run.

Second (and people are gonna call bs here but I speaketh the truth), the EFI 460s are real dogs for that they are. More powerful than an EFI 351 sure....barely. The heads and intake are just too restrictive. I'd seriously plan a built 460 and/or an older one with aftermarket injection. An oil burner would be cool but quite a bit of work. Actually, I'm pondering a Cummins TD swap myself (like starting in 5 years LOL), but i haven't looked into details.

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

Shilo's site. He done good when it came down to putting leafs in his truck. Mine has them from the factory but i want a shackle reversal also. He talked me right out of paying $500 for the kit.

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

In reply to:

An oil burner would be cool but quite a bit of work.

[/ QUOTE ] This is a new one for me. What is an oil burner? Other than a rig with bad rings and valve seals. lol

How about the lift? I'm thinking of fabricating a 4" body lift maybe with fender trimming. I want to keep that leaf arch as small as possible but I know that might not be an option with the big meats. I also like the idea of swapping an entire body onto the F350 frame. That in itself may save alot of grief. That and I already have a parts bronco that I could take the body off of. Oh and also where is a good place to look for tires as big as I'm wanting. They don't seem to list them that big.

NORM

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

Ha! No

foul from me. If it wasn't for all the guys in my group that run 460's I would dog them more too. They are great for the heavy mud runnin', but for the size motor they are, they don't do much better than the 351 stock vs. stock. I would take the smallblock any day for trails, and for onroad. FI 460 will be pigs on gas too.

I think I seriously may take that jerry can off the back of Juice. The only thing it gets used for usually is in gassing up the Bigblocks (my can and other peoples).

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

hey norm you could always weld the bronco frame to the f350 frame with some metal spacers and then you wouldnt even have to worry about the body lift or the relocating of body mounts and could keep the stock suspension of the f350 with no work and just need gears..I have seen this done before with 2 chevy blazers frames and 6 in bar spacers running 44 in boggers.... If I remember right he flipped that thing with in the first 3 months taking a corner to fast....
bigger isnt always better unless you are straight run all mud

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

oil burner is basically slang for diesel

Lift.... well a swap like mine will give you 6" anyway, but that's not near enough for 44's. I technically don't have enough for 37's as I can stuff my 37s' back into my firewall, kinda by the footwells. The tires have curled up some lips on my body right there.

To find 44's, look at ads for Nat'l Tire and Wheel or Tyres Intl

You're definitely gonna need some springs with some decent arch, don't see anyway around that.

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

Dont' get me wrong Juice, some of the early 460s were pretty cool. I don't know enough about '70s cars but IIRC some of the older Lincolns etc had 460s making over or near 400hp stock.

The EFI 460s were rated at 240hp. Of course to muddy the waters further the method for hp calculation changed in 197x?

But I've driven an EFI 460 and driven *next to* an EFI 460 with my 351, and I wasn't impressed. But that's just my opinion. And still the EFI 460 puts out more torque sooner and has a flatter torque curve than the EFI 351.

All I'm saying is that the difference is not what it should be 'cause the EFI 460s are choked and de-tuned. To swap in an EFI 460 is a lot of work for minimal gain.

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

I hear what you are saying. I don't want to stack frames. Too much weight up high. I was thinking of making some steel spacers and welding those into place and just using some polly body bushings between the two. I really am thinking of this as a whole package and want to do it right. That is why I'm asking how high with the lift leafs. I'm thinking maybe 6" leafs with the shackle flip inversion (will that work up front?) Some heavy fender cutting and body lift as needed. I really want to bring the tires up into the body as much as possible as height is not my goal, clearance under the diffs is. I'll probably have to take my back seat out and make custom wheel wells as well. On top of all this I'm thinking of going with wheels with 2.5" of backspacing to add a little more stabilitity. I don't think 1 ton full floating axles and spindles will have a problem with this. Thanx for your input so far and please feel free to add your ideas. Thanx again. NORM

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

Somewhere i saw pics of a late model bronco sportin 44s, and IIRC, he had 9" of lift and buskwacker cutouts on it.

Oh, and hey, if you want ground clearance, why not get Unimog Portals under there?

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

I checked out Shilo's Superford site and I'm real impressed with what he did with the D60 swap. If anyone is thinking about doing the swap this is definately a good place to check out. How much Spring arch should be adequate do you think? Would 6" be enough? I think after 6" the rig loses alot of the ability to flex.
Shilo . Why does the axle have to be ground on the drivers side by the diff to fit the leaf? I know that it had to have come with leafs and I'm just wondering why you had to do it that way. I'm not questioning the need. I just wanted some clarification.
Also about wheels: What size do you think I should go for? I really don't want to grind the rotors and want to go with some good beadlocks. (Hey this is my dream and I'll take it all the way if I want

) I'm thinking that 16.5" wheels is the way to go. Tires for 17s seem wayyyy to steep for me. Take care and feel free to add comments. Thanx. NORM

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

norm, dont take this to hard, but i think you need to plan less right now, and just start doing some mods and take it one step at a time till you get to the level you are satisfied with.

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

as long as you're dreaming... if you want bigger than 15" wheels you might consider 20" wheels and tires from usa6x6... they've got a 41" tall radial Michelin XL on there that's 13" wide and requires a 20x10" wheel... load range F so it's tough but not too heavy like some of those Michelins. If you want to stay a little smaller, they also have a 38.7" radial Michelin XML that mounts on a 16x9" wheel. $150 for a 90% tread 41" radial on a 20" wheel is very very

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

to help you dream, here is a pic of some of Daniel's badass tires and wheels... keep in mind that tire on the left is a 37" hummer radial, so imagine how big that one on the right is!

yay for big tires

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

Yeah, 16.5s are cool if you can find bead locks for 'em

I ground the pig just so I could flip the u-bolt. In stock form the u-bolts point down = less ground clearance. I ground into mine way too far, you only need to notch it by the diameter of the ubolt. The grinding had nothing to do with making the leaf spring itself fit.

I'm all about skipping intermediate steps (which cost you a bunch of money) and going straight for what you want, but I kinda agree with Burned. I'd personally recommend locating the axles you want and getting those under the truck with enough lift to clear 37's or 38s. Wheel that for awhile, see what ya think. You can always adjust lift height and cut sheetmetal to fit bigger tires later. The only issue is gearing and motor size, so always gear as deep as possible. If you step up to 44"s I wouldn't expect a 302 or 351 to be all that impressive even with 5.38s, at least for crawling. Could be good for bogging.

Keep in mind 44's give you that "tractor" feel, make the truck much less practical for weekend camping trips, and will pretty much require a trailer and tow rig. This is all good if that's what you want.

I always want bigger tires, too..... but enjoy the "sports car" handling of the 37s, and the fact that my rig is good on the highway and the trail. But if you're in nasty terrain bias plys are the only way to go. Everything's a compromise and I'm not willing to give up the dual-purpose qualities of my rig just yet. Maybe you are and that's cool!

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

I hear you guys loud and clear. I just like to have a future goal in mind and try to make sure that all the current mods work with it. My next project is to buy a Saginaw and bracket from Zach. Following that a Milemarker. After that I want to do my TBI conversion. After that I want to compile my long drawn out parts list and work on the parts as they go. This will be my exclusive off road machine and I know that it will ride like a tank in the end, But that's kind of the goal I'm shooting for. BTW 5.13 gearing is as big as you can go with a D60 reverse rotation and 14bolt rear.

NORM

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

Yeah, but much deeper than that even on one-ton stuff and the pinion gets real small.

The 14 bolt is limiting you a bit there, you could go 5.38s if you ran a D70 or 10.25 rear.............but damn the difference between 5.13 and 5.38 is so slight.......and the 14 bolt is a great rear.

 

Re: Thinkin\' big: Tech Questions

One of the biggest reasons I like the 14 bolt (Other than it's strength) Is that Detroit Lockers are only like $325.