curious!!

i have been looking at many donor vehicles for the frame i have now... i have seen a 454 with a 4 spd granny manual, 350 with the granny manual, a 350 eng. with 350 auto tranny, 454 WITH A TURBO 400 TRANS, a 454 with a 700r4 auto trans...

if i can get any of these donor vehicles for less than 2000.00...... WHICH ONE WOULD YOU CHOOSE!!

...........KEEP IN MIND I HAVE THR ROCKWELL AXLES WITH A 6.55 RATIO ......I AM NOT SURE WHAT T-CASE IN IN THESE VEHICLES.......
OH YEAH.
.................................................OR A 1991 cummings diesel 4x4 for 3000.00 dollars....................................
...BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!.....I VALUE EVERYONES OPINION

..........IF I USE A DONOR VEHICLE I CAN SELL MY BUGGY COMPLETE,AND GET THE MONEY BACK FOR IT

..........OR SHOULD I JUST USE ALL THE PARTS AND DRIVETRAIN OFF OFF MY BUGGY I HAVE NOW, IT WOULD BE EASIER!!......

454 with a 4 spd granny manual 100 pounds heavier than a 350, won't need a granny with those gears
350 with the granny manual - lighter by 100#, don't need a granny
350 eng. with 350 auto tranny - th350 will not live long behind the torque required for what you are planning
454 WITH A TURBO 400 TRANS, a Only 100# heavier than the 350 and the TH400 is best chance of living long behind that beast. *Best choice
454 with a 700r4 auto trans... great 1st gear and has overdrive BUT TRANNY WILL DIE AN EARLY DEATH

ROCKWELL AXLES WITH A 6.55 RATIO will require huge tires to get any speed. Crawl ratio will be tremendous!

pdiesel? hmmmm

what is your current drivetrain? If it works I would use it.

other then the motor the dodge drive train sucks. Front 60 has a vacuum disconnect and the transmission is a piece of shit unless you rebuild it with heavy duty parts.

Rockn93YJ wrote:

ROCKWELL AXLES WITH A 6.55 RATIO will require huge tires to get any speed. Crawl ratio will be tremendous!

I disagree. I only have 42's, and 1:1 gear in high range takes me well beyond 70mph.. how fast do you think he's gonna go?

Low range (NP205), 1:1 gets me going plenty fast to bomb down green trails and catch some air.

md4wheelin wrote:

other then the motor the dodge drive train sucks. Front 60 has a vacuum disconnect and the transmission is a piece of shit unless you rebuild it with heavy duty parts.

'91's didn't have the CAD, they were external flange though.

Oh, and Rock's are 6.72's..

But what are you wanting to build? A general purpose trail rig? I'd do the 350/350 combo.. build the motor mildly, do a basic rebuild with good clutches & a shift kit in the trans, and rock out. By the way, I've got right at $1500 in my whole 5.3 engine and EFI setup, which is cheap for a 350 (real, not "I reckon it outta make") horsepower, 350lb-ft, semi-light, fuel injected engine that's nuts-reliable. Going modern doesn't have to cost a fortune.

You could post up a feeler for the buggy and see what you could get for it. But I think it might be more worth it to sell the rears and tires and not have to buy a donor truck.

Eskimo wrote:

I only have 42's

Only 42's.


What ever you do don't skimp on metal that you have to add or for the control arms. Plan well and seek second opinions. You have a shit ton of good ideas, it just helps to have thoughts and ideas from others to refine your build.

if i do swap out....i think i can get enough money from my axles and tires to get a nice set of larger tires for the rocks.......i will be going with 3 or 4 link front and rear and 1.3/4 x .25 wall control arms on the bottom

thinga'ma'rig wrote:

if i do swap out....i think i can get enough money from my axles and tires to get a nice set of larger tires for the rocks.......i will be going with 3 or 4 link front and rear and 1.3/4 x .25 wall control arms on the bottom

Go bigger.. strength increases with overall diameter much faster than with wall thickness, but the minimum I'd even consider for a rockwell rig is 2" .500 wall. I think I posted up the strength of wall thickness vs. size on here...

gotcha!! will do.

here's the thread...

https://mrr4x4cforum.editboard.com/general-4x4-discussion-f1/what-link-material-t2047-15.htm

For reference, 1.75" .250 DOM would be 2300lbs to bend in the lengths mentioned in my post (My lowers are kinda short, only about 35" total). 2" .500 is almost double that. 2" aluminum is right at 3 times that. Fortunately, there's some guy with a shop in Danville who can drill & tap that AL for ya... (But he's a real )


And yeah, 42's are small in the rockwell world! They also don't break things

i would try and go for some weight ideas and then base your drivetrain on those numbers

i know i need a 1.25 id tube.... i know the frame is quite heavy.......far as the tube i would need 2.25 tubing .5 wall to make it the 1.25 id (that is heavy)

THANKS FOR THE INPUT

thinga'ma'rig wrote:

i know i need a 1.25 id tube.... i know the frame is quite heavy.......far as the tube i would need 2.25 tubing .5 wall to make it the 1.25 id (that is heavy)

If you need 1.25 for your heims' thread, you actually want a 1" ID.. so 2" .5" wall would be good to go.. No weld-in adapters needed!