1969 Wagon, What should I do?

[91GWag]

I found a 69 Wag that has been off the road since 96. No front floors baaaad paint seats and headliner ok. Needs a dash pad, The frame is SOLID surface rust but not like my 91 arounfd the gas tank :D . It had the Buick 350 turbo 400 combo, does anybody no what the transfer case model would be? I can probably pick it up for $600. Still has old bias ply snowies and 5 lug rims. She would need alot of work, not to mention my wife might kill me.

Oh yeah, It has a custom 4 core radiator and a 71 Buick 455 Stage 1.

Any information on this year would be great, I wonder what was the stock gear ratio? Looks like d44's front and rear but I didn't have a machete to hack through the brush to check the diff tags for gear ratio's. The motor fired right up, no blow-by needs exhaust and probably everything else.

Thanks for your help

:confused:

[RdHawg]

Hi, I have that jeep! Well except for the 455 part. Mine works well off-road but not quite like the one your talking about.
If it's stock it has a 27AF upfront a 44 rear and 3.73 gears. Xcase is a dana20. don't put a cherry bomb exhaust on it - cheap but need earplugs @70Mph!

[joe]

Stock configuration would be a D27A front axle, D44 rear. D20 x-case.
If it left the factory with a TH400/AT it came w/3.73 gears standard in the axles or 4.09's optional. If it came with a manual trannie stock gears were 4.09's with 4.27's and 4.88's optional.

[TimB]

My '70 had 3.31's in the diffs. Have since swapped the Dana 27 front for Dana 44 and the 19 spline two-piece tapered Dana 44 rear for a 30 spline one-piece flanged Dana 44 with 3.54's. Am running 30x9.50R15 tires which seems to be a good combo for those gears. 31x10.50R15's would be okay if you have the 3.73's, of course with that big block 455, you could probably run 33's with not much problems.

[jeepbob]

a lot of those old dogs had 3.31 axles as std gears. The t400/d20 is worth the truck alone as a kit to put a d20 behind a t400/qtrac is around $600 to $650 from AA and does not include the t/case. The D27 is the weak point as they don't hold up to 360 power (let alone hard landings) but a later D44 could be swaped in. All the body parts will interchange with your 91, so you could retro the 91. The 455 would be a transplant.

[Crazy_Jeepman]

Well, I would hate for you to be killed by your wife. I am hopeing to move to Upstate NY so I could save your life and buy it and take it home if it is still there in a few months. I would be willing to save a FSJers life like that. I am just that sort of guy. :D :D

[krek]

Bringing this back from the dead...

I see a reference here to replacing the D27A with a later D44, but doesn't the D44 have the opposite drop?

I've been searching trying to figure out if the 350/th400/D20 combo from my '70 will drop into my '88 GW frame without swapping out the front axle.

[stevo]

I am currently swapping out the D27 in my Super for a D44 from a 76 wag. I think 74-79 had passenger side drops. To answer your question, no. You would need use a passenger drop axle to use the D20.

I got my 44 with discs for $100.

[J4GRAND]

I see a reference here to replacing the D27A with a later D44, but doesn't the D44 have the opposite drop?

Dana 44s were used in the Wags and N/T Cherokees from 74 to 79 with a passenger side drop. You would need to find one of those axles if you wanted to put the 350/TH400/D20 combo in your 88.

[krek]

I have a set of D44s from a '79 Cherokee so I'm good there.

This is a stupid question (and I searched) but will the gears and disk brakes from the '89 D44 fit the '79 D44?

[Tobynine9]

a 455 buick motor sure would be sweet. those things are torque monsters.

[J10Mike]

I have a set of D44s from a '79 Cherokee so I'm good there.

This is a stupid question (and I searched) but will the gears and disk brakes from the '89 D44 fit the '79 D44?
Ya Jeff...The rotors and brake componants are the same. The gears will work. But, if you are going to all the trouble to reset gears, wouldn't it be better to go with 4.10s or numerically higher?

[krek]

But, if you are going to all the trouble to reset gears, wouldn't it be better to go with 4.10s or numerically higher?
The '89 has 4.10s in it now... I'll need to swap over so they continue to match.