Chevy 3/4 ton pickup axles under J10?

[Joe J-Truck]

Has anyone ever done this? I'm considering buying a 78 3/4 ton chev 4x4 with the 14 bolt corporate rear and dana 60 front. It's cheap. I want to swap the entire drivetrain in my 82 j10. What's it take to make the axles work?
Steering?

[64Trvlr]

Sounds like a good swap. By entire drivetrain do you mean the engine,trans,xfercase, and both axles? If so it should be a snap, all you'll need to do is fab the mounts, run exhaust and the little stuff and you're done.
:cool:

[Joe J-Truck]

Yes, the entire drivetrain including engine, trans, case and both axles.
My main concerns have to do with spring perch location on the chevy axle as opposed to the j10's and how well the steering parts will work together

[scotty]

no,no,no,that will never work. youd better just send that stuff ro me sos no one gets hurt tongue.gif ;)

just kiddin. the front axle perches are within 1/2 " or so of being the same. if it were me,id prolly use the jeep steering box,and fab some sort of high steering while youre at it. the rear will prolly have to have the perches moved.not real familiar with the 60 and 14 bolt,so i cant be of much help,i just know youll have one helluva tough truck when youre done...

[Joe J-Truck]

I was just looking at the mags and looks like chevies are spring over axle in front. It'd be sweet to incorporate that kinda setup
while retaining the jeep steering box.
My welder buddy owes me a favor and he'll fab whatever I want.
I think this SOA would net approx. 3-4" of additioanl lift up front. I already have a RC 3" lift kit with rear blocks in the rear. Think I'td be better to lift the rear with new springs (Skyjacker or comprable) with the RC blocks or fab something like riverbeast did?
Also how does a shackle flip work?
Maybe that's an option for me, but I havn't heard much about it.

[64Trvlr]

I'd go with the shackle flip and the springs over using blocks. It's going to be a nice strong rig. What engine are you using? And what gears?
:cool:

[Joe J-Truck]

OK, springs and shackle flip, get rid of the blocks.
Thanks for the input,
I'm going cash in hand to buy the chevy tomorrow morning. This truck has a "smokes-a-little" 350 and a th400 in it. My guess is 4.10 gears since its a 3/4 ton. I'll probably swap all that stuff as is right into my J10.
I've got a 454 long block and a 700r4 overdrive trans stashed in my garage. I want to rebuild both.
Once the rebuilt bigblock/OD combo is happening then I'll swap in really deep gears and lockers because this jeep will get 44" swampers eventually. This project will probably take awhile but will be worth it!

[Simontrips]

The rear axles from chevy and dodge are more narrow than the j-10.the rear springs will be the PITA.I bought 3/4 ton stuff from a 75 Dodge and was going to do the swap but I found a jeep dana 60 and went that route instead.It is possible but I would get out the tape measure,the rear springs will have to be moved in.Someone correct me if I am wrong but I had the dodge axles right there and they are definately more narrow .The front should not be no problem but expect a lot of work in the rear.

[Jake_S]

Joe, 3/4 ton Chevy's had the D44HD front axle, and the 1 tons had the D60 front. Also, if it is a 3/4 ton the rear axle has the smaller diameter ring gear and it's not a full floater. It has c-clip axles. I would check it out before I bought the truck. If it is a 3/4 ton, I would think real hard before I bought it, but if it's a 1 ton, then snap that baby up and start swapping.
Jake_S

[scotty]

i have read that the d60 was found n the front of some 3/4 tons,but never seen one to verify. actually in 78,the typical 3/4 ton front end would be a 10 bolt in a chevy.if its a gmc it would have a 44. chevy started using corporate stuff in 77,gmc kept the 44 till 79.

on the rear the full floating,1.5 inch,35 spline axleshaft,10.5" ring gear,removeable pinion, corporate 14 bolt is found in the rear of 2wd and 4wd 3/4 and one ton trucks. only real differrnece between 3/4 and 1 ton is the springs. ive also seen 44s and 10 bolts in 1 ton fronts. a front dana 60 is a rare find...

depends on your defination of cheap. if its real cheap,id buy it either which way,3/4 or 1 ton. youll get a 14 bolt either way,and a gm engine/trans xfer,and a front end that is at least equivalent to what youve got(much better if it is a 60 :D ),but with the pig on the correct side for the gm xfer.

good luck with your project,let us know how its going...

[scotty]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Simontrips:
The rear axles from chevy and dodge are more narrow than the j-10.the rear springs will be the PITA.I bought 3/4 ton stuff from a 75 Dodge and was going to do the swap but I found a jeep dana 60 and went that route instead.It is possible but I would get out the tape measure,the rear springs will have to be moved in.Someone correct me if I am wrong but I had the dodge axles right there and they are definately more narrow .The front should not be no problem but expect a lot of work in the rear.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

i dont know bout the dodge stuff,but the gm axles are definately wider.

the rear end swap is easy. there plenty of room on the tubes to put perches wherever you need em. if you make new mounts and move your leaf springs to match the perches,youve definately skinned that cat the hard way smile.gif

id definately say the front is the harder swap.the perches are in the right spots,but youll eed to deal with steering and shock mounts.

[Jake_S]

Scotty, the 3/4 ton 14 bolt has a smaller ring gear, 9.5" instead of the 10.5", it's also a semi floater w/ c-clips. The difference between the AMC 20 and a 3/4 ton 14 bolt wouldn't be worth the hassle of the swap.
Just my opinion,
Jake_S

[scotty]

jake_s,you are confused. there is a 9.5 inch,semifloating corp 14 bolt.it is found in 84 and up 3/4 and 1 ton trucks. the BIG corp 14 bolt(10.5 ring gear,1.5 inch axles,etc.) is found in 73 and up(to somewhere round 84) 3/4 and 1 ton trucks.

trust me,ive seen plenty of them smile.gif i almost bought a big 14 bolt out of a 2wd 3/4 ton truck awhile back. a frined just bought a set of 3/4 ton axles from a 78 pickup-8 lug "heavy" 10 bolt and big 14 bolt. a 78 will have the same-the big 14 bolt in the rear,wether its 3/4 or 1 ton.main difference is the springs,and in some cases,the front axle.

[Jake_S]

You sure Scotty? My Brother had an'83 3/4 ton Chevy that had the 9.5" ring gear and c-clipped axles in it. He thought he had the 10.5 ring gear, but found out that he didn't when he ordered new gears for it.
Jake_S

[scotty]

yes,i am positive.ive seen lots and lots of older 3/4 ton trucks. 1 tons are not as common as 3/4 ton,but the big 14 bolt is very common.ive seen em in junkyards in and local trading post papers for as cheap as $100.wouldnt be that way if ya only found em under the 1 tons.

your brother maybe had a late 83 that got the new version early,or maybe someone had swapped it in? 4wheel parts wholesalers list the 9.5" 14 bolt for 84 and up 3/4 and 1 ton chevy trucks.

dont take my word for it,though. smile.gif when you see a chevy truck with 8 lug wheels,stick your head under it and look at the rear end. if its got bolts on the front that let you remove the pinion without removing the rear cover,its the big 14 bolt. prolly at least 9 out of 10 trucks you look under this is what youll see. now look at the front.again,9 out of 10 times it will be a 10 bolt or a 44. now find the owner and ask him what year and if its 3/4 or 1 ton.

further questions? smile.gif

BTW, i do agree with ya that the 9.5 ring gear c clip 14 bolt is not much of an upgrade.

[Iron Horse]

My snow plow truck is a Chevy '76 3/4 ton with a 8400 GVW ("camper special"). It's got the big corp 14 bolt and what looks like a D44HD(not sure) up front with 4.10's. I wish it was a D60. When the plow truck gets retired, the wag is gettin some new legs. :D

[Joe J-Truck]

Thanks for all the replies! What a wealth of knowledge this club is. Well, that chevy truck didn't have a d60 up front, so I passed on it. Instead, I'm purchasing a set of axles I found from a 1 1/4ton 67 M175A military J-Truck. The front is a Dana 60, closed knuckle with cross-over steering. The rear is a Dana 70 heavy duty. Both are 5.88 ratio with drums. The ultra-low gears should be OK for the street once I have the 700r overdrive transmission and 44" tires installed. I'm planning to rebuild the trans with the toughest parts available so it can survive the grunt of the 454 going in front of it. Anyone have experience putting chevy mills in FSJs?

[Jake_S]

OK Scotty I beleive you! You are a very persistent guy, but then again, aren't all FSJ owners persistent?
Jake_S

[Joe J-Truck]

I love controversy! To add to the great 14 bolt debate, my crewcab work truck is a '73 chevy 3/4 ton 2wd converted to dualie with overload springs and a dump bed. It has the big corporate 14 bolt full-floater rear axle. The really cool thing about this vehicle is the guy I got it from swapped in a Buick 455 and it makes sick torque!