need some help with building my offroader

[Rent-A-Cop]

well all i have to star with is the frame,axles, 360 motor, and the fire wall and dash of an 83 chero NT. im gonna cut most of the floor thats attached to the fire wall and make custom pans that can be romved from around the tranny and t-case if work needs to be done. what kind of trannys and t-cases should i look for and what gears? it has the 2.73s now i was thinking about useing some stock m715 axles. just looking for some input as this will be my first attampt at making a trial rig. im not intrested in rock crawling just playin in the mud and going on some moderate trails.

[FSJ Thing]

Well, For moderate mudding and mild trails, what you have to start with, you might as well go all out and go for the gusto. For a tranny, I recommend sticking with an automatic, because they are alot easier to handle if you have to start out on a hill, and easier to get moving if you're already in the middle of a mud bog. Either a TH400 or TF727 is good. If you expect to upgrade the 360 for some serious HP, you can get 400s and 727s built by companies like "Jet" to handle upwards around 1000 ponies. T-cases are up in the air. I've always liked full time cases like the NP203, and I'm getting a Q-trac to see what I think of them. For proven toughness though, I don't think you'll do better than an NP205. I'm sure you'll get some more input from other guys, but that's my two cents.

[River Beast]

NP205 is my choice if I had nothing at all...

D60's for axles or the 14FF in the rear... BEEFY

1 ton junk is the route you should take... then you have to think about the build of the 360.. is it worth it>>>> or just drop in a 500 caddy....

[Rent-A-Cop]

im not set on using the 360 right now, ive looked at a couple of catalogs and saw the prices for the master rebuild kits just for stock performance and the prices are up around $3000. if i can get my hands on a caddy 500 i would difanately go that route. i shall see. but for tranny and t-case i thing i will go the a built up th400 and np205. and some one ton axels. what about gearing? since this wont go on the road i was thinking about getting something lower than 4:10. any sugestions. thanks for the help guys

[Will Morris]

What size tires are you going to run ultimately? If you're not going to drive this thing on the road, then I'd go as low as possible in the axles since you're going to have a modest low range with an NP205. Are you planning on towing this thing with your 1/2 ton Dodge? If you do, then you really need to worry about weight. CUCCV axles come with 4.56 gears which is nice for 33-38" tires.

Will

[Rent-A-Cop]

im planing to stay with some 35s maybe 38s. as for weight im gonna kept it kinda light but not so light that i cant get traction. the only part of the old body will be the fire wall, everything else im building from scrtch with 2in tubing and 2x2 and 1x1 square tubing and skining in alminum sheets. i havent worked out the gas tank yet probly just buy a fuel cell to keep that part simple. as for towing i will be using my Dodge if it can handle the finished product, i used it today to pull some cars around and it did great, but it was in 4X4

[River Beast]

4.56's would be good.... 4.88's would be much better since you are building for non-pavement

[Rent-A-Cop]

ok let me get things sorted here

engine- caddy 500 maybe
tranny- th400
t-case- np205
axles- 1 ton axles
gears- 4.88
tires- 35s or 38s

hmmmmm i dont think its gonna be ready for the 2004 East Coast Invasion but maybe the following year. what trucks should i check out in the local bone yards for the axles? any of the big 3 will work up until they did the IFS crap? i guess it would be best to try and get most of these parts from the same truck as everything would already work together nicely. im just not sure on the engine. the main one avlible around here are chevys, but i like the sound of having a caddy 500. thanks for all the help guys, i cant say it enough but i can say i will be seeking your wisdom alot more as i get further into the project, i plan on using POR-15 on everything so i wont have to worry about rust. and im also gonna fab up a snow plow for this thing so i can plow my driveway in the winter :D that should be an intresting looking piece

[FSJ Thing]

Just another thought, but gete the Caddy 500 with the tranny still attached. I believe they came with TH400s behind them. Then keep looking on ebay for a "divorced" NP205. You can connect the caddy tranny to the NP205 with a short drive shaft. This will allow you to move the t-case farther back and you can have easier angles for your front drive shaft. I think the last one I saw on e-bay went for around $300. Wait until you get the t-case before you get axles. This way you'll know what side drop you need in the front axle, and you'll wan't the front and rear axles out of the same rig so that they'll have matched track width. O.K., now I've given you 4 cents, I'll shut up until I have 6 cents for you.

[River Beast]

axles....

I have military CUCV axles rated at 1.25 ton... 4.56's in the D60 (open) and 14FF is Detroited

they are equivlent to a 84 K30 pickup

Go here for a good list of donor rigs for axles...

Billavista's Dana 60 Bible (http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/60_front/index.html)

Billavista's 14 Bolt full Floater Bible (http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/14b_bible/index.html)

[Wagillac]

Originally posted by Wago Thing:
Just another thought, but gete the Caddy 500 with the tranny still attached. I believe they came with TH400s behind them. Then keep looking on ebay for a "divorced" NP205. You can connect the caddy tranny to the NP205 with a short drive shaft. This will allow you to move the t-case farther back and you can have easier angles for your front drive shaft. Depending on the wheelbase your rear drive shaft might get too short if you use the super long(12+"?) Th-400 tail shaft/housing that was used in caddilacs. I think you would at least need to switch out to a short 2wd tail shaft on the th-400.

[ October 08, 2003, 05:42 PM: Message edited by: Wagillac ]

[Rent-A-Cop]

ok, i think i have it, im gonna try to find a mid 70s to mid 80s chevy k30 and rob it of its drive train and possible swap the motor for something that makes a lil more torque. thanks for those links River Beast. thanks for the help to WagoThing, and Will Morris, and Wagillac. i want to use as much from the same donor as possible because i dont feel im ready to tackle swapping out tail shafts and other stuff. maybe as time goes on and i gain a lil more knowledge and insight in doing the processes. but i may have to go that way if i cant find everythting i need from one or a few of the same donors. right now im looking at using a chevy 454 for the engine right now as there are few caddys around here

[Rent-A-Cop]

if i do find a caddy engine at a price i cant pass up expect alot of dumb and annoying questions from me :D :D as i know nuthing about caddies. thanks again for all the help everyone

[Rent-A-Cop]

hmmm, after looking through one of my mags ytoday i saw a short listing for PAW parts, and the prices for the master rebuild kits are only about $600 instead of $3000. so i think im gonna keep my 360 for now just tgo save some time and money. i thought about ordering an Performer intake package that includes a carb and cam &lifters. and after i get me a daily drive Jeep ill yank the motor and put it in the daily driver. should i take the block to a machine shop and let them clean it and check it out before i dump over 1grand of parts into it? the motor runs now, its just weak

[FSJ Thing]

I think you should do it yourself! Not really a matter of if you can afford to have a shop rebuild it, but I think you'd learn alot from doing it yourself and be able to say "I did this" when you're done. You childrens and paines manual tells you how to tear it down and rebuild it, and if you have q's you know darn well we'll be here! I think you made the right decision to stick with the 360. The 360 will be able to turn the bigger axles and tires with 5.88s no problem. When you feel like you can use the power of a 500 caddy, then you can get the engine and tranny and swap guts till it fits! Don't be afraid to put some money in the 360. Rebuild it, upgrade the cam, higher compression pistons, intake manifold, carb, blahblahblah....you'll get more money out of it when you sell it to finance the 500, or you can shove it into another vehicle you buy later on that needs a motor! Do it!

EDIT>>>>If you mean just take it to a shop and have them boil it out and give it the black light check for cracks, it would be a good idea. Sorry I misunderstood what you said! tongue.gif

[ October 09, 2003, 07:41 PM: Message edited by: Wago Thing ]

[Rent-A-Cop]

yeah thats what i meant, i wouldbe pretty peeved if i did all that work to find out if got a hair crack some place in the block. will the th400 from the older rigs bolt up to my 360 as it is an 83

[Elliott]

Originally posted by krypt:
yeah thats what i meant, i wouldbe pretty peeved if i did all that work to find out if got a hair crack some place in the block. will the th400 from the older rigs bolt up to my 360 as it is an 83Yes, but you will need the TH400 torque converter, flex plate also if I'm correct, and the crank bushing.

[Rent-A-Cop]

thanks for that info Elliott, i wouldnt have known to get the flex plate or a crank bushing