amc20 swaping bigger

[rigger]

I have an 81 lorado rebuilt 360 cam,carb,intake,.30 overbore,balanced,everthing but heads as i ran low on flow now when the engine whent
i new i wanted more than it had.
5000Km after break i jump on it
tranny goes down hard not a problem
there are lots for sale cheap paid 500$ canadian for another r&r tranny new torque
next amc20 is in chunks behind me as i launch
off the lights no problem ihave a parts truck
r&r rear diff this one lasts 4 mnths.
TWO FULL days (and nights) wheeling in the great canadian rockies and well on my way home well lets just say i could not just drop
the drive shaft ond be on my merry way.
so i want to swap in more beef with out to many mods (and yes i do abuse my fsj 40% drag racing 40% trails 20%driving like a white man
100% abuse) and i know im due to have parts fail but not complete distruction of my drive line i have to say my 208 is not the junk others say and d44 fr diff it will stay right where it is. so if you offer ideas andor info please do even if i have to beef up another amc20 thanx for your time rigger

[joe]

Rigger, as hard as you run...I see D60's front and rear in your future. ;)

[rigger]

will they go in easy my friends all drive chev so they are good for little other than emotinal suport :rolleyes:

[ritepath]

Sounds like you need an AMX for the strip.

[joe]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rigger:
will they go in easy?<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

If you mean will they bolt-in? No.
You'll have to at least move the spring pads. May have to have tubes/axle shafts shorted, steering geometry, possible tire clearance probs, front shaft clearance prob maybe, new driveshafts, and you may have to swap trans/transfer cases depending on what they came from and what side the diffs are on.
"Some fabrication required".

[rigger]

ok thanks Joe it sounds like d60's are a little beyond my ability and my price range
maybe. i weld soso and i can take any thing apart and put it back together. can i run a 60 in the back and keep a d44 up front? and if so what type of rig would you take it out of for the least amount of fabrication possible? do j3500 or j4500 have d60's what about a chev 14 bolt or ford 9 in the back is it possible to beef an amc20 ? I have heard 76-80 chev diffs will just about bolt in
any way lots of ?'s hard to find answers i thank you all for your help (please keep it comming) :confused:

[joe]

<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by rigger:
do j3500 or j4500 have d60's <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Sure you can run a D60 and D44 front but no those above are 1/2 tons w/D44's. To get a D60 rear in the earlier J-series you'll need to look at a J-3700/3800 or J-4700/4800 but they'll have the diff offset to the pass side and you'll need a centered diff. Your easiest swap would be a D60 from a 1980-87 J-20. The pre-80 J-20 diffs are also offset to the right.
You'd still have to relocate the spring pads but that's minor.
The wheels will be 16" and 8 bolt though so you'll need to either match the axle ends to either end or carry two different spares. You'll also need to swap axle gears in one end cause your 81 has either 2.73's or 3.31's and an 80 up J-30 will have 3.73's.

[Agent Orange]

It would not be to terribly difficult to put in 60s but it will be expensive. You can find a rear 60 or corp 14 bolt for around 450-600 but the stinker is that you'll need a ford front 60 which is harder to come by and typically runs around 1000-1200. It is my understanding that ford spring perches are the same distance apart as our FSJs. I think I saw that on a post here recently. I personally am about to swap in a corp 14 bolt for the rear and I will probably stick a ford 60 up front. My other option is to swap the np208 for a dana 300 so I'll have a passenger side drop and will be able to use a chevy/gm front 60, since I'm about one of these in a trade. Based on you usage of your Jeep you definitely need to go 1 ton. I wouldn't worry about shortening the axle shafts, wider is better and shortening is REAL expensive.