1970 J2500

[Frank Ziebert]

Body off frame restoration of my dads truck. He bought it almost new in 70 and "used" it for many years. It finally ended up as a farm/yard truck so abused and worn out that it was not street legal. Dad died in 2009 and the truck went to my little brother who had plans for it but health precluded him from completing them. So it sat for 6 years. I agreed to do the resato and got started last year. This is the beginning.

[63J200atLSU]

Subscribed! Can't wait to see the progress!

[Frank Ziebert]

Subscribed! Can't wait to see the progress!

Neither can I. BTW love your signature line!

[63J200atLSU]

Neither can I. BTW love your signature line!

Haha! It's funny, I truly find that the more research and planning I do, the "luckier" I get with how well things turn out, but if anybody here or anywhere else thinks I know what I'm doing, I should probably warn them otherwise...

[Frank Ziebert]

Update
Used mechanics gloves and one finger fit loosely. It got caught and rolled up as I hit the trigger on the impact wrench.





























Found out it is a replacement D44 with posi. Factory axle that came with the truck was not a posi.

[63J200atLSU]

Getting it done! Be careful with those hands! That's a pretty crazy accident though. The general rule of thumb I've always heard is if it's a handheld device, like a angle grinder or sawzall, body saw, etc, use gloves. If it's a mounted device, like a lathe or bench grinder, don't, because you can get glove bits stuck in them and do a lot more damage. I'm more inclined to wear tight fitting gloves and use them with the grinder also... I've also made the mistake of being in a rush and not putting on my gloves when using the angle grinder with a rapid strip disc on it. Hit the last knuckle of my thumb, and it felt like my finger had been stepped on, shot, hit with a hammer and cut open simultaneously. There was much fussing from the girlfriend.

[EKWagoneer]

Frank- That should be a Dana 18 transfer case. They were used up to 1971, or thereabouts. Rear axle would be a Dana 44 I think. Front might be Dana 27 or 30? Get that finger healed!

Hope that helps.
Ely

[mud89]

Nice two-ton j-truck, good luck for the resto !

Some specs for a '70 J2500 with the Dauntless 350ci :
- rear axle : Dana 44 semi-floating (w/ locking differential option : Trac-Lok)
- front axle : Dana 44 full-floating (Dana 27 for a wagoneer)
- standard transmission : 3 speeds T15A
- optional transmissions : 4 speeds T18, or auto TH400
- TC : Dana 20

By the way , do you have a sticker in the cab, driver side, with the production date (and VIN) ?

[Frank Ziebert]

Nice two-ton j-truck, good luck for the resto !

Some specs for a '70 J2500 with the Dauntless 350ci :
- rear axle : Dana 44 semi-floating (w/ locking differential option : Trac-Lok)
- front axle : Dana 44 full-floating (Dana 27 for a wagoneer)
- standard transmission : 3 speeds T15A
- optional transmissions : 4 speeds T18, or auto TH400
- TC : Dana 20

By the way , do you have a sticker in the cab, driver side, with the production date (and VIN) ?

Thanks for the reply.
I have verified the rear is a D44 with positraction and a GD tapered axle! The tranny is a TH400 and the TC is a D20.

[Frank Ziebert]

Frank- That should be a Dana 18 transfer case. They were used up to 1971, or thereabouts. Rear axle would be a Dana 44 I think. Front might be Dana 27 or 30? Get that finger healed!

Hope that helps.
Ely

Ely both axles are D44. Front is open and rear is positract. Dad replaced so much stuff on this truck over the years I have to guess at a lot of what I find. He was the original - no offense here- red neck repairer. If it was available and he could somehow make it work he did. "No sense spending money I don't need to........."

These pictures are old. I am in the start rebuilding stage. Fixing all the crap stuff takes time as you will see in future post. The finger healed just fine. Thanks for asking. Doc wanted to X-ray but as a ski patroller I had seen so many of these type injuries I didn't think it was necessary. After 2 weeks the awful blue/green/yellow color faded and I could move the finger again. Now all is well.

Did I mention how much I hate my DeWalt 1/2 inch impact wrench-----for several reasons!

[Frank Ziebert]

Progress. Had all the picture in a logical order but Photobucket rearranged them upon upload.

[EKWagoneer]

Good that you know what the axles and t-case are. I was going off the top of my head with my information. D18 and D20 are quite similar, also.

Good luck with everything else!
Ely

[Achilles]

Nice work. Subscribed

[Frank Ziebert]

Good that you know what the axles and t-case are. I was going off the top of my head with my information. D18 and D20 are quite similar, also.

Good luck with everything else!
Ely

Sometimes there are delays in post. I had figured out and posted the specifics before I saw/read your post. I appreciate your time and information. Thank you.

[Frank Ziebert]

Getting almost caught up with pictures verses build actual progress