1973 Red Ryder shenanigans

[Mopdog]

Welcome to the hospital for those with CD. The Cruiser Disease is a serious ailment. They are worth it but prepare to throw a wad of cash at it. Enjoy the journey. If the destination is a completely finished 40, few people find it. There is always more to do.

 

[DKBrulles]

Replaced the head gasket and put it all back together this morning. Judging by the amount of gunk in the head this motor sat for a couple decades without running. Cleaned up the carb while it was off and did a little tuning. Driving it around today the motor is running a lot smoother so as long as it survives the week should be all good.

 

[greenbeasty]

OUTSTANDING!
If you start a frame off, your girl may be driving by the time you finish.

 

[DKBrulles]

Rattle canned the Santa Clause theme away and added City Racer headlights for the extra horsepower.
Color doesn't match perfect but a little dirt over the next day or so should camouflage it a bit.

 

[Living in the Past]

Would have left the bezel white it's original color. Curious on the tub. Have more picture than just the fromt. Ambulance doors didn't start until 1/75. They were available in other markets early. Would be curious to see how those are mounted. Earlier tailgate and barn doors models those rested on the outside of the tub. Ambulance doors fit flush. Considerd ambulance doors on my 68 years ago and ended up buying a later models already set up with them. Quite a project to install ambulance on an earlier model. Side doors are fairly easy. Did it to my 68 using 79 doord back in 1983.

 

[DKBrulles]

Would have left the bezel white it's original color. Curious on the tub. Have more picture than just the fromt. Ambulance doors didn't start until 1/75. They were available in other markets early. Would be curious to see how those are mounted. Earlier tailgate and barn doors models those rested on the outside of the tub. Ambulance doors fit flush. Considerd ambulance doors on my 68 years ago and ended up buying a later models already set up with them. Quite a project to install ambulance on an earlier model. Side doors are fairly easy. Did it to my 68 using 79 doord back in 1983.

Trust me, you don't want to see how they're mounted

 

[Living in the Past]

When I looked at doing it on my 68 realized what it would take to do it right. Before I ever got around to thinking serious about it I had purchased my 79. Then follow by my 76. When I see how much hard tops and ambulance doors sell for today these two cruisers were a steal.

 

[DKBrulles]

Ok, so after a long pause of just enjoying the cruiser around town for the last couple of years it's time to do a SBC swap. I've secured a donor vehicle with a rebuilt 350 so it's time to make a decision on the driveline.
Donor vehicle has the HM290 (NV3500) 5 speed manual, but since I can't find any info on people using this I'm guessing it's a no go. I wanted to just swap the entire driveline into the cruiser but the front driveshaft would be on the wrong side.
It seems the most popular option is an AA bellhousing from the 350 to the existing Toyota 4-speed and transfer case. That's the route I'm planning on now unless I'm missing a much easier way of doing this.
2nd option is full driveline swap with new front and rear axles. I can take the rear axle off the donor and source a decent front axle so this may be a much cheaper and easy option.

 

[pb4ugo]

The most popular SBC swap would be the stk 4 speed(H42)/tcase because it's the driveline that came with the 40. You can go with the H41 which is a similar trans housing and has a lower 1st gear. You will have to do research on what's involved. What you decide to swap in is really dependent on how you intend to use your 40. Swapping in a SBC allows for endless combinations to go behind it depending on how much work you want to do or how much you want to spend. The stk trans is very refined and can handle V8 power, the tcase is adequate. My 1st swap was stk 4 speed/tcase. Eventually went with a SM420/Dana 20 tcase with a centered rearend. It was more for wheeling and strength. My 2nd 40 with a SBC has a NV4500 and the stk 1 piece tcase. I love this setup. If I had to do this over again I would want to use the split case transfer case. It is a stronger case compared to the 1 piece unit. If your sourcing a stk 4 speed I would look at the FJ60 4 speed/split case set up. The FJ60 4 speed top plate moves the shift tower back so the shifter is located in the stk location and lands in the hole of the tranny hump and has the stronger split case. The FJ60 top plate can be bolted the the stk 40 4speed.

The problem with using a complete stk GM engine and driveline is the length.