Have you thought about putting the 60 body on the truck frame?
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Builds Stevo's 6BT60 Build Thread (1 Viewer)
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Cool build! Just out of curiousity, how does the Dodge kingpin front compare to the Chevy KP 60, just starting to look into a swap myself...?
Cheers!
Cheers!
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Yeah, I did think about doing that but the thing that killed that idea was the amount of work I just put into the suspension of the cruiser. I really like the setup that the cruiser has currently, and after going through all of the work to do a frame swap already I would rather just make the additional crossmembers I would need to hold the new drivetrain than have to worry making all of the mounts necessary for the body then redo the suspension.
I'm not exactly sure, I think that the dodge and chevy D60's are pretty similar being low pinion. Whereas the ford axle is different because it is high-pinion. I know there are some differences knuckle-wise but I can't remember off of the top of my head.
Here is a pretty good link for some info on the axles:
http://www.pirate4x4.com/tech/billavista/60_front/
what are you going to do to the front suspension to make it handle the extra weight of the Cummins? "cody c" has a cummins and NV4500 in his 80, and it came with airbags to make for the extra weight.
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I'm running FJ62 rear leafs up front with an AAL, so I think I should be ok. If not I can always take apart another leaf pack and beef them up.
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Not too much has been happening, I am still trying to figure out where I will be working on this swap. I also have been trying to gather components as well.
I have two leads for possible transmission setups. The first choice would be an Eaton 5 or 6 speed. Hopefully by Wednesday I should know if one is available.
If that falls through I have a line on a worked up Clark 280VO. I am still trying to gather information on this transmission so if anyone has dealt with them before any input would be great.
I have two leads for possible transmission setups. The first choice would be an Eaton 5 or 6 speed. Hopefully by Wednesday I should know if one is available.
If that falls through I have a line on a worked up Clark 280VO. I am still trying to gather information on this transmission so if anyone has dealt with them before any input would be great.
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Yeah I had done a google search but it really didn't turn up much.
It seems to be a pretty solid transmission. I would rather get an Eaton due to better parts availability, but if push comes to shove I'll make it work.
The only info I found out is that it was commonly used in f600's to 5 ton trucks and it has an overdrive.
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The Ford Truck forum thread said only one version was overdrive. I remember that some shop in Missouri was offering them rebuilt for swaps into early broncos and other vehicles about 15 or 20 years ago.
This post seemed like good info to me:
Clark 5 speed info
An overdrive would be nice, and the NP542 and NV4500 have them, but still leaves you with the 6.69/3.50/1.69/1.00 gear spread on 1st through 4th. Usually this means 1st gear is so low we almost never use it, most drivers leave a stop sign in 2nd. The other problem comes when you're drivin' along in 4th and traffic slows down a bit and the engine starts to buck and chug a bit so you drop it down into 3rd. But 3rd gear gives you 1.69 times the rpm you had in 4th. Maybe 1200 RPM was to low for 4th gear, but dropping into third gives you more than 2K, which might well be more than you wanted. How about if the next gear was only 45-50% more, then dropping down would give you 1700 or so. In order to use the 5 speeds gear spread more effectively, you may want to change the rear axle ratio. If the rear axle ratio was more highway friendly, overdrive might not be needed and 1st gear could actually become useful. heres an example- say we have a truck with 4.56 gears in the axle and a NP 435 tranny, and 35 inch tall tires. This truck will turn just over 3300 to go 75 mph on the freeway. And it will suck up a tremendous amount of fuel while doing it. Usually the driver will start off in 2nd, (3.50x4.56= 15.96 crawl) because the the 1st gear is too low (6.69x4.56= 30+, overkill). Now if we swap out that NP435 and put in a Clark 285V (6.99/4.09/2.24/1.46/1.00) AND change the axle(s) to 3.50, we get a whole new picture: 75 mph on the freeway is now only 2550 and we get a lot better mileage. And if we still leave corners in 2nd, we have a crawl of 14.3, if we actually use 1st gear as it is intended, we have 24.5. AND we have smaller rpm drops between gears. Whats not to like ? The only problem I can imagine is the bell housing issue. But since lots of these Clarks came behind 361&391FTs, this would seem to make an excellent upgrade for 4 spd FE powered trucks.
This post seemed like good info to me:
Clark 5 speed info
An overdrive would be nice, and the NP542 and NV4500 have them, but still leaves you with the 6.69/3.50/1.69/1.00 gear spread on 1st through 4th. Usually this means 1st gear is so low we almost never use it, most drivers leave a stop sign in 2nd. The other problem comes when you're drivin' along in 4th and traffic slows down a bit and the engine starts to buck and chug a bit so you drop it down into 3rd. But 3rd gear gives you 1.69 times the rpm you had in 4th. Maybe 1200 RPM was to low for 4th gear, but dropping into third gives you more than 2K, which might well be more than you wanted. How about if the next gear was only 45-50% more, then dropping down would give you 1700 or so. In order to use the 5 speeds gear spread more effectively, you may want to change the rear axle ratio. If the rear axle ratio was more highway friendly, overdrive might not be needed and 1st gear could actually become useful. heres an example- say we have a truck with 4.56 gears in the axle and a NP 435 tranny, and 35 inch tall tires. This truck will turn just over 3300 to go 75 mph on the freeway. And it will suck up a tremendous amount of fuel while doing it. Usually the driver will start off in 2nd, (3.50x4.56= 15.96 crawl) because the the 1st gear is too low (6.69x4.56= 30+, overkill). Now if we swap out that NP435 and put in a Clark 285V (6.99/4.09/2.24/1.46/1.00) AND change the axle(s) to 3.50, we get a whole new picture: 75 mph on the freeway is now only 2550 and we get a lot better mileage. And if we still leave corners in 2nd, we have a crawl of 14.3, if we actually use 1st gear as it is intended, we have 24.5. AND we have smaller rpm drops between gears. Whats not to like ? The only problem I can imagine is the bell housing issue. But since lots of these Clarks came behind 361&391FTs, this would seem to make an excellent upgrade for 4 spd FE powered trucks.
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The one that I am thinking of picking up is an overdrive model.
I mainly wanted to put a feeler out to see if anyone ever had any issues with these transmissions.
I mainly wanted to put a feeler out to see if anyone ever had any issues with these transmissions.
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As an update, I found a place to work on this swap so as soon as I can get both trucks over there the swap will get started.
Also I took the dodge out for some wheeling and almost made it up and over a giant hill of peat moss. Not too bad for only having 2WD
Also I took the dodge out for some wheeling and almost made it up and over a giant hill of peat moss. Not too bad for only having 2WD
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Fortunately my donor truck is still running and driving, it makes pulling the cruiser around a breeze. Its gonna be sweet having this much torque in a cruiser.
I pulled both of them over by the shop last night to powerwash as much of the mud and grime off of them as I could. I learned early on like most people that working on a mud encrusted truck is nowhere near pleasant.
Today is also moving day so I'll post up some pics of the new shop I'll be doing the swap. Hopefully there aren't too many issues with the move.
I pulled both of them over by the shop last night to powerwash as much of the mud and grime off of them as I could. I learned early on like most people that working on a mud encrusted truck is nowhere near pleasant.
Today is also moving day so I'll post up some pics of the new shop I'll be doing the swap. Hopefully there aren't too many issues with the move.
"makes pulling the cruiser a breeze" ... I LOVE it. But really Stevo... ahem, you know the only noble thing is to get that powerplant INTO the cruiser as soon as possible. I mean, no self-respecting cruiser can go on like this for too long... being pulled around like that. It's belittling to a truck with such a lineage..... the Cummins not resting well until sitting low in the cruiser now enclosed within a machine which better suits its larger-than-life legacy!
Haha. I must say though in all honesty----all these careful things you are doing to the 6BT and to the various pieces of the FJ....beautiful.
Actually, you just gave me a thought for a poster's comment on my dilemma of colors and the fact I've named mine Rastforte. Thank you.
Haha. I must say though in all honesty----all these careful things you are doing to the 6BT and to the various pieces of the FJ....beautiful.
Actually, you just gave me a thought for a poster's comment on my dilemma of colors and the fact I've named mine Rastforte. Thank you.
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Hey thanks buddy. I really am gonna try to get this project off the ground as soon as possible. I still need to drive the dodge over to the shop and start pullin things apart.
I think I'm gonna hit some of the problem areas with the 6BT before I throw it in though. I'm planning on fully rebuilding the VE pump and also redoing a bunch of gaskets and freeze plugs on the block as well. Not to mention some painting too,
The cruiser needs a little love as well, I plan on really getting that engine compartment clean and touching up some spots that might need some additional work,
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Here's my baby all loaded up and ready to go. And also the new shop I will be working at.
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The dodge is over at the shop now.
Unfortunately I've been sick the past couple of days so not much else has been done. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be able to start pulling stuff out.
Unfortunately I've been sick the past couple of days so not much else has been done. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be able to start pulling stuff out.
Inspiration... maybe?
Stevo--- just read up on the stuff you were wrestling with on the 2F in your other thread. Sorry to hear 'bout that! Guess it was the 6BT's time. LOL, I actually thought the pics at first (not realizing you were working on the 2F) were you replacing the mains on the 6BT. Reminds me I had a weekend there before my 6BT went in that I thought to myself how I should just bite the bullet and replace mains/seals then before it was in the rig.
Other priorities have a way of redefining what ends up gettin' done, no?
So, hey got some motivation for you....put up some videos of my rig. Not the best quality and despite me acting like a dork in front of the camera.... it might help you look *forward* vs the path you just left!
Again, my hats off to ya for the sheer amount of careful thought you've put into the different ways your rig's systems should go based upon your final goals for the thing! In fact, there's a few guys on this site like that and my hat goes off to them as well.
... get better & remember the ol adage, "The Road is better than the Inn".
https://forum.ih8mud.com/expedition-builds/453887-long-overdue-rastarig-buildup-7.html#post7483772
Stevo--- just read up on the stuff you were wrestling with on the 2F in your other thread. Sorry to hear 'bout that! Guess it was the 6BT's time. LOL, I actually thought the pics at first (not realizing you were working on the 2F) were you replacing the mains on the 6BT. Reminds me I had a weekend there before my 6BT went in that I thought to myself how I should just bite the bullet and replace mains/seals then before it was in the rig.
Other priorities have a way of redefining what ends up gettin' done, no?
So, hey got some motivation for you....put up some videos of my rig. Not the best quality and despite me acting like a dork in front of the camera.... it might help you look *forward* vs the path you just left!
Again, my hats off to ya for the sheer amount of careful thought you've put into the different ways your rig's systems should go based upon your final goals for the thing! In fact, there's a few guys on this site like that and my hat goes off to them as well.
... get better & remember the ol adage, "The Road is better than the Inn".
https://forum.ih8mud.com/expedition-builds/453887-long-overdue-rastarig-buildup-7.html#post7483772
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Hey Rasta, the truck is looking nice. You gotta love this engine.
Following your build has given me tons of motivation and hopefully the end result works out according to plan.
In other news in terms of my transmission I have decided on the Clark 280VO. The guy I'm buying it off of built it for a pulling truck. The best thing is it was only hooked to a sled once so its practically brand new. And if it can withstand that type of abuse I'm pretty sure it will hold up to anything I put it through.
I'm also picking up a NP205 from him so that will work out nicely.
Following your build has given me tons of motivation and hopefully the end result works out according to plan.
In other news in terms of my transmission I have decided on the Clark 280VO. The guy I'm buying it off of built it for a pulling truck. The best thing is it was only hooked to a sled once so its practically brand new. And if it can withstand that type of abuse I'm pretty sure it will hold up to anything I put it through.
I'm also picking up a NP205 from him so that will work out nicely.
That's great Stevo --- I don't know much about that tranny except it went in some of the big Ford series trucks. Your combo sounds like it'll be tank-tough like you said!
