Engine & Solid Axle Swap Build

[greg0187]

This isn't exactly moderator talk but I don't want to release my plans for my truck to the public just yet. But maybe some of you guys would like to hear what I am planning, and possibly give me some feedback. Basically I'm going to strip the drivetrain (engine, trans, suspension) out of the truck. I found that pre 83 model Jeep CJ5 front dana 30 axles have a 53" wheel mounting surface (WMS) to WMS. Same as mine. So I'm going to get two of them. The differential chunk on the 30's have a passenger side drop (USA), drivers side Japan. So for the rear I'm going to swap the axle tubes and knuckles so the chunk will be on the same side as the front and mount them via 4-link. In other words the driveshafts will be inline with each other staggerd to the passenger side. Then I plan on mounting a FWD transaxle eng transversly, where the CV axles will become driveshafts. I'm not exactly sure what type of engine yet but I'm thinking about a Honda 4 cyl b/c they are the only ones with the accesory drive on the left hand side where I can tuck part of the transmission under the cab with the accesories facing the rear of the truck. Then...somehow lock the diff in the transaxle (Welding?/Spool?) One cool thing is that since I'm going to be using front axles... 4 wheel steering will definatly come into play. Its not going to come together quickly but I'm determined that it will work.

-Greg

[Timetripper]

Greg, That sounds great. 4 wheel steer = holy crap turning radius!
FYI They make all kinds of LSD for FWD Honda's ala Torsen, etc
Props for the plan

[Mighty Milt]

i don't see why it wouldn't work... be careful with honda some of the engines rotate the wrong direction. i don't remember what year group exactly, but they're out there and will screw up a lot of well laid out plans. the four wheel steering sounds like a lot of fun... seems like it would be easy enough to do the swap since they are both straight axles you just need some leaf springs up front and custom drive shafts.

[Mighty Milt]

the more i think about it, where are you going to put the motor? you would have to cut some of the bed out since it's an upright motor but then wouldn't it be so far back you would have an extreme drive shaft angle to the rear and a very very short driveshaft? or will you have enough of a lift kit to still keep it under the truck? not trying to shoot down your idea at all, it just popped into my head.

what i had thought about for an engine swap was putting a 4cyl toyota 22re out of a 4x4 facing backwards in the bed, running the rear output to the front and the front output to the rear. flipping the axles over so it would drive the right direction.

[greg0187]

If you look at the orientation of most FWD's the accessory drive side of the engine is the long shaft side and the other is the short shaft. I was thinking that the short shaft side would be the front driveshaft. Most pre 06 Hondas, if your looking under the hood, have the accessory drive on the right. This way I can tuck some of the tranny under the cab. I'm going to put a bump in the bed floor to make room for the engine. I measured the 2.2L engine in my Saturn and the engine/tranny is shorter than stock engine/tranny by ~6". But it is 6-7" taller.

-Greg

[greg0187]

what i had thought about for an engine swap was putting a 4cyl toyota 22re out of a 4x4 facing backwards in the bed, running the rear output to the front and the front output to the rear. flipping the axles over so it would drive the right direction

I'll have to think about this one for a while.

-Greg

[greg0187]

Hey Milt,
Do you think these swagged steel tubes will be strong enough for 4-link bars?

http://www.afabcorp.com/AFCO_Dynatec...Code=hp_swaged

[Mighty Milt]

i don't see why they wouldn't be... those look like they'll stand up to the abuse you're gonna give them

a lot of stuff like that i used to make out of chr mo tubing and threading the inside... but for the price of those i'd do it.

[greg0187]

Thats what I was thinking. I was gonna make my own but they have em in different lengths, and the price is good. My chasis guy was trying to talk me into them, he said if there strong enough for that (pointing to a pro-stock race car) they're strong enough for your little truck. They have aluminum as well for about the same price, but I figured the steel ones will probably hold up better to being hit by debris. Thanks for the input.

-Greg

[Mighty Milt]

greg,

had a thought pop in my head late last night and it kept me awake for a bit. you plan on putting a fwd engine in your truck and running a driveshaft to each diff, right? then how will you control where the power goes? in essence you will have 3 differentials and no control. without a locker on each diff it will be a random one wheel drive, won't it? since there is a diff in the fwd trans it will put power to the axle of least resistance and you won't have control like you do now, rear or 4wd? and what are you going to do about high and low range?

[Timetripper]

You can get LSD's for most of the FWD transaxle's which would take care of the center diff.
That would make it a AWD ala Jeep Quadra Trac
A couple of Allan's Posi kits front & back and that would take care of that problem
The only thing would be as you noted Milt - no Low range

[greg0187]

Yea, without lockers or an LSD it will be AWD (aka..1 wheel drive). I think I'm going to lincoln lock the transaxle diff or at least maybe an LSD but I prefer to weld it up or even better if I can find a spool. If I need 2WD I figure I can unlock the hubs in the front or rear as needed. As far as I can tell I won't need a H/L gear as the center diff provides the reduction already. I'm trying to get 3.54:1 gears in the axles so I believe the top speed will only be around 55-60MPH depending on the tire size I go with. So it should be geared plenty low. Does that sound right?

-Greg

[Mighty Milt]

yeah that seems like it will work, i was thinking along the same lines, Lincoln locker or spool and finding a diff you can actuate like the stock unit up front.

[greg0187]

Damn, You can buy everything for the early 80's Dana 30's except for the complete assembly itself. One would think that it would be easy to find a pair of these antique axles LOL. I think these axles will be perfect for what I need given their size. I'm getting there though.

Milt, do you think you can have me some link-bar mounting tabs made on that waterjet you have access to? I can try to make my own but It sure would be nice to have someone else fab some for me.

-Greg

[Mighty Milt]

i have four 6'x12' water jets, and it's so slow right now that two are sitting idle... i think i can squeeze it in... lol

give me a good drawing with dimensions and let me know what material you need it made out of and i can do it after work one day.