95 ex 351/C6/208-205 doubler - dana 60s in progress | Page 2 | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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95 ex 351/C6/208-205 doubler - dana 60s in progress

some of you are familiar with my explorer. this is what it looked like a few years ago. i have been visiting the explorer forums since 1998. it was stock when i got it and soon there were 31s on it.
Gabescov.jpg

stock with 3" of lift and 32" BFG Ats
before that was stock with 31"s

then a number of changes began. the biggest was the SAS with a dana30 and 33s
3alapha_4_17_008-med.jpg


after the thrid tranny broke i bought a new DD and thats when the fun began. my plan was to do a V8 drivetrain swap with 3/4 ton or heavier axles and big tires.

here is the primary donor vehicle
3broncobling-med.JPG

85 bronco with 351/C6 and what i think is a NP208 - it may be a bw 13-56 i will find out soon.
the bronco runs great! it has lots of power and runs very very smooth
3351-med.JPG
my plans are simple. keep the motor smooth and strong but add an RV style cam for low end torque. i may do the efi swap down the road (look at http://www.affordable-fuel-injection.com/cgi-bin/mof.cgi ) if i find the carb is not up to it but since some people claim to go all over tellico with a carburated vehicle then it may stay carbed for a while.

this is what the dodge looked like
3BEAST.jpg

this is what it looks like now
3deaddodge-med.JPG

ive been parting it out.

hereis the rear dana 60 that is going in the explorer, its from the dodge.
3dana60-med.JPG
 



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that might work too. not sur eif i know that many people with hilifts locally though.
 



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3d60gonwild-med.JPG

the celebration
3onherown2feet-med.JPG

the new fat butt
it doesnt stick out the wheel wells too bad - less than before so when i get the new tires it will look super awesome.
3nottoowide-med.JPG

i know these wheels are as ugly as they get with fresh paint and wire brushing they will work temporarily.
3prettywheels-med.JPG

sunday is the goal for motors pulled and body off the explorer. stay tuned for more :)
 






check out this rad article on 16.5 rim safety beads.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum....1&pp=25


basically the guy is welding on a ****** inner safety bead. i cant find the pics but he has a pic of him wheeling at 5psi with the tire all wrinkled and it is still not blowing a bead. its awesome!

bead6.JPG


bead1.JPG


i figure with as ugly as my wheels are i wouldnt be hurting anything and it might be a good excuse to get really big rubbers :angry: Â#like the 38.5x16 TSL who knows though - when it comes down to it - im really cheap.
 






If I were that guy, i'd just get those weld on beadlocks if I were to go through the trouble on welding on a safty bead...but that's me :p

Looks like your making good progress on the rig...keep us posted :thumbsup:
 






Awesome, your rig is gonna kick a$$ after you are done with this. :thumbsup:
 






thanks for the compliments bmxking5! lawrenceville is close enough for you to come wheeling in buckville sometime! im 50 miles south of valdosta.

db-1 thanks for the compliment. though i agree the beadlocks would be better in the long run - the safety bead is FREE since i have the rod laying around and the wheels are dog ugly and i wouldnt be hurting anything. i think im gogin to try it and see what happens.

i got the front clip off the bronco tonight. motor will be out this weekend.
 






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DB_1 said:
If I were that guy, i'd just get those weld on beadlocks if I were to go through the trouble on welding on a safty bead...but that's me :p
You would still need a safety ring on the inside. If you ran the weld on "clamp" style like Rockstompers, the outside bead would be secure. But, the inside bead could still pop fairly easily since there is no safety ring to hold it in place.
 






its been nasty cold and rainy for the past week - i think most folks are dealing with that. at least its not snow. ive got the body bolts off and used a porta power unit to jack it up and put 4x4s under the body mounts.

on the motor mounts i have decided to chizel out the rivets on the motor xmember on the bronco that has the mounts built in and reuse it. i have no motor xmember at the moment in the ex so this is benificial to me. prelim measuring shows that it will work. i have the 351 waiting to go in.

i am at a stopping point though and need some input. i still need a front end. originally i was going to go with a dana 60 from a dodge or chevy then double my junk with a divorced tcase. well budget is getting tight (mainly because i bought a new guitar - hey i needed it) and ive bought shocks (4 Pro comp ES9000 34" total length!) anyway i was going to get a d44 from 79 f250 complete ready to roll $500. but i also have a bare d44 housing laying here for a ford. i also have the dodge dana 44 with fulltime hubs. ide have to regear and im not sure the axle shafts are the right the length but it also has the flat top knuckles. ide have to either run the fulltime hubs or convert it using chevy outers which is not unfescible. should i bother with all the work and hassle of making this front end work or just buy one complete?

i want to do all the front end work on the ex before i put the motor in so that i can roll it down to my inlaws and work on it there.

any input?
 












bought some tires and rims from a guy on pirate

not sure they are big enough though
here is a pic of the size
353742067717_468_1.jpg


anyone wanna guess what kind of rubbers they are?
 












you get an attaboy and the mutual respect and admiration of the greater 4x4 community! or come to florida with your eb and ill buy the beer.

bought them from this guy for $300. he says he just drove them around town hardly ever offroad.
355393005701_3300_1-med.jpg
 






**** man, i live in the Ark-Louisiana-Tex area..... i damn well know what a Ground Hawg looks like. :D
 






sounds familiar. i love them personally. they are quieter than the 33 uniroyal mts i had. a friend of mine has the exact size GHs on his chevy.

they are fairly standard issue in the swamps around here too. pretty much TSLs and GHs. only the uptown guys run boggers.
 






wow, that's going to be a beast!!
Good luck with the rest of the project, and great job so far!
 






thanks rino.


talking with a guy on pirate about a divorced 205 tcase.

i have a d44 out of the same truck i got the d60 rear from but it doesnt have manual hubs. it has fulltime hub flange. will cost about 250 to convert using chevy outers.

should i use what i got since its cheap and can use it right now?
or should i keep pinching pennies for the d60 front? i found one for 850 in georgia but i dont think ill be able to afford that until this summer. im thinking ill run the d44 until it breaks then just save up for the d60.

input anyone?
 






Hay Gabe...
Mud isnt as hard on drivetrains as rocks are, just dont turn your wheel full lock and punch it.
I also wonder if the explorer is lighter than the bronco...a couple hundred lbs makes a big difference.
I would try to put the 44 in for cheep and then slowly save for the 60, a better deal might pop up in the meen time anyways.
Lookin good though
:thumbsup:
 






thanks morgan. thats funny though - my nickname is "punch and turn"
i think im going to have to just use a no-slip or tracloc instead of the ezlocker like i planned on.
 



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slow progress - my kids, wife and i have been trading off being sick but things are starting to come together.

the body is off. i borrowed a porta power unit and jacked the body off the frame about a foot. i cut some 4x4s about 4' long and dug 2 holes on each side of the truck with my PHD then slid a 8' 4x4 between the frame and body.

bought all the manual hub stuff i needed from a guy on pirate and am waiting for it show up. waiting on the tcase to get here as well. waiting on tires too.

should have motor and tranny mounted this sunday baring any rain.

also recently bought a bar/flat stock bender and a 16ton tube/pipe bender so i can start fabbing some parts but also want to make some parts to sell to make a few dollars. doing custom exhaust setup on a durango and an explorer. also making my shock hoops, u bolts, spingplates, and a few other things so these tools will be really useful.
 






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