Darkness's new project~ D44 & 9"

Well I have been planning for the longest time to cut and turn a d44 ttb and somehow make it fit where the d35 is but... not anymore much as I love the ttb frontend I had a deal I couldnt pass up fall in my lap so now its SAS w/ a d44 and 9" rear from a '79 f150 going under my truck
Current pics found here!

Current plan is...
D44
1:clean up/teardown DONE!
2:cut/narrrow (I'm not going to run a full width front) DONE!
3:reload it, new brakes/hubs/joints/inner shafts (one EB longside and f150 short side) possible locker/regear funds depending art Done, hubs, shafts, ujoints left to go
4:make it aimable, probably a early bronco steering setup or something semi custom
Steering on order

9" ON HOLD, going with the 8.8 and adapters for the current moment

1:clean all the rust off it (like the f150 frame thats sitting on it)
2:clean up/teardown
Added- Narrow it
3:figure out how to stop it, pick/figure out/fab brakes for it
4: maybe get new shafts/3rd member

Sounds simple right? Right... pics will be up by the end of this week for the project start

Note! I do know that the '79 d44 have cast ends and I am going to cut it down and it will work!

 

[Burns]

Also, if you want to get rid of the fiberglass drop me a pm. I always liked those and if you want to sell i might be willing to buy.

 

[FROADER]

I've had glass on 4 different vehicles. I like it, just not for this rig. I'm going to be beating this up more than my last one and I cracked the glass a couple times on the trails with my old ex. If you don't go on tight trails, they aren't a big deal.

 

[TheRookie]

The fenders he has were mine long ago. I had them for a couple or few years and never destroyed one. However, they fit like total CRAP. Perrys was super willing to take my money but stopped answering my calls once I got them. They never did offer to do anything about my problems.

Now about trail use, they are fine if your trails are wide. A lot of the people that like them arent wheeling in the woods in tight areas. If you rub a tree hard enough to put a line in a fender you are going to destroy the fiberglass. All in all IF I considdered fiberglass again it would definately not be from perrys. But I would suggest against fiber to anyone that wheels tight places.

 

[410Fortune]

The Mcneils were likely in Baja? Before Baja these shops are very busy and its hard to get them on the phone sometimes during the whole desert season = poor customer service but it happens

Mine are Autofab and they were double $$$ over Fab n Fiber

 

[95exploderboy]

What did you end up doin for fenders Wolf?

 

[IZwack]

Wolf's on vacation for the next few weeks.

 

[Savage Wolf]

Wolf's on vacation for the next few weeks.

Gone for 10 days from the 27th, so I'll be back soon and prolly gettin the rig done when I get back, after I get over the jetlag lol
prolly going with the glass fender after doing some simple work to them... well almost simple... well maybe not very simple...

 

[SMexplorer92]

hey my friend lindsey told me to talk to you about narrowing the 44 for my explorer.

Steve

 

[Savage Wolf]

hey my friend lindsey told me to talk to you about narrowing the 44 for my explorer.

Steve

Umm ok, Get my cell number from her so I can find out what you need done....


And on a side note, no current progress due so some other major projects here at the house that have the shop tied up

 

[Kirby N.]

Quoting it and saying it again, I do not suggest anyone to narrow a 78/79 HP d44 like I did, the location of the pinion causes some major headaches, too close to the center line of the truck, granted that I am sitting at about 5-6" of suspension lift (I think) more lift would probably help remove the problem some but I dont want the truck any taller...

...Just random thoughts on my swap...

I would agree with your suggestion. I try to reenforce that when I get the chance so people don't go through my headaches. I was aiming for 5-6" of lift and 35s. I ended up having to go with 7.5" to 8" of lift and 37s. It is fine now, but it was nearly impossible to have 5-6" of lift with any uptravel and my narrowed front end. Guys with that amount of lift and FW seem to do fine. Mine was hitting the butchered crossmember with the diff, and the ypipe with the driveshaft over speed bumps. A LP EB axle may help that situation too, but the top of my diff was 1/2" from my oil pan on compression anyway. I finally bought a few different coils until I got it dialed in. I started with WH 5.5", then went to superlift 8", then BC 7.5" W/ winch. I am very happy with my BC Broncos 7.5" w/ winch EB coils. It is really high for what I wanted, but it works well now and 37s are fun. Of course, I didn't plan on breaking axles with 35s, and my 37s break the Dana 44 shafts pretty easily. If you don't want it taller, I suggest ripping it out for a FW and getting some wheels with small backspacing to pull in your tires. I think the hot setup would be a 76-77 axle with the Cbushings cut off and moved in about 2" per side.

 

[SMexplorer92]

When you narrowed the dana 44, did you cut it and respline it? or cut it and weld it?
Steve

 

[IZwack]

The axle tube was cut down so that a shorter axle shaft would fit.

 

[410Fortune]

My Autofab glass fits very nice, is alot thicker then Glassworx & Mcneil, and AutoFab returns phone calls.......

Just FYI

 

[SMexplorer92]

is the shaft custom made? or did it come from another axle?

Steve

 

[FROADER]

is the shaft custom made? or did it come from another axle?

Steve

You can narrow it to be the same length as the Early Bronco shafts. That way, you don't need a custom shaft.

 

[SMexplorer92]

alright cool thanks man

Steve