'99 V8 AWD chassis under '96 V8 body

Well, this is my project:

I came across a '99 Explorer V8 AWD rolling chassis with 1,400 miles on the drivetrain. I got the whole package for damn cheap. Anyway, this weekend I am going to basically slap the body of my current '96 V8 (with 135,000 miles and a bent frame) onto the new, factory-fresh chassis.

So, does anyone have any advice for me before I begin this project? I'm assuming the '96 and '99 V8's are the same aside from the GT40/GT40P heads, right?

Give me input and advice!

I'll have plenty of pics and stuff afterwards!

 

[section525]

I couldn't tell you. I just added them in to a new leaf pack about 3 days ago... I'm sure they will a little bit.

 

[drmoore71]

man, i'm sorry...i don't know why i was thinking that you had been using them. i had forgotten about the conversion for a minute. pretty serious brain fart, i guess...

 

[section525]

Well I did have them on my old chassis for a long time. But i only measured them before and after I installed them. I should have measured right before I took everything off to determine settling. But I was just too excited to tear it all down!

 

[Mike]

I just wanted to say.. great job... nice clean and a great write up =)

 

[section525]

Thanks Mikee!

A little update!:
The truck is running great. I got a chance today to do a little offroading and geez does it perform well. I was climbing things I never thought possible. A few changes I found I need to make are:

1) Get 33's
2) Hack off my exhaust, or change it back to my MagnaFlow (it tends to drag a lot)
3) Leave my Drawtite off, or change it so it mounts higher. (I could go a lot more places without having that thing hang 8" below the bumper.

I've been thinking about making a prerunner bar for my X. I saw one that I was really diggin. That might be my next little project. Here's a rough pic of my plan:

 

[section525]

UPDATE ON AWD CONVERSION COST

Donor Chassis (w/ motor, tranny, etc): $1050
Misc Parts (Gaskets, Fluid, etc.): $150

Total Cost of Parts: $1,200

Sold items from old & new Explorer I did not need/use:

'96 Leaf Springs $100
'96 Axle $300
'99 Upper Intake $165
'99 Lower Intake $110
'96 Exhaust Manifolds $20
'96 5.0 ACC Brackets $50
'99 Exhaust Manifolds $20
'96 GT40 Heads $295
'96 MagnaFlow Exhaust $91
'99 5.0L Valve Covers $1
'96 2WD Driveshaft $100
'96 Rear Sway Bar $51
'96 Front Sway Bar $1

Total $1304

So, so far the swap set me back a whopping -$104

But, I still have the '96 tranny, '99 gas tank, and front suspension to sell.

(And keep in mind, this was all basically brand new stuff I swapped in! Goood deal.)

 

[terdrocket]

hows the awd in the snow?
here on FL, I only get to experience heavy rain

 

[section525]

AWD in the snow is awesome! Did you see my load of pics? www.section525.com/xpage/offroad

It's 3x better than I thought it would be. It has yet to be out-performed while offroading with my buddies. (a '97 Z71 with 33s (no lift) and a '94 Ranger 4x4 with 31s)

 

[terdrocket]

the pic showing the ice/snow packed in your rims - thats one way to keep the brakes from overheating

 

[Monty'01]

Nice job on your conversion. That snowy trail looked like fun. Where was that at?

 

[section525]

Thats near Mount Lassen CA. On some old logging road. It was a lot of fun!

 

[section525]

Well it's official. I'm back in the black with my AWD conversion! So far I've made $52 by doing it! (You can check out the figures a few posts up!) And it ain't over!

 

[section525]

The FedEx man visited Section today!

Well, 9 months later I finally got the transfer case I need. You wouldn't beleive how hard it is to find a 96 or 97 AWD transfer case. Anyway, I'm gonna throw it in tonight. Problem is, the case didn't come with the VSS and my sensor from the 2WD tranny doesn't seem to fit in the tcase.

So I'm going to call Ford right now and see if they have one in stock. That VSS is the whole reason I needed this transfer case. As soon as I get it I will have a speedometer again!

 

[section525]

Got it, installed it.. have a speedo! works awesome! Cost me $145 for the tcase and drive shaft and $14 for the new gear!

 

[GaSouthern1]

I thought you were gonna get a 4wd transfer case

 

[section525]

Originally posted by GaSouthern1
I thought you were gonna get a 4wd transfer case

I already got it. But doing the true 4wd conversion is 3rd on my list. That wont be till late 03/early 04 probably.

 

[Heath]

And then you're selling me that AWD T-Case on the cheap aren't you!!!

 

[section525]

Originally posted by Heath
And then you're selling me that AWD T-Case on the cheap aren't you!!!

Yeah.. one of them. now that i have two spares...

This is the second one I've gotten for under $90. Did you see my post in that other thread? I told everyone what a great help you were (when you weren't yelling) with this transfer case swap project.

 

[Heath]

LOL...

 

[stog94]

Awesome job man...

Have you run into any problems smogging this in CA?