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Any (4-wheel) Overland types in here?

Anyone catch the episode of Shifting Gears with the 4bt in an old Scout?
 
most likely im gonna go with a 6bt 12v with probably a nv4500 trans as they are easier and cheaper to come by. i can find a clapped out 89-93 dodge cheap and rape the parts off it. so far i found the bronco for 1600 and a dodge for 5300 with dana 60 and 50 on it. buddy said he can get it all mounted running and driving under 3
 
That's a tough pill to swallow. $10k and you have a beater bronco with a cool motor and nothing else. Still gonna do wheels/tires/lift/bumpers/lockers/gears and then all the nickel and dime stuff? There's a sweet FJ60 on CL that needs a little motor work for $9k, just get that.
 
Damn. My 2000 Dodge Ram 2500 with a 5.9L V8 gas motor weighs 6300 lbs empty with a full tank. I do have 35" tires and a winch mounted, but to be sub 5K lbs would be sweet.
 
Last time I left the scrap yard my truck was 5300lbs with 50 gallons of fuel in the transfer tank. GVW is 8600lbs, fwiw.

As far as building anything with an NV trans, run screaming. That trans is bloody awful. I would never use it behind a diesel with any power. The overhung 5th gear is a very weak design. They also vibrate the countershaft nut off and require frequent repairs.

Heavy duty diesel stuff has no business on the trail. That's like motocrossing a Goldwing.

KOH or street, adding a shit ton of weight to the nose will just tear up ball joints and tires. It's just a cascading failure thing. You start with a giant engine, then you need a real transmission/tcase, then you need big axles. Then you have a 7,000lb monstrosity that mows tires, wastes fuel, and sinks like a rock in loose stuff, and needs gobs of power to climb things.
As annoying as the Tacoma/roof tent Instagram crowd is, there's solid logic in the concept. The days of big block full size trucks on 44's has passed. They're the fat tire choppers of the truck world.
Pick a light small block, a built 4L80e or AOD, build up the 9" and Dana 44, link it, lock it, and wheel.
 
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And I'm just here with a small lift and AT tires on a 2015 Subaru Outback, enjoying a vehicle that rides and drives like an ordinary car 95% of the time, and is ridiculously capable in the snow and dirt whenever needed.
 
Cycle61 said:
And I'm just here with a small lift and AT tires on a 2015 Subaru Outback, enjoying a vehicle that rides and drives like an ordinary car 95% of the time, and is ridiculously capable in the snow and dirt whenever needed.
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KOH build w/ LS1 or get off teh dirte rokks.
 
Well, I went camping this weekend and now my truck is sitting on the side of a dirt road with a potentially very broken motor. 12 miles of steep, loose dirt road is going to make dragging it out of there a minor epic.

Hopefully will have it recovered on Friday, heading back in with a friends F-150 and a bunch of straps.

Luckily, we had phone service and a friend who was willing to drive in and rescue us. We had a dirtbike with us but also two dogs, so it would have been a long hike out.
 
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Jalopyshoppe said:
LS all the things!

(Personally, I hate this engine, it needs to be said)
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What about the LS irks you so?

I want to put a 5 speed behind my 352 fe ford someday. Nv4500 is a pretty straight forward swap. Think its be ok for "old guy in a truck driving around" duty and some dump runs?

bpw said:
Well, I went camping this weekend and now my truck is sitting on the side of a dirt road with a potentially very broken motor. 12 miles of steep, loose dirt road is going to make dragging it out of there a minor epic.

Hopefully will have it recovered on Friday, heading back in with a friends F-150 and a bunch of straps.

Luckily, we had phone service and a friend who was willing to drive in and rescue us. We had a dirtbike with us but also two dogs, so it would have been a long hike out.
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Ouch. Super ouch
 
auntiebling said:
What about the LS irks you so?

I want to put a 5 speed behind my 352 fe ford someday. Nv4500 is a pretty straight forward swap. Think its be ok for "old guy in a truck driving around" duty and some dump runs?



Ouch. Super ouch
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The LS is overrated to me. It has GM quality control issues and parts bin compromises that I don't care for. I appreciate GM taking the pushrod V8 to such extremes, but it reminds me of Harley in many ways. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Look up LS oiling issues if you care. GM Had to dry sump the Corvette for a reason.
The NV is a fine four speed. The overdrive is an afterthought, and the strength reflects that. I'm pretty sold on the ZF manual transmissions for trucks. The integrated bell housing is a small hurdle, but going from FE to SBF or BBF (460) is doable with a plate. Also, you could swap in a 460 and ZF in one unit and gain power and reliability.
 
I'm blown away by the little 5.3 in the burb compared to the 350 in our old burb, or ford's 4.6/5.4 in our truck and expy. It moves that fat pig around waaaaaay better than it has any business doing.
 
Jalopyshoppe said:
The LS is overrated to me. It has GM quality control issues and parts bin compromises that I don't care for. I appreciate GM taking the pushrod V8 to such extremes, but it reminds me of Harley in many ways. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Look up LS oiling issues if you care. GM Had to dry sump the Corvette for a reason.
The NV is a fine four speed. The overdrive is an afterthought, and the strength reflects that. I'm pretty sold on the ZF manual transmissions for trucks. The integrated bell housing is a small hurdle, but going from FE to SBF or BBF (460) is doable with a plate. Also, you could swap in a 460 and ZF in one unit and gain power and reliability.
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Everything is a compromise, which is why I want to keep the FE :laughing

I'll look into the zf stuff. The integrated belhousing seems to make them less desirable, which is good for me
 
auntiebling said:
Everything is a compromise, which is why I want to keep the FE :laughing

I'll look into the zf stuff. The integrated belhousing seems to make them less desirable, which is good for me
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No shame in a good running FE. There's a difference in tools and toys. For me the NV trans isn't good enough for a toy, let alone a tool. Building transmissions has given me a sour viewpoint, however.

There's usually not much difference between "good enough" and "right" when it comes to these kinds of builds, but the difference on the road or the trail is pretty substantial.
 
Zf-fe seems to most easily be done with a Panera transaxle, and not at all doable with a regular 2wd gearbox. I suppose it's time to build a mid-engine f100. Crown Victoria swamps are for wussies!?

I read up a little on the NV 5th gear thing. It seems to be an unlikely failure mode for what I'd be doing, so still high on the list.
 
The ZF5 is commonly found in 89-97 F-250's. There are units behind 5.8 and 7.5 engines. Think of it as adapting one of those bells and you'll find a solution. The Pantera ZF transaxle is a different game.
 
Jalopyshoppe said:
The ZF5 is commonly found in 89-97 F-250's. There are units behind 5.8 and 7.5 engines. Think of it as adapting one of those bells and you'll find a solution. The Pantera ZF transaxle is a different game.
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Yes, the f100 isn't a transaxle..

Anyway, FE pattern to Windsor/zf pattern plates exist but evidently the starter position occupies one of the zf bell housing bolts. Maybe a custom plate could be made to move the starter? Nothing commercially available searching back an east 10 years on the internet. This question has been posed a lot.
 
auntiebling said:
Yes, the f100 isn't a transaxle..

Anyway, FE pattern to Windsor/zf pattern plates exist but evidently the starter position occupies one of the zf bell housing bolts. Maybe a custom plate could be made to move the starter? Nothing commercially available searching back an east 10 years on the internet. This question has been posed a lot.
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Again, maybe you need a 460... I mean, what's another 70 cubic inches? Also, I know a few tricks that make those engines haul ass...

If you do go the NV route, just don't plan on working it hard.

Also, we should do post dirtbag beers.
 
Jalopyshoppe said:
Again, maybe you need a 460... I mean, what's another 70 cubic inches? Also, I know a few tricks that make those engines haul ass...

If you do go the NV route, just don't plan on working it hard.

Also, we should do post dirtbag beers.
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I plane to work it so-not hard, and generally I drive like such a grandpa, that a t5 is a viable swap :laughing. Heaviest lifting it is likely to do is dragging home derelict motorcy less and the odd trip to the big box store for home remodeling supplies. Granted, I do like to collect free bricks which tend to one in increments of 2k lbs... but that is unusual.

460: it's an in the family since new truck. I don't want to RIP the heart out. But i do want independent suspension all around and modern brakes... so when I retire someday, a frame swap to a now current-ish expedition is in order (identical published wheelbases) so I can retain the Grandpa Truck Capabilities.


I am definitely up for beers. Bummed i had to leave the fianale so fast.
 
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