71 Restore Help!!

[Duckstottri]

Been reading and lurking for quite a while. Bought a 1971 3 years ago that I've been driving around town and am ready to do a frame off on it.

Apologies in advance for a long-winded post but it seems the more I read the more confused I become.

Came with a 351, 3 speed, Dana 20, Dana 44 Front, 9" small bearing 28 spline rear, chevy discs front and rear, power steering. Truck is in really good shape for a 71. Not a bunch of rust, brought it by a restoration shop and they were very surprised at how good of shape the body is in.

PO did a lot of suspension mods that leave a lot to be desired on the welds and brackets. Plan to completely cut all off and start from scratch.

My plans are to have a shop do the body, paint and electrical. I'm going to do the chassis, suspension, etc.

I just bought from Proto Fab a family roll cage, front/rear bumper.

I've already completely redone and upgraded the steering column and power steering.

My plans are to build a high horsepower mainly street, some mud(live in South Louisiana) Bronco that can be driven on the street, highway and off road.

I have a built 347 that dynoed at 473 horsepower that I am planning on putting in the truck. The following list is where I would like some input. These are my plans/questions

35” Tires with 17” rims
3.5" Wildhorses Extreme Suspension System 12 (or Duffs not sure yet)?
2" Body Lift
5 speed ZF with an Atlas Transfer Case behind it.
All drive shafts upgraded
23 gallon fuel tank
AXLES!!
Want to put 35 spline in back. This is where I'm really confused. I am a complete newbie when it comes to this stuff and this is really where I need some help. I know this won't be driven in the rocks but I know myself and I don't have the lightest foot. I just want to be able to get on it on the street and not worry about breaking anything.
If I bought the Super Heavy Duty 9 Housing from Wild Horses and built it with a 35 spline extreme duty axle set, then in the front put a 30 spline Air locker do you think this would be strong enough?
Then I would just have to make new brackets for my disc brakes correct?

Any and all help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Really looking forward to starting this project.

Thank You

 

[Pa PITT]

Man that's a lot of horse power.

 

[thepunisher]

I would do the 35spline rear, I'm going to take a guess, but with that hp and a wide tire you will have axle wrap when you hammer it on pavement, like I did.are you dead set on that 3speed transmission? If had your cash I would put the arb in the 9in, but that's just me....


Oh and I have maybe half your hp, and had axle wrap.....

 

[Duckstottri]

You mean the 5 speed ZF? What would you recommend?

I was planning on putting on wrap trap or a something similar. Do you think this will be enough?

 

[thepunisher]

Sorry, thought you where going to run the 3speed tranny.As far as the zf trans,if thats what you want then run it, its a great option for a manual. I did the old shackle style anti wrap and it works as it should. I like the wrap trap style better because it looks better, not as noticeable. If you gave me an Atlas I would just sell it.Im not a fan of the atlas, unless your building a "point and shoot". But some people swear bythem....

 

[Duckstottri]

Thanks for the help.

One more question I should of made in my first post. Do you think the 9" upgraded to 35 spline and the 30 spline D44 will be enough? In your opinion I shouldn't have to go to say D60 front/rear?

 

[thepunisher]

I would say yes with an anti wrap device on the 9inch. but if your ever going to bigger tire and do some rock bouncing you will have to upgrade the front only to the 60.

 

[AZ73]

Your 347 is probably generating that HP at 5000+ rpm (probably more like 7000). It'll be great in a straight line but won't be able to climb over anything, and if you put ANY kind of pressure on it, like 35s, you'll blow a hole in the block (the weakest point of your setup) if it isn't a Dart. If you're not going to climb over anything then don't put the rest of the goodies on there unless it's for show. You might want to consider changing the cam for something that has lower horsepower (because of lower RPMs) but has more torque from 1500-5000

 

[Duckstottri]

Hope not!!

Engine was dynoed and has a good horsepower and torque curve. Runs on street gas and does not have a crazy cam. Spoke quite a bit with the engine builder and he at least was able to convince me it will do alright. I have been wrong before but hope not.

I read your build the other day AZ - VERY NICE!!
Like you I was debating EFI or not and decided to go with the carb.

 

[AZ73]

Hope not!!

Engine was dynoed and has a good horsepower and torque curve. Runs on street gas and does not have a crazy cam. Spoke quite a bit with the engine builder and he at least was able to convince me it will do alright. I have been wrong before but hope not.

I read your build the other day AZ - VERY NICE!!
Like you I was debating EFI or not and decided to go with the carb.

Well thanks for the compliment and keep us posted! My 347 should be showing up in the next 3-4 weeks but went with moving the torque curve down. I'm about 75HP lower, but my torque will be around 400-420 at about 2500 rpm on a relatively flat curve. My limiting factor is the NV3550, everything else was is pretty strong (CM fronts, Yukon 33 spline backs, Detroit lockers). I'm not going to be putting a lot of pressure on the driveline with only some mild rock crawling. Building mine mostly for street, desert, and sand, but I'm a HUGE fan of the 347 and we need to stick together. Lots of people go for the 351. I'm subscribing to your thread to watch your progress.