- Joined
- Apr 19, 2013
- Messages
- 346
I am moving on from the rear end of the '67, waiting to hear back from one vendor, but I will probably order a complete Currie rear with drum brakes.
For the front, it currently has the D30. I bought an empty D44 housing from Wildhorses4x4 years ago with plans to have a local company build it for me. Here are the basics of the bronco build. '67 with a 2/1/2" wildhorses lift, I will install this when I put the front and rear housings in. 1" body lift already installed. I am leaning towards a Blueprint new small block 302/347, if they do the 347 with the new castings. 4R70W trans and the transfer case will remain D20. Gear ratio of 4.56.
This bronco will not see any hard off-road driving, I want as good street manners as possible for this. I know caster is not going to be specific to my bronco since they are all a little different, but I want start in the best place possible since I will be putting in everything new.
I am waiting to hear back from a local place about building the D44, no idea of a cost yet (just heard back, around $2500). They will build it out to the knuckles I provide. I thought local was my only option, but I contacted Tom's Offroad and they have a 44 Mag Dana 44 front end with a low pinion option. Tom's Dana44 I can order it with an open carrier instead of the Power Lock. They also have an option of adding axles and brakes. I have to ask about that since you can't separate those 2 things on the drop down menu. I already have a conversion front disc brake package from Wildhorses so I only need the axles. They also sell new pre-ground knuckles with ball joints installed, I would prefer these over grinding down my drum knuckles.
This option of buying the Dana 44 from Tom's brings up the caster issue, and certainly where I am out of my element. The Tom's Dana 44 comes with 4 degrees of positive caster on the outer C's, and the pinion is rotated up 2 degrees. Since this will be all new, I don't have a starting point on caster and will need to use a best-guess on what degree C bushings I would need with the added in positive caster.
Similar issue with the stock Dana 44 housing build. Not sure which year it is, but the caster will vary a little and wondering if the 7 degree bushings are the safest bet with a 2 1/2" lift.
And if I didn't confuse myself enough, I am also looking at the Duff's T-Rex stock length arms. Not sure yet, but if I put them on they come with 4.25 degrees of caster built in, and I will have to adjust the C bushings to compensate as well. Do these t-rex arms improve steering over stock? I know they alleviate rubbing on larger tires.
Given the 2 options above, does the Dana 44 from Tom's give me a much better starting point for steering geometry over the stock D44? Also, please let me know if I am overlooking any drawbacks with the Dana 44 from Tom's. The Dana 44 on Currie's website was only available in a High Point and it is 1" wider, so I am hoping to avoid stuff like that with the Tom's D44.
For the front, it currently has the D30. I bought an empty D44 housing from Wildhorses4x4 years ago with plans to have a local company build it for me. Here are the basics of the bronco build. '67 with a 2/1/2" wildhorses lift, I will install this when I put the front and rear housings in. 1" body lift already installed. I am leaning towards a Blueprint new small block 302/347, if they do the 347 with the new castings. 4R70W trans and the transfer case will remain D20. Gear ratio of 4.56.
This bronco will not see any hard off-road driving, I want as good street manners as possible for this. I know caster is not going to be specific to my bronco since they are all a little different, but I want start in the best place possible since I will be putting in everything new.
I am waiting to hear back from a local place about building the D44, no idea of a cost yet (just heard back, around $2500). They will build it out to the knuckles I provide. I thought local was my only option, but I contacted Tom's Offroad and they have a 44 Mag Dana 44 front end with a low pinion option. Tom's Dana44 I can order it with an open carrier instead of the Power Lock. They also have an option of adding axles and brakes. I have to ask about that since you can't separate those 2 things on the drop down menu. I already have a conversion front disc brake package from Wildhorses so I only need the axles. They also sell new pre-ground knuckles with ball joints installed, I would prefer these over grinding down my drum knuckles.
This option of buying the Dana 44 from Tom's brings up the caster issue, and certainly where I am out of my element. The Tom's Dana 44 comes with 4 degrees of positive caster on the outer C's, and the pinion is rotated up 2 degrees. Since this will be all new, I don't have a starting point on caster and will need to use a best-guess on what degree C bushings I would need with the added in positive caster.
Similar issue with the stock Dana 44 housing build. Not sure which year it is, but the caster will vary a little and wondering if the 7 degree bushings are the safest bet with a 2 1/2" lift.
And if I didn't confuse myself enough, I am also looking at the Duff's T-Rex stock length arms. Not sure yet, but if I put them on they come with 4.25 degrees of caster built in, and I will have to adjust the C bushings to compensate as well. Do these t-rex arms improve steering over stock? I know they alleviate rubbing on larger tires.
Given the 2 options above, does the Dana 44 from Tom's give me a much better starting point for steering geometry over the stock D44? Also, please let me know if I am overlooking any drawbacks with the Dana 44 from Tom's. The Dana 44 on Currie's website was only available in a High Point and it is 1" wider, so I am hoping to avoid stuff like that with the Tom's D44.
Last edited:
eek
