/6 Matt
30 Degrees Crooked
Ok, good news. I have a source on a new hub and my car will be drivable again soon. Unfortunately, the pressing problem now is once again the rearend. Of course the transmission is begining to show signs of getting tired, this is the second engine it's seen. The 7-1/4" rear in the back is meeting the same fate.
I still have a 1972 318 2-bbl, not sure what it came off of though. I also have a '76 casting 2-bbl manifold. The plan right now stands, I want to get a rebuild kit for the two barrel and rebuild it when I'm ready to perform the swap. When I'm ready to do the swap I intend to gasket match the intake, head, head and exhaust manifold. I also intend to open up the bottom of the exhaust manifold. Some day in the future, I will buy a cable operated exhaust cutout and install a 2-1/4" section of pipe between it and the manifold, using a reducer to adapt it to the 1-7/8" in place. Me and dad will fabricate our own linkages to transfer the motion of the throttle blades in order work with the 1-bbl throttle cable and kickdown linkage.
Now before I bother with any of that, I would like to concern myself with the tranny and the rear. My brother has a 92' Dakota 4X4 3.9 L auto matic truck that he gave to my dad because the front end suffered damage in a collision. All the pieces on the front, grills, lights, rad support, fenders etc. are damaged along with the very front of the frame. Engine still runs although it needs a starter. My dad has a 92' Dakota 2X4 3.9 L auto and he wants 4 wheel drive. My best friend and his dad will soon splice the end of the frame of my dad's truck and we'll rob the front body panels too along with the lights grill and bumper. So what I was thinking, I heard somewhere that old A-body rears practically bolt into Dakotas, so shouldn't the opposite be true too? Sure I'll have to carry two spares, and possibly get a custom drive shaft. I can live with that. But why stop there, I'm beging to favor automatics these days, and I still want overdrive. Could I swap the 4-speed transmission from dad's 2 wheel drive into the dart? Both the rear and the transmission are in great shape, thought the transmission needs a band adjustment and a service. I'd have a lower rear-end ratio for better accelaration, plus a low first gear for trucks. I'd even have overdrive and a properly calibrated speedo. I do believe I would need an adjustable proportioning valve to operate the bigger Dak brakes though.
Shoot while I'm at it, a fully manual valve body with a switch hidden on the shifter to engage overdrive would kick ***. Down the road, If I could find a pre-92' Dak rear with the same ratio and posi I could switch that out and down the road convert to BBP discs up front for matching wheels.
Maybe I'm just day-dreaming.
I still have a 1972 318 2-bbl, not sure what it came off of though. I also have a '76 casting 2-bbl manifold. The plan right now stands, I want to get a rebuild kit for the two barrel and rebuild it when I'm ready to perform the swap. When I'm ready to do the swap I intend to gasket match the intake, head, head and exhaust manifold. I also intend to open up the bottom of the exhaust manifold. Some day in the future, I will buy a cable operated exhaust cutout and install a 2-1/4" section of pipe between it and the manifold, using a reducer to adapt it to the 1-7/8" in place. Me and dad will fabricate our own linkages to transfer the motion of the throttle blades in order work with the 1-bbl throttle cable and kickdown linkage.
Now before I bother with any of that, I would like to concern myself with the tranny and the rear. My brother has a 92' Dakota 4X4 3.9 L auto matic truck that he gave to my dad because the front end suffered damage in a collision. All the pieces on the front, grills, lights, rad support, fenders etc. are damaged along with the very front of the frame. Engine still runs although it needs a starter. My dad has a 92' Dakota 2X4 3.9 L auto and he wants 4 wheel drive. My best friend and his dad will soon splice the end of the frame of my dad's truck and we'll rob the front body panels too along with the lights grill and bumper. So what I was thinking, I heard somewhere that old A-body rears practically bolt into Dakotas, so shouldn't the opposite be true too? Sure I'll have to carry two spares, and possibly get a custom drive shaft. I can live with that. But why stop there, I'm beging to favor automatics these days, and I still want overdrive. Could I swap the 4-speed transmission from dad's 2 wheel drive into the dart? Both the rear and the transmission are in great shape, thought the transmission needs a band adjustment and a service. I'd have a lower rear-end ratio for better accelaration, plus a low first gear for trucks. I'd even have overdrive and a properly calibrated speedo. I do believe I would need an adjustable proportioning valve to operate the bigger Dak brakes though.
Shoot while I'm at it, a fully manual valve body with a switch hidden on the shifter to engage overdrive would kick ***. Down the road, If I could find a pre-92' Dak rear with the same ratio and posi I could switch that out and down the road convert to BBP discs up front for matching wheels.
Maybe I'm just day-dreaming.
