Posted by Thomas on Friday, February 08, 2002 at 4:18PM :
In Reply to: 79 Power wagon upgrades posted by Andrew in Sudbury on Friday, February 08, 2002 at 3:59PM :
I have a 79' with a 440 mag 727 trans np203 and a dana 44 front and 9 1/4 rear. This is the stock setup except for the 440. If your 79 is a stock 1/2 ton then it has the same except for maybe the engine. I put a 8" skyjacker and a 3" body lift on mine and it does great. I can run 39.5" swampers. I have two dana 60s and a NP205 that Im gettin ready to swap in. The dana 60's and 70's have there advantages and disadvantages. The 70 is stronger but has less ground clearance than the 60. In the dana 60 you can only go to a 5;13 ratio and Im not sure about the dana 70. The 70 also dosnt have a wide selection of lockers to choose from. Personally If I had a choice between the 70 if I could get everything I wanted for it locker gearratio etc. This is because of its strength over the 60. Dont get me wrong thou the 60 is tuff 1 ton and can be run with 44" tires with big power and no worries about breakage. The GM 14 bolt is stronger than the 60 but would most likely require lots of modifications to fit it in your truck. Plus, seein how its not MOPAR I wouldnt have it anyway. As for the lockers I would go with a spool in the rear because its cheap and a automatic locker like the detroit in the front. But if I was on a real budget and had hubs I would either do spools front and rear or I would weld the spider gears in the differential together. I hope this helps you out and please keep us posted on the swap if you decide to do it. It would be nice to know what kind of modifications you had to make since Im gettin ready to do a similar swap. Good Luck Thomas
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