Posted by Charlie on October 26, 1999 at 19:05:08:
You say you want to keep the stock axles. 4.89 gears and 36"tires will give you 3040 rpm @ 65. If you have enough power, larger tires (11.00R16s or 13-38-16 bias ply Swampers) will further drop rpms down to 2860 at 65. An alternative is figuring out a way to use an overdrive 5spd (Clark 280VO, NP540, NV4500) along with 4.89s or 5.83s and/or bigger tires. With the 11.00s, NV500 (5th=0.73 or 0.74:1) and 4.89s, rpms in 5th at 65 could be as low as 1930, probably too slow for anything other than a big block or an intercooled Cummins 4BTA.
I couldn't e-mail you because you didn't leave an address in the guestbook.
Charlie