Posted by Tom in Indiana [172.69.90.49] on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 19:09:17 :
In Reply to: Three quick questions and some nonsense. posted by Tom in Indiana [172.69.90.49] on Wednesday, July 31, 2019 at 03:28:32 :
The stock differentials are definitely coming out of the '53, even though between wheels/tires ($2500) and Hydroboost/Helitool disc brakes ($2000), there is a ton invested in them. The 5.83 gears are simply too low, the non-fine-tunability of the caster/camber of the front differential, the another near-$4000 it would cost to install 4.89s and air lockers, and the fact we'd need to buy another $1000 custom set of wheels for the 11.00-16 tires to replace the TruXus 16.00-16 ones, all just to make the truck drivable for my wife and I to take it anywhere at all... we can't afford it. I can get a good setup via Dana 60s (or a 60/80 combo) with lockers/sure grips used for less than $2000-2500, installed. Then we would have a lot of adjustability in the front, a bullet-proof rear, limitless wheel choices, gear ratio options galore, and locking differentials. Since our other PW (a '50) is getting reassembled to be sold in a couple of months so we can afford to get the '53 slapped back together and drivable again, we are putting the nice diffs out of the '53 under it, so whoever buys it can already have the good brake setup and the beastly wheels and tires. The WMS of the Ford Dana 60 rear I mentioned is 66". Stock PW is 67.5". Dodge Kingpin Dana 60s are 67.5". Cab and Chassis Dodge Dana 80s are 67.5". The spring perches on a PW are 44" C to C. The Ford is 44.5". The Cab and Chassis 80 is 43.5". Other than the perches being too wide (3" wide, compared to the 2" PW stock axle ones), the Cab and Chassis Dana 80 is a 100% direct bolt-in, with only driveshaft formalities to be ironed out. I guess we will just have to experiment with whatever wheel/tire setups we can borrow until we get the backspacing figured out. We HAVE to have the truck ready for this winter, so the sooner we get moving on it, the better. I was just hoping someone had "been there, done that" and could help us get a head start. Thanks for the link, by the way- there IS a lot of good info in the post!