If your truck has the HO52 then you won't be able to find any gears for it. In this case you will be best to find a donor rear end. Either a FF 14 bolt or a Dana 60 will be a good choice, and will retain the 8 lug wheel bolt pattern. Some of these trucks did come with the Dana 60 originally. If that is the case, gears and numerous other parts are readilly available.
With the SM420 trans, 1st gear is not used in normal everyday driving. It is typically used when you need that extra grunt to get something moving.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mweishaa
Thanks for the warm welcome guys! It's good to see some other AZ guys here who are crazy enough to ride around in a steel box in the 110 degree heat. 
I still have a list of things to do (I'm sure you are all very aware of that process) so I am sure I'll have some questions. And I'll be posting up pics when I get the bed in. Or maybe as I am putting it in, depending on how smoothly it goes.
wc63, although it looks much more done than before, I still have plenty left. Nothing too major though. If it were ever really "done" I'm not sure what I'd do.
losthope, I wouldn't say those wheels would be my first choice either, but since they were on there I think they worked out pretty well. Not sure how many options I have without changing out the rear axle/hub. I'd definitely have question about how to do that.
Captainfab, I've definitely thought about changing the gearing. One of my requirements for the truck was that it HAD to be a manual trans. But I don't even really use 1st gear at all. That will probably be a future project though. Again, I'd definitely have questions about that process though. |