Busted Knuckles
Registered Member
I just bought a straight ’78 SWB 4x4. As far as I can tell, it has an NP203 transfer case, Dana 44 front and Chevy 12-bolt rearend. My ’77 Blazer project is just too dang straight and nice for me to cut it at all, it’ll go back relatively original. I’m considering turning this shortwide into a trail rig. I have a ready to build vortec headed 406, a good 454 core motor and cores for 350, 400 and 700R4 trannies. I’ve had a 700R4 built with the good stuff and it’s held up well behind a decent 454 and I think the OD and very low 1st gear would both be assets if I decide to go that way, plus the output shaft should mate to the transfer case since it has a TH350 in it now. I also happen to have a full 10-point roll cage from S&W Racecars, cut and notched, it’s an easy weld-in. I bought a parts truck for my Blazer and ended up with all the running gear off of it, front to back, so I have plenty of spares.
My line of thought is to run it with the current running gear until it breaks, then think about upgrading. It’s flat, dry and treeless where I live, I’d have to drive 30 miles to get to any rough country at all. We have plenty of good mudholes around here from time to time, though, so that would probably be what we ended up playing in most of the time. Rock trail driving will be very limited at first, I don’t want to tear it up right off the bat. I’ll keep it street legal, don’t care to have to tow or haul it.
I have a couple of sons – 20 and 18 – and my girlfriend has an 18 year old son. I figure this would be a great project for us to all get involved in together. I’m a firm believer in thinking like a 20-year old when you’re hanging around with ‘em and this is just the kind of thing that appeals to young men (and us old farts that haven't grown up) – making something loud and tough and use it to tear $hit up.
I’d sure like to hear from some of you crawlers and mudders, I’ve never done it before and don’t care to waste money when I can help it.
My line of thought is to run it with the current running gear until it breaks, then think about upgrading. It’s flat, dry and treeless where I live, I’d have to drive 30 miles to get to any rough country at all. We have plenty of good mudholes around here from time to time, though, so that would probably be what we ended up playing in most of the time. Rock trail driving will be very limited at first, I don’t want to tear it up right off the bat. I’ll keep it street legal, don’t care to have to tow or haul it.
I have a couple of sons – 20 and 18 – and my girlfriend has an 18 year old son. I figure this would be a great project for us to all get involved in together. I’m a firm believer in thinking like a 20-year old when you’re hanging around with ‘em and this is just the kind of thing that appeals to young men (and us old farts that haven't grown up) – making something loud and tough and use it to tear $hit up.
I’d sure like to hear from some of you crawlers and mudders, I’ve never done it before and don’t care to waste money when I can help it.
Goodness, that's a lot of dang power!!! Sounds like a sweet motor! BUT, I wouldn't use it unless you plan on having to totally beef the drivetrain and make a mud racing rig. (IMO) You don't need tons of power to have a good crawler/multisport rig for crawling, just let your gearing take care of things, especially with the doubler! Tons of power=broken parts, especially when you've got a lot of torque multiplication due to lower gears. If you want a reliable multi-purpose rig that won't leave ya stranded, I'd go doubler for crawling gears, a mild to medium motor (enough power to spin 'em in the mud but, nothing excessive), mild lift, 35's with the stock stuff, bigger if ya go 1 tons.
