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Kinda New Any Help?

i think i might stick with the 208 and the 350 th. monster and bowtie overdrive both say if i put a 700r4 i will have to move the engine forward 1 7/8". to make it compatible with the 208 or 205. dont have the room. i put a HUGE radiator in it already. does that sound right to anyone? they said it is to accomodate the adaptor bet the tranny and t-case
 
the following is just my opinion / build idea based on what you have said in your various posts....

front axle: the 10-bolt you already have
rear axle: 6 lug semi-floating 14 bolt (sf14b)
t-case: the 208 you have now rebuilt or maybe a np241
tranny: either the th350, rebuilt... or a good aftermarket 700R4 with a ginormous cooler / remote filter.

There is nothing wrong with a 10 bolt front axle if you are talking about 33-35" tires. Run good quality hubs and a decent set of shafts/joints and it will hold up fine to the kind of use you are talking about. It will be cheaper, lighter and have more ground clearance than a D60. Don't get me wrong, no one loves their D60 more than I love mine.... but if you aren't going to run 37" tires or larger and don't plan on doing some pretty nasty 4x4 action, the D60 is kind of a waste of money. If you're rich and don't care... go for it. If there is any kind of budget at all, I'd just use the 10b you already have and do a few upgrades on it.

The sf14b rear end is a good axle for your application because it is such an easy swap and doesn't require you to change the lug-count on your front axle or get new wheels. The sf14b is a good axle. You'll want one from an 88+ chebbie... thats when they started using 6-lugs on the sf14b. Before that, they were all 8 lug IIRC. Whatever the lug pattern, these axles have 1.375" 33 spline shafts and a 9.5" ring gear.

The np208 is a decent transfer case but it does have two weaknesses. First, as others noted, it has an aluminum case. If it meets a rock, it can crack it. Not good. A decent skidplate pretty much solves this problem though. The second weakness is the design of the rear output. Chevy 208s use a slip yoke output. In my experience, these things pretty much suck. They always end up leaking, and if you have to remove the shaft for some reason, fluid will leak out the hole. Pretty lame. There are ways to SYE (slip yoke eliminate) a 208 using dodge parts (both ford and dodge used 208s also... but theirs were fixed yoke!). Another option would be to use a np241 from a 88-91 Blazer-Burb. This transfer case is similar to the 208 except that SYE kits are common. With one of these kits installed and a skid plate to protect it from rocks, the 241 is a great case. As an added bonus, if you decided to run a 700R4 in your rig... it will be easy to adapt, because thats the only auto they used in those 88-91 K5s/Burbs. Just need to find someone selling both the 241 and the adapter.

As far as the tranny goes... why would you have to move your engine forward? What is "in the way" of a slightly longer trans like the 700R4? You might end up with steeper driveline angle in the rear, but other than that, I don't see a reason why a 700 couldn't be used. Driveshafts will need to be resized, but I don't see anything else being a problem with running a 700/208 (or 241 or 205 for that matter!) If the body of the rig is somehow causing interference, you could always do a 1 or 2" body lift. Sometimes just a little bit of seperation between body and frame is a good thing.

j
 
i dont want to move my engine foreward and they said the 700 is longer by 1 7/8" so i would have to move the engine or recut hole in floor for 4x4 shifter and get new driveshafts. dosnt appear anything is in the way. so if i use a 700 i will have to move the cross member and relocate my floor shifter for the 4x4 and get my drive shafts resized?
 
when you say "crossmember" do you just mean the thing that the t-case bolts too? If so, they are super easy to move... just gotta drill new holes and bolt it in its new home.

As far as the shifter goes, usually the piece of round-stock that is the shifter can be heated up with a torch and bent to adjust it so it fits. Its been so long since I had a np208 I forget what the shifting linkage looks like though...

j
 
IF YOU EVEN HAVE TO DO THAT MUCH to my knowledge the 700r4 isn't that much different the slip yoke on the rear culd probably eat the difference in driveline....

I'd move the crossmember if need be long before I'd move a motor or mounts.

Np208 is easily rebuildable, I used to mess with harleys if a clutch basket job doesn't scare you, sit down with a set of snap ring pliers and the NP208 and you'll have it done in no time.
 
Nice truck! I'm pretty happy with the modifications I made to my 56. If I was able to go back and change one thing, it be the transmission. The th400 is great, but the 700r4 would be better. Relocating the transfer case back is a piece of cake.
 
the crossmember i was refering to is not the tranny suport. it is behind the tcase. the rear u joint is about 2 1/4" away from it. it seem to be able to be moved. i have a spacer between the tranny and t case thats about 2" thick. if the 700 is appx 2" longer than the 350 by 2" does that mean they will work out about the same cauz i dont have to use this spacer on the 700?


045a1d825308cf252ca82417d4bd3162me5.jpg
 
and resizing driveshafts is common? if i upgrade front and rear axles at the same time i will have to resize driveshafts anyways right? so it will be a small block 400/w mild build.700r4/208/14ff/d44/4.10/35 12.5/ on 16.5x10 rims/3"body(had to for clearance)/4"soft spring/shock/steering stablizers(undecided on suspension) sound good?
 
I'm not crazy about body lifts you may be able to get away with just a 1" lift from ORD if 3 isn't necessary for something else.


If you choose the 700r4 minus finding axles already pregeared you can probably get away with 4.56's since you have overdrive which will really shine in take off for towing
 
One easy way to clear that crossmember would be to eliminate the slip yoke on your 208 (or a 241). This makes the output from the t-case much shorter and would therefore leave you plenty of room without having to mod the crossmember at all. As noted on the ck5 tech file on the 241 SYE, it makes the effective length of the case about 6" shorter than stock. That more than makes up for the 1.5" you gain with the 700R4.

j
 
thanks i am looking into a sye now has anyone done one on a 208? so the 4.56 would be better? what about a HUGE trans filter and remote filter? who makes these? i sam a b&m cooler with a elec fan any thoughts? thanks for all the imput... im SURE it will save time money and headaches in the long run to do it right the first time. got a guy who has a 3/4 ton corporate 14ff/ and d44 /4.10/ rims with 3/4 tread bfg's rmta 35's for $ 500. oh and a couple drive shafts used but in good shape? fair price? they are from stock 3/4 chevy
 
Doesnt sound like a bad price at all, and sounds like your getting the hang of exactly what you want. Good for you!!! :thumb:

However, 4.10's and 35"s on a 700 would make me worry a little bit. When you have a lower (numercially higher gearset) it relieves some stress on the trans. And as a result allows for less trans temps. This is the number one killer of transmissions is heat, it breaks down the fluid, allows the clutches to slip and before you know it you have a burned up trans on your hands. I had 33" with 3.73 and it wasnt bad at all but would have preferred 4.10's. The nice thing about 35" and 4.10 is lower cruising rpm but the 700 has a nice 4th gear (0.7) but running with 4.56 it would still be very tolerable on the highway. Besides that 700 has a 3.06 first gear which allows for some nasty launches and torque at the rear wheels comapred to a th400/350. Thats the only thing I miss about my 700 is the 1st gear and overdrive....go figure. :haha: You figure going from 4.10 to 4.56 will net a 10 percent change in rpm, so say you were cruising at 2500 rrrr's with 4.10 then you would be crusining around 2700 rpm's with 4.56 gears. But your trans will have an easier life. I have burned up three 700r4's, so your right about wanting the biggest cooler you can find (the largest B&M one is very nice and what I have) I would also get a good aluminum deep pan, it adds a few quarts and will transfer heat better, and most of those pans have a screw hole in the bottom which would allow you to install a temp gauge (very important to watch). And with the 700 make sure your tv cable is adjusted properly, that is critical to the long life of that trans. If you plan on doing any towing your trans will like you alot more if you rearend has 4.56's.
 
K5er4Life said:
Doesnt sound like a bad price at all, and sounds like your getting the hang of exactly what you want. Good for you!!! :thumb:

However, 4.10's and 35"s on a 700 would make me worry a little bit. When you have a lower (numercially higher gearset) it relieves some stress on the trans. And as a result allows for less trans temps. This is the number one killer of transmissions is heat, it breaks down the fluid, allows the clutches to slip and before you know it you have a burned up trans on your hands. I had 33" with 3.73 and it wasnt bad at all but would have preferred 4.10's. The nice thing about 35" and 4.10 is lower cruising rpm but the 700 has a nice 4th gear (0.7) but running with 4.56 it would still be very tolerable on the highway. Besides that 700 has a 3.06 first gear which allows for some nasty launches and torque at the rear wheels comapred to a th400/350. Thats the only thing I miss about my 700 is the 1st gear and overdrive....go figure. :haha: You figure going from 4.10 to 4.56 will net a 10 percent change in rpm, so say you were cruising at 2500 rrrr's with 4.10 then you would be crusining around 2700 rpm's with 4.56 gears. But your trans will have an easier life. I have burned up three 700r4's, so your right about wanting the biggest cooler you can find (the largest B&M one is very nice and what I have) I would also get a good aluminum deep pan, it adds a few quarts and will transfer heat better, and most of those pans have a screw hole in the bottom which would allow you to install a temp gauge (very important to watch). And with the 700 make sure your tv cable is adjusted properly, that is critical to the long life of that trans. If you plan on doing any towing your trans will like you alot more if you rearend has 4.56's.
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I think I'd stay with the 4.10's for what you're doing. You won't be towing that trailer in overdrive so it should hold up. I went with a 40,000 GVW cooler on mine to keep the temps down. This cooler will run from one side of your grill to the other, but it will fit. I also picked up a deeper aluminum pan and an aftermarket remote filter. The hottest I've seen the trans temp reach is 180 degrees, and that's been on some 100+ days. Now keep in mind that this is in a TH400, 3.73 gears and 35's. My highway RPM's run around 2850 @ 70 MPH. If you were going to tow or off-road all of the time, I'd recommend the 4.56 gears. I have a matched Dana 60 and 14bff with 4.56 gears. If I saw the need, they would both be under my '56. I've just been pretty happy with the setup I have right now, so I don't see any reason to change.

Just my thoughts. Your driving style in your truck might be a little more aggressive than mine and this too might justify the lower gears. If you get one set and don't like them, you can always change them.
 
is a gear change expensive? smitty, if u come across another set or wanna sell... goin to georgia tonight to pick up an acid dipped and primed body for the 58. although mine is in good shape replacements are hard to find that way if i F... somethin up out playin after the build i wont be as likely to shoot myself......thanks for the imput guys!!!
 
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