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Hillbilly

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I have a 1977 dodge stepside. 6in suspension lift, 4in body lift. 360 motor, 4 speed manual transmission, stock fulltime 4 wheel drive axles and currently has 36x14.5 super swampers. I do have a dana 60 front axle and a dana 70 rear out of a 1991 dodge cummins I sold to replace them with, unless there is a better option? This truck will be used strictly for off road. It has no exhaust system really, just the manifolds, not sure how I want to run the new exhaust.

So this is what I have to start with. I will use it mostly in the mountains and hills around my house. Mostly rocky and muddy terrain. Besides trading it for a Toyota or jeep :p how would you build this truck. Where would you start. Things to look for. I would like to be able to also take this truck to moab. I just want a good solid, kinda go anywhere truck. I am thinking I need to add some pipe and mufflers first.
 
what exactly do you mean by go anywhere? in moab what are your goals? easy trails or extreme?

mufflers are over rated..

do you wanta keep it a truck or do you wanta cut it up / bob it/ truggy it?

i'd get rid of the body lift !

put a locker in the rear axle.. build some rock sliders and protective bumpers and go have fun!


i look forward to seeing what you do
 
I have looked at a lot of pictures that are posted here. I am a huge chicken and some of you guys are nuts!!:cool:;) although I don't see myself diving off cliff faces and crawling down boulder filled ravines and some how defying gravity, I would like to be capable of those things if needed. I really do not want to cut the truck up, I like the look. I do think the fenders have been trimmed already though. The body lift is going. A body lift and a wood bed do not mix, it has already busted through. I want a truck that works in the mountains, muddy flats and flooded river bottoms. Lots of mud, sand and water, stump jumping ect... this is the environment I will be in most often, much more than sand stone and rock climbing.

You say mufflers are over rated. Do you guys run just a exhaust manifold or straight pipes and get the exhaust behind the cab? What are the better exhaust options?

What type of gears and lockers are best for 36, 40, 44 inch tires? What's the biggest tire you would go with a 360? I need bumpers, well I have a air cylinder in front, but will be replacing it to add a winch, the rear has a three inch square tube with a tow hook welded to the frame.
 
Welcome :cool: sounds like a cool pickup. What part of Utah do you live in?

Honestly I would put on a good set of mufflers (I prefer quiet) and remove the 4" body lift! Give the thing a nice tune up, buy a nice tow strap (chains are dangerous) and d-rings and go have fun. The more you get out there the quicker you'll figure out what works and what doesn't work along with what you need and what you don't need.

Head out with a group. Meet up with the local clubs in your area and/or keep an eye on the upcoming trips forum. Remember to tread lightly and also respect the trails and environment.

Andrew
 
Another for ditching the body lift and putting a good set of mufflers on. You asked about tire size for the 360, engine size and tire size do not go hand in hand. You will have plenty of power to run the tires you want as long as you gear correctly. I don't know what your gear ratio is in your transfer case and transmission so picking the right axle gears to match those and get your RPM's where you want them is the important thing.

First thing is to get it running good with a good exhaust on it and ditch that body lift and take it wheeling to figure out the direction you want to take it. Unless you are building a buggy it's going to be difficult to build a rig not knowing how it drives to begin with.
 
So for now don't worry about swapping the axles or gearing them, just run it on the stock axles? The exhaust I hope to gave done next week. I just need to figure out how to get the windshield wiper arm of first. The ones I have felt with have a little lever on the side of the arm, just slide it over and the arm pops off. This style does not have that. Looks like there is a tab of some sort under the arm, but the truck was covered in snow, so I didn't spend much time trying to figure it out.

I have heard those front axles are famous for going out and just junk? Anyone have any issues with them. Im talking about the full time 1/2 ton axle not the dana 60 sitting in my yard
 
Rot Box, I live down by gunnison

Kevin, I started a hunting club down here and have miles of river bottoms full of dead fall. Its faster to drive over the river and woods to get around the property than running out to the highway, opening different gates to get where I want to go. Its just funner staying off the black top and jumping across the dead fall and faster. That's what I ment. It all private land and hidden, I am not tearing up and scaring the land. As soon as run off comes all traces of me are gone
 
best way to get started is to go do an easy trail and see how it did. A lot of vehicles don't need a single mod to have fun in Moab. You may end up finding out you don't like rock crawling, or maybe you'll get so hooked that you'll make it a buggy. I recommend putting some gas in the tank and heading out and learning what you like. Check out other rigs and see what you like and what you don't like.


one more friendly reminder. While stump-jumping/mudding, wheeling, always make sure the land you drive on is legal to motorized travel. We are losing far too many trails and the last thing the tree huggers need is ammo against us.
 
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First step is give your rig a name and start a build thread. Sounds like you'd be more into expo, rock crawling is so redneck. :)
 
Hillbilly said:
Kevin, I started a hunting club down here and have miles of river bottoms full of dead fall. Its faster to drive over the river and woods to get around the property than running out to the highway, opening different gates to get where I want to go. Its just funner staying off the black top and jumping across the dead fall and faster. That's what I ment. It all private land and hidden, I am not tearing up and scaring the land. As soon as run off comes all traces of me are gone
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Sounds like fun. For what you want, I'd gear super low and spool the back and see how far that gets you. You may not need those monster axles.
 
Kevin B. said:
Sounds like fun. For what you want, I'd gear super low and spool the back and see how far that gets you. You may not need those monster axles.
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A full size rig with V8 power and 1/2 Ton axles isn't a great combo, it might not break today but it will soon enough. Wheel it as is and build the stronger axles the way you see fit and swap them in.
 
I am actually a little surprised by your suggestions. I really expected to hear something like...... add more suspension lift..... regear your axles, better yet add 2 1/2 ton axles, drop in a bored out 440...... selectable lockers..... doubler kit send the exhaust up through the hood, relocate the radiator to the bed ect..... guess I will just leave the truck like it is, add the exhaust and get a winch mounted on, drive it until it breaks or find my limits
 
There aren't too many people on here that would tell you the things you just listed. I would like to say that most of here are sort of like minded in that we feel it's more important to go wheeling than it is to build the biggest badest rig you can which would in turn set you up for failure by giving you a vehicle way more capable than your driving skills might be able to handle(not saying you are a noob or don't know how to drive just making a generalized statement)

Buying a tank of gas and getting it out of the driveway is the best thing you can do to this thing.
 
What's expo? I like redneck :rofl: the thing that got me to thinking about this is the TV show on the outdoor channel where they show all the mud parks back east and down south. I was ready to move! That looked like a blast. So I decided I wanted to build a truck that takes me beyond stock. I would send the axles off to be geared and add lockers to both. Since I am new to this though, I do not know what ratio to go and locker, I am not sure what a spool is either. Do any of you know. Someone down in sevier/sanpete county area that could build the axles? I have no doubt the 1/2 ton axles will break, I'd like to have the bigger axles ready to go when they do. From what I have read it will cost around 2500 per axel to add 4:88 gears and selectable lockers. Does that sound about right?
 
Hillbilly said:
I will use it mostly in the mountains and hills around my house. Mostly rocky and muddy terrain... I would like to be able to also take this truck to moab. I just want a good solid, kinda go anywhere truck.
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I assume you want to keep it street legal? You can do all of these things with 31" tires. In fact, you might be happier taking it back closer to stock trim rather than building it tall.
 
Hillbilly said:
So I decided I wanted to build a truck that takes me beyond stock.
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You'd be surprised where a stock rig with a good driver will go! A locker in the rear adds a lot of capability. if you're not going to get into the crazy stuff some guys on here do, it's probably not worth doing big expensive upgrades.




Hillbilly said:
What's expo? I like redneck :rofl: the thing that got me to thinking about this is the TV show on the outdoor channel where they show all the mud parks back east and down south. I was ready to move! That looked like a blast.
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We don't have any mud parks here in Utah. Unless it's done on private land, mudding is generally frowned upon in Utah since it damages our trails. ;(
 
Hillbilly said:
What's expo?
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I like you already! If your front axle is the style without selectable hubs and unit bearings then yes they are known to be weak. You can upgrade it to GM components which gives you more strength, durability along with selectable hubs BUT if you have a D60 ready to go I would go that route and don't look back. If nothing is worn out just roll with it for now :cool:
 
Sixstringsteve, it does not need to be street legal, I can get almost anywhere I want to go from my house and barley touch the black top.I could always tow it if I needed to, but if I could make it street legal just by adding smaller tires, I would be happy to swap them as needed. I know we don't have any mud parks, being the second driest state in the nation would make it very hard to operate one. There is a place, really my back yard known as the "white hills". This is a huge area and is used by many different types of off roaders, from dirt bikes to rock crawlers and everything inbetween. Its full of tracks and trails, super gooey and muddy, its a playground and well used by many. People even come and camp here just to go play. I have been stopped many times out there in dry dirt because the ruts are so deep. There are places where the water naturally damns up and everyone runs through it. Its been that way for a hundred years. My property is also 3000 acres and a stock truck gets stuck pretty easy at times, where even this truck being a bit taller can go through the sand bar or keep from dragging the differential in the ruts.

Maybe just a rear locker, axel swap and I know I need a winch and I'll be good. I have never had a locker on a truck before.

Rot box, it does not have the selectable hubs. My D60 that came off my 91 dodge does. I was told this was a great axel and that's why I took it when I sold the truck. It has kingpins and was from a diesel, I was told this was the desirable axel to have. The D70 rear axel off the same truck I was told was also a good axel? I had planned on just putting in 5:46 gearing and lockers when I pulled them off the old truck before putting them on this stepside. I only thought about those gears because in every magazine, seems like those are the gears most seem to be running.

So what's an expo? Haha
 
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