OK so here it is, I put a Dana 60 in my 52 f-2 this winter, I got a hellofa a deal on it since someone made it a full locker. It has 3.73 gears in it and I want to get more top end out of it. I'm running a flathead with stock 4 speed in it. I've heard rumors about 3.09 gears being available for the Dana 60 but cant find any sources for them, Any Ideas? And I know this is going to limit my acceleration by doing this, but I'm not too worried about being able to bat others off the line.
Dodge had a 3.07 gear in the dana 60 behind the ***mins diesel in '89, '90 and early '91 trucks with the 3 speed 727 transmission before they intercooled them and added the 518 overdrive automatic. You'll need a different carrier to use that ratio also because of the thinner ring rear on the lower number ratios. Find a friendly dodge parts guy or drop me an email and I'll check with my parts guy and get you some part numbers and prices. Cliff Ramsdell
be careful of the dana 60s with anything under a 3:50 ratio.dana also made a 61 looks just like a 60 but the pinion is offset. check the b.o.m. #.....dodge and ford both used the 61s..manly in vans , but have seen a few in trucks even a few 61 front axles.
In my experience, any ratio under 3.55 is as rare as hen's teeth in a 60. I can find none in the aftermarket. I have personally never seen one under 3.55 in the wild, and I stuff 60's under all sorts of 4x4 stuff, all of the time. Dodge OEM prices might be pricey. As bulletproof1 says, beware the Dana 61. How about putting a 5-speed in there? Once you get done collecting the all of the uncommon parts to swap to higher gears, and then pay to get it done (if you are not doing it yourself), the 5-speed might be cheaper. Or, for the ultimate in cheapness, somewhat taller tires.
i wish now i would have saved all the 3:55s i through away.....i saved 1 good low mile set for me just in case i want to build one for a car.i had some 3:00s from a 61,was going to build a portal 61with hummer outers.had it all figured out then the guy didnt want to drop the coin.
I've already put about the tallest tires I can on it, and I have been considering the transmission. The down side of the transmission I thought is that a t5 from what I've read can only handle a vehicle with under 300 ftlbs of torque and under 5700lbs of weight. Now my engine isn't built so that wasn't what I was so worried although a stock engine is 200ftlbs and the truck is fairly heavy on its own. What other transmission options are there, or am I just being over concerned about the strength of the transmission? I do drive very hard with it, when I do. And I was planning on putting a 4 barrel on it and electronic ignition, and this should up the power a bit. I do have a Dana 60 in my truck it is cast on the center section. Thank you for the application that the 3.07 gears are in.
Dana 60's were also installed on 426 Hemi and 440 6-pack cars from the factory. You might want to check with the Mopar muscle crowd for a list of ring an' pinions...
So I got a .t-5 in a chevy one ton. dually. with a 255hp 350. 4:11 rear. It's been in there for maybe 5-6 years. I really like it. I guess you could kill it with abuse, but normal driving hasn't affected it at all. Grandpa driving the C-30 ain't like junior driving the S-10 On the other topic of the 3.07 gear. I would really think that over. too low rpm actually might hurt the topend. as in not being able to "pull the gear" I had this experiance with a stock 283 in a full size Chevy car with 3.08's.
Why not just use an 8.8 instead? You can buy those all day long with the gears you'd want for $100 or so. A Dana 60 is overkill on something with a flathead. If you lived closer I'd gladly trade you my disc brake 3.27, posi, 8.8 for your Dana.
I have a Dana 44 in my '51 F-1 out of a mid 60's IH Scout. Nice and narrow, bulletproof, posi, and 3.08 gears. There are a bunch more options for 44's as far as tall gears than the 60's, and you should be able to find a good one cheap.
If you buy gears for the Dana 60 make sure the gears you order will fit the carrier inside.They are not all the same.............................YG
The F-2 is 8-lug. No Dana 44 (rear) or Ford 8.8 in 8-lug, or full-float. The thing with putting taller gears in a rear is that it affects performance in every gear. The other gears might seem unacceptably tall. Adding an additional, and overdrive, gear gets you better top-end, without potentially killing the bottom. I think that a T5 in good shape, or perhaps recently rebuilt with good parts, would do just fine in this application, so long as you don't drive like a goon.
Well I do drive like a goon. And that was the issueI was having with using the other axles. Is there another transmission option? Although I'll be honest I like the trans that is in it because almost none of my friends know how to drive an un-synchronized transmission.
The Ford toploader four speed with the three plus one overdrive ge****t is worth considering. The first three gears will be not too different from second thru high on your current four speed, and fourth is an overdrive. They don't have a granny gear for first, but will probably work just fine in a pickup. Not as strong as a big-block toploader four-speed, but plenty strong enough for your application. They were used extensively in the late 70s and early 80s; some have an aluminum case and internal rail shifter.
Heres a link to Randys Ring Pinion they have always been helpful any questions http://www.ringpinion.com/
Since you like the truck style trans have you considered adapting a ZF-5 speed or maybe a NV-4500 ? The 3.73 reduces to about a 2.9...do you think the engine would be able handle something that tall? You might want to play with a gear calculator: http://ctny.audiworld.com/mark/s4/gears/gear_calc.html .
The NV4500 is an excellent transmission, but they can be pricey. It will also need an adapter to get the front to "look" like an old-school manual transmission. http://broncograveyard.com/bronco/i-11344-froogle.htm http://advanceadapters.com/index.php?p=view_category&category_id=7
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