Hello all, looking to pick up a Willys truck sometime in the near future. Ideally I would like to pick up one of the 60's models but I'm definitely not going to be picky if I come across one for the right price. I would like to restore it and work towards getting it to be a little bit of a daily driver type. I'm not going to use it for work every day, but thought it would be neat to take out once in a while. I know the Dana 53's aren't a popular axle anymore, and the ratio's in them aren't really made for todays cruising speeds. I was wondering if anybody has successfully swapped an axle or ring and pinion to get it down to a 3.87 or so. Any advice would be very welcome, especially with pictures of course! Thanks.
" I know the Dana 53's aren't a popular axle anymore, and the ratio's in them aren't really made for todays cruising speeds. I was wondering if anybody has successfully swapped an axle or ring and pinion to get it down to a 3.87 or so. "
Try cruising with a Timken 5.38 gear set. You can pull a train with them, just not very fast!
But, about swapping ring and pinion gears, here is a discussion about the task:
hello, maybe you can change the hole differential for a 80´s era dodge pick up dana 44. use the same lug pattern and the width is ok for the Willys, the brakes are better and if you have luck find a powerlock on it, need a narrow front end for a Willys so you have to use a scout dana 44,
good luck 2012-11-11 14.42.54.jpg