Dana 44

[Boodogboo]

Front, rear and dana 20 what a deal.

[gmwillys]

I'm impressed. You've done well! A little clean up, and you'll be on your way.

[Boodogboo]

? Is there anyone out there that can make a transmission tunnel because someone has welded a rectangle piece against the fire wall and gutted the tunnel for that what looks to be a T10 4spd. It shifted just fine but as soon as I get a T18 it and the d18 case is coming out and will be for sale along with the Dana 27 front and I an not sure rear axel.

[gmwillys]

The tunnel on the wagon isn't too hard to fabricate. There are not any real tough bends to make. The stock size sheet metal is 18 gauge, and it conforms easily to the shape, with out a lot of dolly work. Too bad you weren't a bit closer, we could have it made up in an afternoon. As soon as I get some time, I'm going to start replacing the driver's side floor in mine. My tunnel is in good shape, so we could use it as a reference.

[Boodogboo]

Sounds good,even a picture would be like getting another Christmas present, lol I have to replace my floor and rocker panels as well, came from a salt area side panels also but it will be worth it. If you know of anyone that is in need of the trans,case,front and rear end give me a holler.

[gmwillys]

Today was the first day in a while that I have been home during the day light hours. I'll try and remember to shoot some pictures to satisfy your needs.

[gmwillys]

What are you looking to get out of the axles and T case?

[Boodogboo]

Knot sure,but it will be after i get the 44s ready and installed,I am looking at about at least april-may and with the way things always go prob. June-july. Right now I am having fits trying to get the rear side windows out, apparently they were leaking and someone put some what looks like roofing tar on them and they are stuck.

[gmwillys]

I've owned the wagon since the late eighties, it has always been a Work in progress. It spent 15 years in a barn. Any progress is forward progress.

[gmwillys]

From the looks of your transmission tunnel, you have the majority of what you are supposed to have. The left (driver side) is relived enough for the side loader transmission and shifter. Looks like your transmission cover itself isn't in too bad of shape. I attached some pictures of the current Wagon build, and of a M38A1 that I worked on a few years back. The floor on it was all but completely gone.

[Boodogboo]

I see what you mean,it just looked like someone cut it with a chainsaw when I first looked at it.once I get into it it went be so bad. Thanks for the pictures. If you need anything just give me a holler. ? Are you planning on painting it yourself or someone else.i am juggling that around myself,its not for show but I don't want it to looked like I painted it with a brush and I am looking a resale value years down the road.

[gmwillys]

The only tough part will be to form around the transfer case. With your single lever D20, you can modify the opening to accommodate just single lever, for a cleaner look. There is a kit out there that can take a single lever D20, and convert it to a two lever like the original D18. Just a thought, some folks are purist, and don't want the upgrades to show.....

Thank you for the offer! I just may take you up on it. Likewise, you can do the same, if you need anything.

I will do everything I can to do all the work in house. I'm on the fence about using a crate motor, or rebuilding the tired SBC that was already installed. Everything was in good working order when torn apart, so none of the mounts would need to be messed with. Everything would just need to be refreshed. The paint will stay the same for a while. I'm partial to the turquoise, and there is enough of it left to buff and clear until it's time to make it like new. I am going to continue to strip the interior paint, then paint it the original color. I don't want a show vehicle either. I don't want to be afraid to take it down a forest cow path, for fear of a limb scratching the paint.

[Boodogboo]

" Boy it is so cold,I saw a politician with his hands in his own pockets". Got one more window out today the rubber is old and brittle and at 13 degrees I had to be careful.i am doing a lot of work on this 54 but when me and her go on vacation it will be in comfort. ac/ps/pb/and heat. ROLL TIDE

[gmwillys]

It's not the politician's hands that we usually feel.

I think I'm going for 3 out of the 4 of your criteria. Mine is set up with power steering and heat already, and am working on setting up power brakes. A/C isn't a real high priority for me. Unless the long suffering bride rides with me, I don't turn on the air in my daily driver. Unless I have a Vintage Air under dash set up dropped in my lap, the wagon will stay with it's original 2-55 air. At least with the cowl vent, and the rear hatch up, you get a nice flow through breeze at 55mph.

[Boodogboo]

I hear ya! It's just so hot down here in July and August.

[LarrBeard]

Talking about heat and air ....Story time:

The '48 2WD pickup was a Mississippi truck. The heater was about the size of a coffee can. It didn't work all that well in West Tennessee and by the end of the first winter in Indiana, there was no question that with the flo-thru ventilation from the floorboards and openings around steering column, brake and clutch - a better heater was needed.

My wife and I would go out Sunday driving and on one farm road I saw a Jeep Station Wagon sitting in a barnyard - with a tree growing through one missing back window. I stopped, made my manners with the farmer and went and looked it over (I was looking for parts even back in '69). IT HAD A HEATER IN IT - A BIG HEATER!

I asked about buying it and after a bit we agreed on a price (probably about $5) - but I had to take it out. No problem. The next Sunday I brought the tool box and went to work. There I was on the floorboard working over my head and I noticed a smell - definitely a barnyard smell. OK - what else do you expect in a barnyard?

The stink hung pretty heavy - so I came up for air and I looked over the front seat into the back end - where the tree was growing. The back seat was gone - but the back end wasn't empty. Layin' back there was a very dead goat. He had been there so long his ribs were sticking out through the hide. It wasn't all that cold a day as I remember and I was getting the full effect of eau de goat.

I swallowed hard a couple of times - I really needed that heater - and finished up. In my hurry I may have cut a couple of things I should have unbolted or unscrewed - but I got the heater. Now I knew why the farmer said that I had to take it out...

It did pretty well until the '48 went into the barn and when we took the truck back out for the restoration, it still had coolant in it. We flushed it, hot tanked the radiator and rebuilt the fan motor. Now that the truck doesn't have all the holes for flo-thru cooling and even has a nice carpet - that heater will just about run you out on a normal January day. (Not so today though).

Y'all stay warm now - ya' hear. And I agree - Roll Tide - and good luck to Uga.

[Boodogboo]

Wow! That sounds like a rough day.

[gmwillys]

I'll take a 100 degree day in the south over a 90 degree day in Minnesota. The humidity is so much lower down here then up there. That's the down side to being the land of 10,000 lakes, the humidity stays about 80% during the dog days of August. With that being said, it may only get up to 100 degrees for a week out of the year. The rest of the summer month, (3 weeks) it is rather nice. What is really fun is when it gets down to -40 ambient air temperature in the winter. I'd much rather be warm than cold.

I can relate to your dead goat story. Growing up working on farm machinery, one tends to find dead critters where you least expect them to be. For some reason mice like to die within the heater box.

[Boodogboo]

Oh! Boy look at what I found.2070:cool:

[gmwillys]

You must carry a horse shoe around in your back pocket.....

[Boodogboo]

;) just hope the side panels go on ok, ? Do the side panels have a slight bow in them from the factory. I still have a lot of work to do, just glad all the parts have come together so easy.

[gmwillys]

The side body panels do have a very slight curvature to them. Are you going to replace the entire quarter panel, or just the area that has cancer?

[Boodogboo]

I just received the whole side panel,rocker,floor and braces.it looks to have a factory bow in it,just asking to make sure I did not do something stupid,like put the porta-power on it.(LOL) . "I AINT that Krazy yet" . its coming apart pretty good so fer,hope it goes back together as well.

[gmwillys]

Take lots of measurements, and you'll be fine.