Dauntless Drivetrain Change

Thanks for the offer Rick.  Hopefully does not happen again,  but you never know.    (I thought I replied to this earlier,  but don't see it

   My God, what we do in a pinch !

   That can rack will work I think, and I always packed a leaky jerry-can with me every trip through the Rubicon. 16-summers with a '77 CJ-7 w/ 304 & T-18, and 2-summers with a '46 2A L134 T-90 5:38's and 32-inch Tru-Tracs aired down to 12 PSI.   Low CG and tire pressure is good. Soft flexy bias-ply tires like Dick Cepek do wonders on the Rubicon aired Low. Stiff tires don't wrap around the rocks and grab, but spin in the dust on the rocks. all Good stuff.
   Even after installing the T-18 trans, I still had white-knuckles. haha
( but, the white knuckles were black with Trail-Dust ) yes

   I have a close friend who joined me my 2-nd year through the Rubicon trail in 1984, and he wound up putting the SM420 Granny-box in his Land Cruiser with 351w Ford, and I never heard him or his buddies complain or have trans problems. They ran Moab for several years with good praise of the 420 box.
   And i wound up installing the T-18 out of a Ford pickup and purchased the Nobak adapter kit in 1984, which is working fine today.
   From my experience, the T-18 is a B*tch to tear apart without a bearing separater. On the flip-side, the NV 435 falls apart in your lap. I have not torn down a SM 465 yet.

    This discussion is always a treat to read and ponder _ _ what's next.

   Ok, so while there was lots of discussion early on in this thread, i must admit that i have to fess-up. My little '46 probably won't stay stock for long because i picked up a T-18 with transfer case and am chomping at the bit to gather all the necessary components to put it into the '46.
   Another confession:   i have looked at a 215 Buick V-8 all-aluminum engine, but didn't buy it. It needed way too much machining work.
   I have a solid lead on another 215 complete in a car.
   So, you see, it is easy to dream about how we may personalize our machines.

    Have fun on the Rubicon run ! .... i haven't been since 2001.   Egads

   One last note:   there is a great trail near the Rubicon trail called the Barrett Lake trail. It is only open 2-weeks out of the year for 4x4's. It is near White's Lake up in that area. My father and i walked it one year after doing the Rubicon. It is 6-miles in and 6-out. .. interesting.
   There is one other seldom mentioned trail in California up out of Fresno. This trail is called the Swampy Lake trail, which is near the Dusy-Ershim trail, which it is rumored to rival the Rubicaon. The Dusy-Ershim trail is 30-miles one-way and if running south to north it terminates at Kaiser Pass in the Sierra Nevada mountains.   Great trails. i haven't done Swampy Lake yet.
I learned of the Dusy Ershim while on the Rubicon back in '86, and had to do it, and got snowed on in August. go figure.

    Len

Greaser,    "in a pinch" is a great description at this point.     Thanks for entertaining/informative  post.

Edited by JeepFever - 24 July 2018 at 5:05am

JeepFever wrote: Thanks for the offer Rick.  Hopefully does not happen again,  but you never know.    (I thought I replied to this earlier,  but don't see it

Awesome.  Can't wait to see some pictures.

Ron - my hat is off to you.  What an incredible adventure.  From rebuilding Wilson in record time, to the great Rubicon trip all the way across the country.  Wow. 

This is one of my favorite photos.  At this point I was posing for the camera,  but also was caught up in the moment.  Such a spectacular view.  We made it!!   All downhill from here.   All the months of crashing to get Wilson ready was totally worth it.! 

Well it sure seems like it worked! Thanks for sharing all the pics and videos.