mud bogger help

[OHEARN.2012]

ok so i want to build a mud bogger. i have whole drivetrain 350 engine either a 350 or 400 turbo and either a 205 or 208 tcase i have to check on them tho. and also i have axles 14 bolt gm and d44. for a bogger body i really kind of wanted a mid 80s chevy regular cab. but i wanted to shorten the frame.  but my question is would it be better wo just get a short box or shorten the frame?? i kinda wanted to make a sold bullet proof custom built bed out of just 2x2 square tubing. but would my pinion angle with a frame shortened like 2 feet?? but wat should i do?? i want it to be more of a mud bogger and maybe a lil bit daily driver

[OHEARN.2012]

im kinda trying to duplicate professional grades truck rusted reject

[betterbeaters]

my trucks cut down to 111" wheel base works good but I would use a blazer frame (109" wheelbase) with a cab or a  short box (117" wheelbase I think)

[betterbeaters]

oh and I like my 350 208 works great... got a 350 205 in my other truck and want to get a 208 for that now! had a few 400th never liked them.

[Hammerlane]

tcase -
205 - bullet proof, takes alot to break them, heavy as hell, will need to change axle gear ratios for anything above 35" tires..or really build the crap outta the motor.
208 -  not as strong, better gear ratio, not as heavy

Trans -
400 - good trans, hard to find cases
350 - abundant cases, easy and inexpensive to build

axles -
Corp. 14 - way to go
d44 - good choice for tires under 40", will hold up with 40" + but you gotta drive it different

wheel base/frame -
keep your lift to 4" or less (trim sheet metal for 40"+ tires) to maintain your driveshaft angle and you can cut the frame
down quite a bit, a spacer between the frame and tcase Xmember can gain up to 2" of driveline improvement

Bed -
Boggin is about weight, the lighter the better, stay away from steel (where you can)

[Jjay78]

buddy of mine is selling a short box, for cheep, no axles or drive train in it though, think it's a 89 stepside, maroon in fairly good shape

[OHEARN.2012]

nvm im hopefuly going to be picking up a 1976  cj5 this weekend complete for 300-400 bucks but thanks for info guys thiss winter will be upgrading alot of it

[OHEARN.2012]

wat is a gear to gear tcase?? a buddy of mine is getting one in the truck hes gettin? he said it wont break? and also can a 350th hold up to a 400th?

[betterbeaters]

if built right a 350th can hold a ton of power but a 400th is said to be stronger with enough mods (I hate 400th aways had bad luck with them)...  and for the gear to gear... it means it used gear to gear over a chain drive..  np 205 is gear to gear and a np 208 is chain drive

[MR NASTY]

Ya be careful how much steel you add back in for support. Don't take much to add back the weigh you were trying to remove.

[OHEARN.2012]

yea how much is a cj5 stock?? and is there adaprter so u can runa a chevy 350 with the jeep trans??

[MR NASTY]

Yup pricey tho. Just type whatever your trying to hook together into google. Easiest and cheapest was a 350 hooked to a 205. Room is going to be a issue for the cj5

[betterbeaters]

cj5s are very short  I had one ran 383sbc 400th dana 20 tcase toyota axles and 42s  rear shaft was only like 12" long and broke a ton of  ujoints...  you would want to move the rear axle back it you were to run a 14 bolt and a say 350th 205 with a 350.. check out the cj5 build on here the guy is doing its got 3/4 tons and I think a 350 350th 205  I really didnt like the cj5 it was too small for a big guy

[Hammerlane]

The Cheep is 350/350/205
fabbed motor mounts
stock chevy tcase xmember
motor was moved forward 2" and down 1 1/2"
1" spacer between the frame and tcase xmember
9" ford rear with stock ford springs and shackles
4" jeep front leafs mounted to a 2"x4" sub frame that has been welded in
both diffs have been rotated.
shaft angle is still steep on both..

[betterbeaters]

heres mine and I got ton more pics of it!

[OHEARN.2012]

my techer said it would be a real small drive shaft but would the stock axles hold up for just mud boggin and trail riding?? i know their stock and they have locking diffs.

[betterbeaters]

the jeep axles wont like big tires and a v8  but yoda axles are good for mild power and big tires and they are still small. or early bronco dana 44 and 9 in also work great!

[OHEARN.2012]

well right now it has the stock 304 v8 and 35s can you build up a 304?

[betterbeaters]

yes you can build a 304

[MR NASTY]

You can build anything. Might cost more because its a rarer build.