OK, here goes... I ‘ve got a ‘56 Willys Wagon with a Chevy 327 (210 HP), Turbo 400, and NP 203 boat anchor. All that awesome power reaches the ground through 33s, on ‘85 Toyota axles with 5.29s, hanging spring-over from Wagoneer leafs on the original frame (slightly modified). My wife and I bought it years ago with the intention of family wheeling up in the hills - fire access roads and the like, no rock crawling. Because it’s an old Willys, we also show it off each year at Hot August Nights in Reno. Here’s the issue: because this rig spends more time on pavement getting to its destination, the drivetrain combo winds out the small block at 65 mph! I’ve done ALOT of research on how to better suit it to our needs, but well-intentioned opinions have left me without solid answers.
Option 1. Swap TH400 for 700R4. This would give me overdrive, and drivability on the highway. However, this is a short wheel-base vehicle, and a longer trans would create a greater pinion angle. No bueno.
Option 2. Swap body onto modern chassis.
Option 3. Swap dropouts for new ones with 4.11s. Easy enough for a novice wrencher like me. Better highway manners. Maybe better mileage. But, would my “off-the-line” performance suffer? I’m not drag racin’, but I’d like to be able to get out of my own way!
Any thoughts? Regardless, I will be replacing all the axle seals, since they’re original and don’t hold fluids in very well.
