I need tips how to mate a Cherokee rear axle to a stock 1940 Plymouth. I want to keep the stock flathead and 3-speed tranny on my car but use a 3.55:1 Cherokee rear to get the rpm down. I already have the Jeep Dana 35 non C-clips axle and drive shaft. I guess I have to mate the Cherokee u-joint in the back to the stock Plymouth driveshaft. I will use a tri 4-link for suspension. Any advice on this?
You might communicate with Joe McGinnis [email protected] he makes up new driveshafts that eliminate the trunion style u-joints. Could be a source of information if nothing else. He advertises in The Plymouth Bulletin, put out by the Plymouth Owners Club here in the states.
my daily is a grand cherokee with dana 35 and they have problems with warping brake rotors and pinion bearings. better inspect it carefully and they are considered junk in the jeep world.
The Grand Cherokee was the one with disc brakes. The regular Cherokee had drums. The Cherokee could have a Dana 35c, a Chrysler 8.25, or, rarely, a Dana 44, all drums. I have been building, driving and racing Jeeps for years. The 35c will work fine in a street application, especially with the non-c-clip axles. As far as I remember, it is at or very near the width of the stock axle. You should do well with it. Save for the few rare times that they ran out of stock and switched to a Spicer 1330 u-joint, that application has a Spicer 1310 u-joint on the pinion. You should be able to have a driveshaft shop put a 1310 yoke on your existing shaft, and shorten it, as appropriate, to fit, and then balance it.
I noticed that you are in Sweden. If that makes parts harder to find, what you need to get is called a tube yoke: http://www.northerndrivetrain.com/category/cat_driveshaftcomp_tubeyokes.html You can find them there, and order, and have a driveshaft shop there put it in. You should double check the u-joint dimensions before ordering. Dimensions: 1310 U-Joint Style (Inside or Outside snap ring) OSR Distance between retaining rings G1 3.219 Cap Outside Diameter D1 1.062 Distance between retaining rings G2 3.219 Cap Outside Diameter D2 1.062 OE Manufacturer SPICER OE Series 1310 1330 U-Joint Style (Inside or Outside snap ring) OSR Distance between retaining rings G1 3.625 Cap Outside Diameter D1 1.062 Distance between retaining rings G2 3.625 Cap Outside Diameter D2 1.062 OE Manufacturer SPICER OE Series 1330 The difference is in the overall width of the joint, cap face-to-cap face.
Perhaps you do have a Dana 35 in your GC, they were used in the first gen GC. But in my experience, it was the 2nd gen GC, which used an aluminum variation of the Dana 44 that had bearing problems AND the rotor issues you mention. I have operated several regular Cherokees over many miles, with Dana 35 and Chrysler 8.25 axles with no problems.
I would look at a ford ranger pickup rearend it is narrow and it has the same bolt pattern and parts are cheaper.
He's in Sweden, and he already has the axle. The parts are not cheaper for either axle here in the US. Everything is +/- just a few dollars, either way. In Sweden, who knows? Better for him to work with what he already has.
Yes as gimpyshotrods writes, I already have the Cherokee rear and theres plenty of them over here and as a bonus they are cheap too and the parts are not that bad either and the width is just right for my 40.
I just got a Cherokee rear for my Hudson, if you don't pound the shit out of it will be a good rear end! (my wife's daily driver is a Cherokee with 188K)
Some time in the early/mid '90s the Chrysler 8.25 rear end started in Cherokee production. Prior to that...'84 up to when the change was made, Cherokees used the Dana 35 routinely and in a few rare occasions, Dana 44. The 8.25 is plentiful and can be found with 3.07 (6 cyl w/ manual trans), 3.55 (6 cyl w/auto trans), 3.73 (4 cyl w/auto trans), 4.10 (4 cyl w/manual trans). These ratios apply whether the Cherokee is 2 WD or 4 WD, though 4x4 are by far the greater in number.
The 8.25 is a decent axle, that will handle a mild to moderate street engine just fine. Any non-Grand Jeep Cherokee from 1984 to 2001 is an eligible donor.
IIRC, someone over at www.p15-d24.com had/has/made a part to connect the old driveshaft to a 'normal' u-joint. Might do a search there.... .
When I was a kid I swapped a 283 Chevy into a 50 Plymouth. Used a T-10 transmission and the stock Pymouth rear. I made a driveshaft with the Chevy ujoint on one end and the MoPar trunniun ujoint on the other. It worked. Eventually I switched to a Camaro rear, but for as long as I used it the bastard driveshaft worked fine.
My friend Augie in Atlanta used a Comanche rear. The spring perches are on the bottom and fit his '48 Plymouth well.