Help me...I'm confused (long)

I have a '63 CJ with stock engine (F134), tranny, t-case, and axles (D-27 front, D-44 rear with 4.27 gears). Everything is in good working order. I started wishing for more stopping power and considered the 11" drum upgrade. Problem is, I can't find any donor vehicles anywhere. These are the donor vehicles that I was looking for: '66-'73 Wagoneer, late 70's CJ, or early 70's Bronco. Am I missing a type of donor that might be easier to locate?
While in the midst of the 4th salvage yard the other day, I ran across an early 80's Wrangler or CJ (I'm not totally literate on identifying which carcass I was looking at). From reading through what I could find here on this site, I think it would have a D-30 front axle. It did have the open knuckles up front with disk brakes.
My head started spending what little money I have in the Jeep budget by thinking about a front and rear axle swap for improved braking and taller gearing for a little more top-end speed. I know that there would be a lot involved in this swap, but I'm willing if this is a good idea.
Now for some questions:
What axle might I find at the rear of this Jeep?
Are they wider than my old D-27 and D-44?
Will my master cylinder be up to the task of handling the disks and the larger 10" drums?
Will my F134 be able to push the load with the taller gears?
What gears might I find in the diffs?
What would be a fair price for the front and rear axles?
Am I a total idiot?
Should I just keep searching for the 11" brakes and be happy with 50 mph?
Thanks for any and all comments.

 

A rear swap would require too much, new T-case new axle all of that makes ther rear not worth it. Most likely a Model 20. The front on the other hand would be worth it, the Dana 30 is only 3 inches wider then the 27. Do a gear swap in the 30 do a dual mastercylinder swap and go for it. IIRC I paid $75 for my dana 30.

 

i paid $200 for my d 30 and had one of the guys on here sell me the knuckles for disks. mine has 3.73 gears (stock) which is what my rear is. the front will have to use your springs not te new ones though because they are longer on the newer ones and short on our old ones. you will have drag link type steering if you desire, or you can go with the old stuff. personally, i am going with the drag link that came with the new d 30. itll make it drive a WHOLE lot better AND the upgrade will give ya disk brakes to boot. so, itll drive straiter and stop better. the dual master cyl isnt that expensive and you can run a pressure regulator on the front for lower psi on disks. in my opinion, it will be worth almost anything for the safety aspect of it alone. check the gears in the new 30. if they are 3.73 or 4.10, your 4 cyl should push it easily. if they are like 3.55 or lower, i dunno. but, you might get away with just redoing the gears on the back to match the new front gears and save some cash.
or, put bigger tires on it to counter the 4.27's. 33" will do really nicely with 4.27's.
just a few thoughts.

 

here is a good deal on a set for one axle , if still available
drum condition would be a concern, over size or not?
I'd keep what you have and go 11"
http://earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27802

 

For the front at least, all you need is the correct backing plates. Everything else can be bought new at your FLAPS. See here for a write up on the subject.

 

I recently got lucky and found a set of four 11" backing plates for $40, $10 ea. Local guy too. They're off a '76 DJ5 postal Jeep. I'm just gonna buy all the rest of the parts new at my FLAPS.

 

You asked about other vehicles to look for the 11" stuff.

72-75 CJ5's and 6's. Both the front and rear will work on the front or rear of your '63.

Wagoneer's all the way up to the 80's (full size) that have Quadratrac. If they have Q-trac, they have a Dana 44 rear with 11" brakes. Those will bolt onto your front or rear axle.

'76 and up CJ5's and 7's with drum brakes up front. During this time, the disc were an option so you'll still find some with drum brakes. The rear brakes won't work for you though b/c it's an AMC 20.

My opinion - keep the axles you have. It's too much work and money to swap and you wouldn't get nearly enough benefits out of it to make it worthwhile. Swap what you have for 11" brakes - that'll solve your stopping problem. If you want higher speeds, look for a set of axles from a later CJ5 (up to '71). They'll be a direct bolt-in and bucket loads of the '66-'71's had 3.73 gears. You could probably get a set of these axles for $200 - $300. Whatever you do, you'll want to stay away from re-gearing b/c that's gonna drain the Jeep budget double-quick...

 

I appreciate all the input from you guys. I ended up swapping in the Dana 30 front axle with the disk brakes. I would have preferred the 11" drums if I could have found any. But I'm happy with the disk brakes. Stops quicker than the 9" drums for sure. Just need to get the front end aligned now so that I can get it out on the road and up to speed. The best thing about this swap, my 10 yr. old son really got involved (and greasy). Since this is to be his Jeep in a few years, i was glad that he wanted to learn how things worked together.
Anyone out there have any experience with running 3.54 gears (this is what was in the new D30) with an F134 with 31" tires? The gear selector chart that I looked at said that this combo would give 65 mph at 2500 RPM, but will the F134 handle this?
Thanks again for your input!

 

Yes, what Lynn said about caster. I could barely keep it between the fences after I got the dana 30 in. Shims are needed - I'm using 5 degree also.

 

Certainly the F134 will turn 2500 for long periods if in good condition. I'd be interested to know if it will get up to 65 though... I expect that you will run out of power before you get going that fast.

 

OH MY, WHAT A NIGHTMARE!! I just drove the Jeep to work and back (~30 miles). I could not believe how bad the handling was. I had only driven around the block a few times before this and steering/handling was not too bad. Today, it was scary!!

I'm not as familiar with the geometry of caster and camber as I would like to be. Is caster the angle in toward the center of the vehicle and camber the angle toward the rear of the vehicle?

Where can I get these shims? And where do they go? (yes I'll seek professional help with the installation when the time comes) I have pronounced the Jeep as undrivable until something is done about the handling. What effect would worn out leaf springs have on the handling? My front springs are literally flat when under the weight of the Jeep. The rears still have some arc to them. I know I need new springs, but wouldn't this contribute to the lack of handling?

Thanks for all your input. I can't wait until the Jeep is finally drivable. BTW, upon regaining my senses, I'm going to keep the 4.27 gears in the rear and change the D30 to 4.27's as well. My F134 just doesn't have enough grunt to push anything lower.

 

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Well I did some surfing and figured it out. The caster is the angle towards the rear of the vehicle and the shims go under the axle and between the springs. Now I just need to know where to find these wonderful shims.

 

McRuff has made these for members before. Don't know if still does/can but worth asking him. Nickmil