Dauntless in Flatfender

Who all has done the dauntless swap in their flatfender? I'm considering losing the Lhead.

 

I've got a 225 oddfire in my 1954 3B

 

I got one in my 3b, add a t-18 4 speed while your at it.

 

I ran a 231 with a SM420 in my 3A it was a great setup.

 

Ive got one in one of my 48 2As. Have 225 w/ T90 and overdrive. LOVE IT!! Ive got a V8 in one V6 in one above and Lhead in a couple. They all have their plus and minuses for each scenario but honestly to me it doesnt get much better than a little V6. You'll more than double your horsepower and most all the V6's Ive been around they seem to run cool and have so much low end put power torque

 

I have a T-18 out of a J20. What bellhousing do you use? I might rebuild it with the CJ parts.

 

Will I be able to use my D18 or would I have to use the D20 that came with the T18?

 

There are two issues. The hole on the back of the Dana 18 case has to fit on the back of the T-18 adapter. I believe there will be some kind of alignment ring on the adapter that fits into the D20 case. If you have the "big hole" D18 (same size hole as the D20), the D18 should fit exactly the same as the D20, and you're good to go. If not, you'll have to upgrade the D18 to the bigger case.

The output gear (bull gear) also has to match the D18 and the T-18 spline count. The D20 gear will have a different tooth angle from the D18, as I recall. If the original D18 output gear has 6 splines, it will both fit on the T-18 output and mesh with the D18 intermediate gear. If the spline count is wrong, or you don't have the D18 gear, you'll have to get one.

There is a table of D18/D20 gear PNs and compatibilities on the Novak site. Go to the D18 page at Novak and there is a link to it.

hth!

 

I swapped the 225/trans/transfer from '68 CJ5 into my '47 CJ2A. When I did it, I lined it up to use the same transfer case cross member and driveshafts. The 225 fits great, but with a couple of areas to pay attention to (or, at least I had to).

With a stock or near stock suspension, the oil filter and driver's side exhaust can be kinda close to the front axle during full suspension compression. So, be sure the bump-stops are there and will indeed prevent contact with either.

I reused my stock 2A radiator, and had the bottom outlet moved to the passenger side. No biggie...had a rad shop do it for $25. It's in the same area as the oil filter, but there's enough room, just is tight is all.

I kept the battery in the stock 2A location. Fits fine, but limits what size of the battery that will fit in there.

I probably should had slid the motor et al a bit further back, as my steering linkage hits the front of the bellhousing and kinda limits the turn radius to the right. Someday that won't be an issue when I swap in a Saginaw power steering box.

Hope all that helps.

 

It sounds like I need to get busy. This swap will give me some great options. Worst case, I can just use the d20 and switch to a centered rear axle. I think 4 gears with a 632 1st and 3 times the hp as now would be well worth it.

 

x2 regardless of the trans you use. The 225 is a great motor. You'll be very happy with it.

 

When modifying any jeep components, those changes have certain effect upon the complete mechanical system.
I would never start a custom build project until I mentally scrutinized every detail of the proposed system.
Extensive research promotes a synchronous mechanical system which is the desired objective.

In general the smallest jeeps are the most maneuverable due to physical size.
Of all early jeeps the 80" wheel-based 2A, 3A, and 3B are the smallest.
These are virtually identical in physical size. The CJ-5 is a close runner up being 5.75" longer and 2.5" wider.

In my opinion I generally consider the D-20 to be oriented toward street driving features.
The D-20 certainly is not desirable in the 80" and 81" wheel based CJ's.
The D-20 rear output yoke exits a full 4.5" higher up than the yoke from the offset, drop down style D-18 case.
This 4.5" change only increases the already steep rear propeller shaft angle.
Adding a longer transmission to this proposed system is foolish disregard concerning propeller shaft service life.
Thats 8" OAL T-90 vs. 11.75" OAL T-18 plus two adapters.

Concerning propeller shaft service life... The D-20 is not compatible with the use of 25% overdrive.
That infers we must decrease the final drive reduction if we expect the jeep to operate efficiently at typical hiway speeds.
Lets say that you simply opt fo 3.73 gears, yet in doing so you increase the force placed upon the propellor shafts as compared to a lower ratio final drive.
So in effect your propellor shafts become acute and the force increases upon them. Not to mention the D-20 only came factory with 2.03 reduction.
Of course you remembered that your rear differential is ofset to the right. But as you know the D-20 is centered.
So you swap in the 1972 through 1975 centered Dana 44. This will mandate that you to straddle major trail obstuctions utilizing a compounded approach.

No No No ! I can't believe in a system like that. However...
The D-225 and the T-18 combination compliment one another very well and need not be dismissed.

 

Have to vent for a second here. All the stuff about long transmissions is a bunch of horse pucky, usually written by people that obviously have never run one. I have built at least ten flatfenders using a Buick v6 and a 400 turbo with a dana 20 tc and a centered 44 out of a dj-5. With 3.73 gears one can get out and drive ANY highway speeds and still wheel with anyone but the built up rockcrawlers. When fabricated from a ground up build with the engine mounted as far forward as possible, there is NO driveline problem. My current daily driver has a 16" driveline in it and does not have any vibration. The only part of Oldtimes post that carries water,(yes Ken is a authority on STOCK universals) is the part about planning your build. PLAN, PLAN, AND PLAN SOME MORE. When looking for info however, look at what people have built and are actually running and completely discount those that say IT CAN'T BE DONE THAT WAY. With a good welder, cutting torch or plasma cutter, and a grinder you can build just about anything.

 

Matt, I sent Mcruff my small hole D18 case and he machined into a large hole case to work behind my T18. Might want to shoot him a pm and see if he has time for a project like that. I had a D20 in mine for a while with the offset rear end and the only problem I had was with binding in the CV joints. So I swapped in the D18 and its holding up well. I've only broke one set of tcase gears and Im pretty sure its because it was low on oil at the time and I didnt realize it.

 

I was only stating..... I myself do not believe that the D-20 is " optimum" for use in the ultra short wheel base jeeps.

History is on my side concerning that statement.
I imagine that W/O could have used a straight through transfer case design from the very inception yet they did not.
By 1962 Kaiser Motors was already using the D-20 in longer wheel based jeeps.
If Kaiser thought it was advantageous in short wheel based vehicles they would have used it in the CJ's, but they did not !
No it was not before the 1972 frame stretch that the D-20 was integrated for CJ use.

The D-20 itself is an exceptional quality transfer case. But it is best used in jeeps with a somewhat longer wheelbase.
The longer wheel base jeeps are certainly more road / high speed friendly.
When I state that the D-20 is street oriented I mean just that.
In my opinion the post 1971 CJ's are certainly bigger, safer and higher speed machines.

In the 1972 FSM; AMC refers to the 2.03 geared Dana 20 as the "silent" type transfer case.
To me that AMC description reeks of creature comfort / road worthy qualities.

Remember it is the transfer case that is the core or the heart of the jeep and not the engine.
It is the transfer case that best distinguishes the "JEEP" from the remainder of the automotive crowd.
Long Live the Dana 18, the finest transfer case ever conceived for ultra SWB Jeeps !

Daryl, I respect your experienced input yet apparently we disagree. So thanks anyway for your comment.

 

Matt you could just buy one of these two and skip all the hard work..

http://greenville.craigslist.org/cto/1204909569.html

http://www.earlycj5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=66171