Lol! Yes, that's my story and I'm sticking with it.

Yes, traction will be the limiting factor. On the street I think I'll be able light the rears fairly easily. But if I'm towing the to-be boat (~22' deep vee IO on a dual-axle trailer) I'll probably have enough traction to be able to use the power.

 

What's that, 300# tongue weight?

 

At least. Don't have the boat yet. Not even truly shopping. But the grandtwins just turned 3 and their mother was on the lake well before that time. And our son interviewed last Friday in St Louis and yesterday in NW Arkansas, so if they move that close we will want to meet them at a lake. So a newer, bigger boat that'll handle all/most of the family may be in the offing.

 

22' V, Dual axle, engine and outdrive WAY in the back, shouldn't be too heavy on the ball.
I guess a lot depends on the actual boat and trailer.

I was towing my neighbors fishing boat (a 28' Donzi) two months ago.
more weight than I wanted to lift but the jack was fine in the mud, so it wasn't too much.

 

True, but the 19' we used to have was very heavy on the tongue. However, it was made about 10 miles from here by a family that really didn't have the engineering background and they built it HEAVY. My brother had an 18' that looked about the same size as ours when on the lake, but on trailers his looked like our dingy. Yet someone spec'd ours with a 305. Go figure. Something that badly needs torque gets a short-stroke engine that actually weighs slightly more than its long-stroked brother the 350.

 

My little brother had a Camaro with that 305...

 

Yeah, my little brother's boat had the 350. But with significant tuning I got the top end on our boat within 1 MPH, and maybe less, as we'd run down the lake almost dead even. However, the little 305 was a dog out of the hole, and no amount of tuning could overcome the short stroke.

But, we digress. Are you thinking I need to upgrade the driveline for "future users"? There's a guy selling a Ford 205 for $300 on CL, inc a rebuild kit. I sent him an email asking if it is divorced, as some are I understand, and why it needs a rebuild kit. We will see what he says. But, is the extra weight and higher gearing, not to mention cost, worth the strength?

What about the BW1356 - is it stronger than the 208? I have the one that came with the ZF so could go that way? Just thinking.

 

I'm sure the guys on the 4x4 forums (Ih8mud, Pirate,..) would all want the cast iron NP.
You are building the one hoss shay.
Where do you put the weak link?
Is it the ZF?
The R&P?
The TC
Drive shafts or universals?

If it were me I'd put the 1356 behind the ZF it came on.
If a U-joint goes it's cheap and easy, unless it blows the yoke or bends the shaft.

 

Yes, from what I read in those forums they'd go with the 205. But, I'm not doing what they are doing, mostly crawling, and I intend to drive this thing on the highway. So I'm going out of my way to keep the weight down, and the 205 is quite heavy. So, if the 1356 is stronger than the 208, and from what I read it probably is although I've not found definitive info, then that's probably the way to go.

And, this decision comes at a fortuitous time since the 208 in Rusty, which originally came in Dad's truck, is leaking due to a crack at the shift detent bolt boss. I don't see any way of sealing it on the truck, so it needs to come out. And, since I have the rebuilt 208 that was going into Dad's sitting on the shelf, then why not put that in and then repair the other one - after it drains down such that it doesn't leak that and the goo will hold.

But, the 1356 I have is a slip-yoke variety. And, the front drive shaft that came with it is a double-cardon unit, so that raises several questions. (Yes, I can figure it out given time, but if you know it'd save me a lot of searching, measuring, etc.)

1. Front Driveshaft: Does the slip-yoke 1356 take the same driveshaft that a C6 takes? If so I'm probably good to go as I have several of those. If not, what has to be done - is there a bolt-one slip-yoke eliminator like I put on the neighbor's Jeep?
2. Front Driveshaft: Are the u-joints different between the 1356 and 208 front shaft? Do I really need the double-cardon shaft?

 

Sorry
Double post

 

I don't know if the C6 shaft is the same spline.
Iif you want to use the same shafts you've already rebuilt, just swap your TC straight across for one from a Bronco.
They came with an output flange from the factory.

 

Turns out the C6 shaft is the same size and splines as the 1356's. But, a 2wd shaft is obviously quite long, so either have one shortened or swap this t-case for one from a Bronco. Which ever is easier/cheaper.

Also, the front shafts look to interchange between the 208 and 1356. However, the 1356's double-joint may be advantageous. What do you think?

 

Gary,

I just read all 46 pages of this ZF5 writeup and it might be the most detailed one I have ever read.....in fact it has to be.

Nice job on the spacer design, sharing the dwgs, and milling it yourself.

The engineer in me appreciates all the effort and attn to detail required to pull off the swap.

The engineer in me also says to use the KISS principal and swap to the better (IMO) BBF utilizing factory stock components and saving on some headaches and additional time to keep the 335 series deal.


So I don't recall seeing but 1 fuel mileage report, which was the same as with the old T-19 trans.

So what was the final fuel mileage increase result? Did you get the 2mpg you had hoped for?

 

Actually, I didn't have a T19. Instead, the truck had a C6. And, when I swapped in the ZF I also swapped in a different 351M w/an RV cam and Edelbrock intake and 4bbl. So, I don't know exactly what gave the most increase. However, Dad's truck went from 10.25 MPG to 14+, so I did get almost 4 MPG better. And, it went from being a dog to something lively to drive.

Anyway, thanks for the input. It was a fun project and the help of the various FTE'ers is what made it work.

 

Bookmarked for my information.