Re: [lro] Project Salisburly

From: kuvasz (kuvasz@snet.net)
Date: Sun Mar 09 2003 - 11:26:13 EST

  • Next message: kuvasz: "Re: [lro] Re: 4.3 60degree V6"

    Thatched Roof garage has complete Salisbury's brake drum to brake drum for
    $800 I believe.....might not be as much fun, but certainly easier. J

    ----- Original Message -----
    From: "Jean-Leon Morin" <offroaddesign@softhome.net>
    To: <lro@koan.team.net>; "Keith Tanner" <keith@miata.net>
    Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2003 12:35 AM
    Subject: [lro] Project Salisburly

    >
    > A first installment in a series.
    >
    > Firstly, a bit of background.
    >
    > Land-Rover, after determining that an increase in axle strength would be a
    > good thing, decided to start equipping some models of Land-Rover with a
    > clone of the Dana 60 axle, and called it the Salisbury axle for reasons
    that
    > I am too tired to explain. The resulting axle is a piece that is very
    > similar to the north american Dana 60 found in all kinds of vehicles,
    > arguably the most widely used axle ever built.
    >
    > There exist some differences between the D60 casting and the Rover one.
    > Firstly, the casting from rover is stronger. It has thicker webbing around
    > the pinion and more material in some critical areas. The drain plug I
    > believe is on the bottom in the diff casting, and on the NA 60 it's a
    > question of removing the pan.
    >
    > The rover Dana 60 is not the strongest 60 axle ever built. These axles
    were
    > available in multiple versions, from 1.24" shafts to a full 1.5" shaft in
    > the Dana 60HD. Splines range from scary low counts (16?) to 30. All full
    > floater rear Dana 60's were 8 bolt hubs and are usually equipped with
    > massive drum brakes and and very wide. Most of these axles are centered,
    > meaning not offset to the right in typical rover fashion.
    >
    > In comes the magic of the Dodge Tradesman/Ford Econoline. In order to
    clear
    > the optional gargantuum fuel tank that was placed between the frame rails,
    > running longitudinally, the rear diff on these babies was offset roughly
    5"
    > from mid seventies to early eighties, perhaps longer. After this Ford
    > switched to a Ford rear axle, and Dodge supposedly (I haven't verified
    this
    > yet) scrapped the offset idea.
    >
    > Also, the bolt pattern that is commonly used on these vehicles is an 8 on
    > 6.5. Rover uses a 5 on 6.5.
    >
    > In order to "roverize" a Dana diff, it must be modified. Firstly, the
    right
    > gear ratio must be obtained (in my case, 3.54 which is easy to find, 4.7
    is
    > not available and a rover Sal. ring gear would have to be used) and the
    > wheel width must be narrowed (to 62" hub face to hub face for a coiler,
    58"
    > for a series) and finally, the brakes and wheel stud pattern must be
    > addressed. Let us deal with these issues in the sequence in which they are
    > listed.
    >
    > - The ring gear is the easy part for me. I just need to find the right
    rear
    > end with the right gears, at the right price. I hope this actually does
    > happen as the price of new Spicer gears is eye opening, even at dealer
    cost.
    >
    > - Narrowing the housing is a problem. Dana 60's have both axle tubes
    pressed
    > in and welded to the center casting. Because the rover rear end is already
    > offset and the van rear end is only offset slightly, I can get away with
    > narrowing the short side only ( I hope). The van width is usually 65 to
    67".
    > If I narrow one tube that gives me roughly 8 to 10" offset. More than
    > factory, but still bearable. I'm either going to drill out the welds and
    > pull the shaft out, cut it and press it back in, or cut the tubes down the
    > middle with a chop saw and chuck eveything up in a lathe before I start
    > welding (BIG lathe). I'll likely try to pull the tubes, if that doesn't
    work
    > I'll try the other method.
    >
    > - Brakes and wheel stud pattern is another problem. Since the bolt pattern
    > from the 8 to 5 have the same bolt circle, one stud hole may be reused.
    I'll
    > have to weld up the other seven holes on both hubs and machine them down
    > smooth. Then, I'll have to build a jig (likely an old rover drum made to
    > center on a machined lip in the wheel hub) and start drilling out the 4
    > remaining holes. That allows rover wheels to bolt on. The brakes I will
    deal
    > with when I can measure up the hubs, either adapter plates or simply
    > redrilling the hubs for the rotor, and a spacer ring.
    >
    > - Finally, the shortened (hopefully only one) axleshaft. Machine shops can
    > shorten an axleshaft easily, it's not cheap though. I hope to be able to
    do
    > it myself. Depending on what I find as a junkyard donor, I might be stuck
    > with weak axles that are not 30 spline (the 1.5" 30 spline shafts are
    rare).
    > If this is the case, I'll upgrade to custom alloy shafts in the future,
    when
    > going to a locker in the rear.
    >
    > The search for a donor axle continues (in front wheel drive)
    >
    > J-L
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