1968 crew cab power wagon motor/drivetrain option??

[kaje47]

Bought a 68 power wagon crew cab with a seized 318 manual trans divorced tcase axles are there but unknown condition. brakes dont work been sitting in a field who knows how long.

Thought about buying a 75-93 4x4 truck and swap all drivetrain. Instead on going through the parts it came with. I had a 63 in the past with 318 and 4.88 thought a 80s drive train may have more drive ability.

Found a 2nd gen p pump truck auto trans 2wd how hard to bolt that to my divorced transfer case??

[BigBlockTrucks]

Google icon power wagon. They built some super nice (and very expensive) sweptlines on modern chassis’

[soopernaut]

I don't know what you plan on ending up with, but there are a lot of variables on what you might want to use.

75-79 trucks were full time 4wd. Dana 44 front axles from these trucks used a weird bearing design that can be prone to problems, but they all had disc brakes. The transfer case was a married NP203.

The steering was different on 4wd trucks from the Sweptline to the Lifestyle era. I don't know what is involved with swapping newer axles regarding the steering.

Using a 2wd truck for parts may get you a rear axle and engine, but you'll probably need a short tailshaft transmission, otherwise it may be too long to fit between the engine and transfer case. A 4wd will have a short tailshaft and a 2wd will have a long tailshaft. You'll also have to locate a front axle with the same gear ratio as the rear.

75-93 trucks usually seem to have 3.54 or 4.10 ratios in 3/4 tons, so there are probably not many super low ratios like 4.88s.

[712edf]

If you are wanting to do away with ALL of your existing drivetrain & go to a married t-case set-up & newer axles here are some pointers:

(A) Avoid half tons for axles, but they should be fine for engine/trans/tcase.
(B) Avoid 74 & older because not much changed from 68 pertaining to axles/brakes. The t-case & bellhousing/clutch did change a lot, enough to create unwanted headaches.
(C) Avoid 75-79 unless you are able to get the ENTIRE drivetrain (you want W200). There will be drive shaft changes to be made but keeping those full time axles & that NP203 full time case as a set is better than mixing & matching.
(D) the 80-84 W200 will be closest to what yours came with, mainly manual locking hubs (Dana 44 or 60F). You gain front disc brakes & either a married 208 or married 205 tcase.
(E) 85 & later will get you either a CAD Dana 44 front or a Dana 60F with selectable locking hubs. The 208 trucks got the 44, the 205 trucks got the 60. Same goes for the 81-84 trucks.

The steering box on 72-93 4x4 is located AHEAD of the axle, your 68 has it located behind.



Bucky

[kaje47]

Ok cool thank you guys for the descriptions. I'm going to keep an eye out for a 1980 or newer truck. Truck prices right now are crazy. I'm mostly looking to get highway speeds and disc brakes. Seems cheapest to buy a whole donor truck considering everything on mine needs to be gone through.

The other truck I had with 4.88s and no power steering was a chore around town n screaming on the highway.

I'll post some pics once I get a donor truck and start making some progress.

[Hobcobble]

Bought a 68 power wagon crew cab with a seized 318 manual trans divorced tcase axles are there but unknown condition. brakes dont work been sitting in a field who knows how long.

Thought about buying a 75-93 4x4 truck and swap all drivetrain. Instead on going through the parts it came with. I had a 63 in the past with 318 and 4.88 thought a 80s drive train may have more drive ability.

Found a 2nd gen p pump truck auto trans 2wd how hard to bolt that to my divorced transfer case??

What is the axle gear ratio in your crew cab W200? If its a 4.88 or the 4.10, you could look for
a period correct pair of axles with the 3.54 gear ratio and keep all the other components
[transmission/t-case] as they are currently. The NP435/NP201 combination is very very durable.

John

[dodgeboykim]

Adding to previous comments regarding Full Time Four Wheel drive trucks 75 to 79 the Dana 60 King Pin style front axle was an available option in W200 trucks.
It came with drive flanges that can be easily removed and locking hubs bolted on. Same front axle/hub style as 89/90 Cummions powered trucks.