2000 Improvements

So...  If you checked out the action at the 1999 Labor Day event , then you know that our old 350ci motor could take no more.  With the death of our old mill, we started looking for a new motor.  In the end, we chose to build another small block.  The new mouse would be much stronger than the old one, with much stronger rods, lightened pistons, and considerably higher compression, and capable of making about 450 ft-lb of torque and 475 HP.

Here is the lowdown on the motor:
 - 360ci (.060 over, 3.48 stroke)
 - Lightened 13.5:1 pistons
 - Heavy duty  rods
 - Dart II (sportsman II) Iron heads
 - Large solid lifter cam w/ roller rockers.


 
Of course, as many of you already know who have approached or broken the 400 HP barrier, you can't just build a big motor and stop there.  A high horsepower motor requires attention to the entire drivetrain to make sure that other components won't turn into grenades when the skinny pedal hits the floor.

We had already build much of the drivetrain heavy duty enough to handle the stress that our new motor would subject it to, but there were a few components that we knew would have to be replaced.  Of those components, the transmission was the biggest concern.  Our old TH350 was getting very tired.  It had last been rebuilt nearly 10 years ago, and had many hard road miles on it even before we elected it for off-road duties.  We had also noticed that it's performance had been declining over the last two years.  Combining this with the fact that TH350's just weren't built to handle lots of torque meant that there was only one place to go...  a TH400.

Since a TH400 was a stock tranny in late 70's Chevys, the theory is that the swap should be relatively easy, and other than the fact that the transfer case needs to be reworked, it is.  The problem with the transfer case lies in the difference in output shafts 

between a TH350 and a TH400.  The TH400 has a 31 spline output shaft compared to the 27 spline shaft on the TH350.  This means that the input shaft of the transfer case needed to be swapped up to the 31 spline shaft, which required having the housing of the t-case machined for the larger bearing used on the new input shaft.  Fortunately, I was able to find a transmission & t-case shop nearby that did the machining, supplied the new input shaft and bearings for less than the cost of a junk yard transfer case with a stock 31 spline input shaft.  Not to mention that 31 spline t-cases can be difficult to find.

Here you can (kind of) see the new tranny, and a new urethane mount too.

 
Next on the list of preventative measures was the front axle.  The weakest link in a Dana 60 front axle is the 31 spline outer axleshaft.  The Dana 70's 35 spline outer is 20% stronger than a 31 spline Dana 60 outer, and will fit a Dana 60 if the hub puck is replaced with the 35 spline version.  Here you can see the comparison of the two outers.  You can see the added girth of the larger 35 spline shaft on the bottom.

 

 
Removing the u-joints from the front axleshafts (and even driveshafts) can sometimes be a bit of a challenge.  Even though the u-joints on Highlander are only a few years old, here you can see the results of a u-joint that just didn't want to come out.  As you can see, the top of the bearing cap broke away from the rest of the bearing.

This particular u-joint took an 8 ton press and plenty of pounding to remove from the axleshaft.  Even if you use a press, you should always pound on the yoke and shaft to help break the bearings free.  If you don't, you will probably bend the yoke.  Sometimes, extremely stubborn joints will cause the yoke to bend anyway.

 
We also FINALLY got off of our butts, and had a roll cage put in.  (we don't have a good bender, or the best wire feed for the job, so we left it to someone who did!)  We really should have done this before we even got the truck dirty the first time, but as anyone knows who has built a truck, things get put off (and put off, and put off).  Along with the cage came five point harnesses so we could finally not worry so much about staying seated in the pit.
 
Here is the motor once it was finally installed.  With the new motor, came a host of upgraded accessories too, including a new alternator, starter, water pump, and so on, and so on.  We even beadblasted the headers and repainted them.

All of this work kept us so busy during the spring that we hardly had time to eat.  This night, 1 hot dog + 1 heat gun = dinner.

 

And here we go...  All loaded up and ready to test before the Memorial weekend event.

 
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