Ok, so I've got my rebuilt to factory spec 500ci Caddy motor now (550 ft lbs of torque @ 3k revs) and I want to know if you guys think that a rear 60 will take it, or is the 14 bolt a better choice? I have both axles available to me for free, so I just want to make the best decision before I start welding on whichever one I choose. Also, will a D60 front U jpint take this power? If not, what are my alternatives? (ASIDE from 2.5 rockwells! :flipoff2: )

thanks guys

forgot to mention... I'm running an SM465/NP205, if that makes a difference. These will take the power, right?

thanks again

Ok, so I've got my rebuilt to factory spec 500ci Caddy motor now (550 ft lbs of torque @ 3k revs) and I want to know if you guys think that a rear 60 will take it, or is the 14 bolt a better choice? I have both axles available to me for free, so I just want to make the best decision before I start welding on whichever one I choose. Also, will a D60 front U jpint take this power? If not, what are my alternatives? (ASIDE from 2.5 rockwells! :flipoff2: )

thanks guys

top... cmon you guys! will a 60 take 550 ft lbs of torque???

I am getting a 500ci Caddy that I would like to put in my Jeep. I have a few questions fo you.

Which transmission do you plan to run behind it? I want to run a manual , and know that there a few modifications that need to be done to the engine, as well as some custom parts that are needed. Do you know anything about running a manual behind the Caddy? If so I will post again with more specific questions.

If you dont mind my asking, what was the cost of the rebuild?
I know Caddy parts can get expensive, but you said you rebuilt yours to factory(I am guessing 70' factory specs), I am really interested in how much factory parts cost. Who really needs more than what factory provides anyhow(besides racing applications of course)? Have you heard of the 512 conversion? 425hp, 675 ft#'s Very interesting indeed?

Do you plan to go to a fuel injection kit? I have heard of a few options such as the do it yourself programable supersoaker system.

Have fun with your beast,
Sean

If you can get a 60 or a 14 bolt for for free I would grab them both. Put the 14 bolt spindles and hubs on the 60 and get a set of 35 spline alloy axles made. You get the better ground clearance of the 60 with excellent axle strength. Of course what will hold up depends a lot on you, 'cause there's nothing that's unbreakable.

ok, is it possible to shave a 14 bolt though? i really like the 3rd pinion bearing that these have, like the ford 9". i am not worried about axleshafts breaking, i am worried about breaking teeth off the ring gear with such a high amount of torque in the range that is most often used off road and on the street (1000-3000 revs). i woont exactly be driving this beast lightly, but not a full throttle all the time type of deal either. thanks for the input.

yah.... whatever axle WILL take the torque... ring gear teeth are not a prob......
did u know that these motors originally came with a 10 bolt for a rear end? w/ the 12:1 max. low gearing ur putting to the axle from the sm465/np205, i wouldnt worry about the rear end. -- as far as pinion teeth that is..
what I WOULD WORRY ABOUT THOUGH IS AXLE SHAFTS, ESPECIALLY WHEN U PUT IN A LOCKER!

hey, i plan on running an SM465 with an NP205 behind it, eventually with some 3.7:1 gears in it that someone mentioned being in development. as to knowing anything specific to using one on front of a manual, everything i picked up came from the guys at www.cad500parts.com, great stuff too, i might use one of their cams later on if this isnt enough hehehe. i have not heard much about the 512 conversion, but it does sound interesting. I would just be worried as hell about snapping D60 front u joints with 675 ft lbs of torque. and the D60 centersection might not even stand up to that, so it could require something like a D70 front end. all in all, for this motor, which was a junkyard rebuild which i put maybe $1000 of parts into, i plan to keep it pretty much stock. maybe in my eventual mud truck with 2.5 ton rockwells i'll go for a 512 or a 570 :D :D :D

let me know how the swap goes in your jeep, my land rover is of similar dimensions up front, so id love to compare notes with you. it will still be a while before mine actually gets in the truck, first i have to get it rolling, ie axles, which is what this post was/is about.

good luck with yours :beer: :beer: :beer:

ok, but what if i eventually use some lower gears in the tcase (supposedly some 3.7s are in the making for the 205) or a doubler? and point taken on the shafts, its late and i wasnt thinking about the locker... :D

so which axle would you pick for this much torque plus an eventual 3.7:1 or 4:1 or maybe even 7.4:1 low range?

thanks

ok, but what if i eventually use some lower gears in the tcase (supposedly some 3.7s are in the making for the 205) or a doubler? and point taken on the shafts, its late and i wasnt thinking about the locker... :D

so which axle would you pick for this much torque plus an eventual 3.7:1 or 4:1 or maybe even 7.4:1 low range?

thanks

Thanks for the info, and the link. Here is where you can find out about the 512 conversion, and also alot of other combinations using Caddy parts http://www.mts.simplenet.com

Thanks
Sean

Just go with the 14 bolt if you're giong to be worried about a 60. Or try a Dana 70 or 80 or Sterling. I think any can be shaved.The 60 should be fine in front. I have heard of Dana 70 fronts, but don't know anything about them other than the bigger ring gear.

Originally posted by Cadillac Man
ok, but what if i eventually use some lower gears in the tcase (supposedly some 3.7s are in the making for the 205) or a doubler? and point taken on the shafts, its late and i wasnt thinking about the locker... :D

so which axle would you pick for this much torque plus an eventual 3.7:1 or 4:1 or maybe even 7.4:1 low range?

thanks

well, for sheer strength I wouuld just go with a stock 14 bolt. They are cheap and fairly easy to come by, have a bigger ring gear, and have more/ cheaper locker choices, since they have been around longer (well at least they were one of the first that lockers were manufactured for). the thing is, you WONT be flooring it at 3000 rpm w/ that low range-- even with it locked, with that much power to the ground you'll just smoke the tires or tear up the mud. dont worry, a stock 14 will be fine for you, with or without a locker. If you do go 60, try to eventually get some 35 spline shafts, or otherwise just get a dana 70 and be set for life. now go spend with confidence :cool:

heheh well ok, now it seems that i want what everybody wants: the front and rear axles out of a 78-79 F350! damnit, too bad they are so expensive (and thats once you can find a pair for sale!) :mad: anybody got any leads? the high pinion would kick arse cause i have a relatively short wheelbase (92"). but i could settle for a regular casting. what other years/models of trucks could i find a D70 rear in? i would prefer to have both front and rear axles be standard full width so i can use the Hummer rims ive already planned on using.

thanks again :beer:

just find the front u want and whereever... the rear-- search the internet and try not to have to ship, but if you do then whatever-- go to www.offroad.com classifieds and there is a 70 rear for sale right now.. there's all kinds of posts all over the web. I'd just buy the front and rear separately, and for the rear just put a matching gearset in it-- since a locker will go in anyways.

ok, ive decided on definetly either a 70 or 14 bolt rear... i like the 14 cause of its 3rd pinion gear, but the 70 offers more ground clearance, so which one would be better, assuming i can get both for the same price.

thanks

I would go d70 rear over a 14 bolt.
remember, you do have a ton of plans for this thing but dont "overthink" it all--- just go with some beefy stuff and see where it takes you... honestly, its all about how u drive-- and for anything except mud bogging, you dont even need to use that caddie engine-- it gets too hot and is a gas hog imho.
so unless u are mudding this thing-- then just go w/ a stock axle, some good gears, and lock it...

and about the gears... you were talking about maybe a lower gearset for the 205.... well, do u plan on driving this thing on the highway? if so, then i can understand, so you'll be running some lower (numerically) gears in the axles, but if its for trails/offroad/bogging only, then just put the low gears in the axles and forget about putting lows in the tcase-- they would just be unnecessary, and putting xtra stress on your tcase outputs, drivelines, and axle pinions... where you could relieve that stress with higher driveline speeds w/ just lowering it all a lot in the pigs.

all things to consider.:roxy:

yeah i will be driving it on the highway, and i plan on using 4.56s in the axles with 38.5" tires. cause of the low end torque of the caddy, these will keep the motor in its torque band on the highway (just over 3k revs at 80, which would be very fast for this truck). i live in new england, so mud is somewhat of a concern, but it is more stuff like really steep, rocky, rutted out hillclimbs in the woods on soft dirt that gets eroded easily.

with a 500 big block and no overdrive, 4.56's are too high for the highway, esp. if u plan on driving it that fast...
keep hwy rpm for that motor no greater than about 2500....
really-- with that kind of motor, u can keep highway speeds going without such tall gears-- you should never be running like 3000 rpm with a 500ci v8 on the hwy. unless the gears are for the trail and the crawl factor, then dont run them.... but if u do then im guessing you'll be going a lot slower than 80 on the hwy ... more like 60.

there's a man about two miles from me that has six to ten sets of m-715 axles (dana 60 front, 70 rear, 5.89 gears in all) and even more sets of wheels...........he is getting rid of them for dirt cheap.

DUDE, I'm a caddy 500 guy myself. Trust me if you've got a 70-ish 500 you don't need to go higher than 4:10 especially with a SM465. (with it's granny low.) you'll be making pleanty of torque to make up for the gearing.

I've got a caddy 500 myself and am planning a pretty sweet buildup of it. Edlebrock intake, headers, cam, carb,...blah....blah...blah. anyway i'm not planning to go any deeper than 4:10's but still planning on tearing shit up on the trail. If it lags a bit I'll jump to 4:56 but I'd never go higher than that. ESPECIALLY if i was going with deeper X-fer case gears or a doubler (like I'm planning on running)

PS: I'm running a FF 14bolt and a 3/4 ton D44 (until I can get a D60) the D44 will probably last me since I'm a finess wheeler not a GO-PEDAL wheeler

Originally posted by Cadillac Man
ok, ive decided on definetly either a 70 or 14 bolt rear... i like the 14 cause of its 3rd pinion gear, but the 70 offers more ground clearance, so which one would be better, assuming i can get both for the same price.

thanks

You know the D70 has the Same 35 spline shafts that you can run in a D60 and uses the same size pinion as a D60 the ONLY advantage a D70 has over a set-up D60 is a larger ring gear, thicker axle housing tubes and better diff dragging capabilities. :rasta:

Originally posted by Cliffhanger
DUDE,
I've got a caddy 500 myself and am planning a pretty sweet buildup of it.

since I'm a finess wheeler not a GO-PEDAL wheeler

I can never understand why guys need all those cubes to be "finess wheelers". Shit man, if you got the cubes then use 'em! My 514 loves to be romped on!:)

So with a 465 205 and 4.56 gears a 4.3 V6 would have enough torque to spin 38.5 swampers on a ~5000lb vehicle. The maximum torque that is applied to the axle shafts and ring and pinion depends only on vehicle weight and tire diameter once you have enough power to spin the tires. The torque those parts see is traction limited. 60's will do you good, if I was building that I would take the 60.
Did you have to bore the back of the crank to accept a pilot bushing? That will be a pretty cool rig