My next build

[DirtJumper]

I got my hands on an old rusty body and a decent looking frame from a friend on mine and am wanting to turn the guy into a long-term build.

Most of the wheeling here is mud, so the goal is:
-37-38"TSLs
-Dana axles
-Chevy 350 V8 (unsure of tranny and t-case yet)
-4-link rear to control the big tires and power better

I am currently trying to plan things out, not one myself to just dive in. Especially with the 4-link.

First, would Dana 44 axles hold up to the power of the 350 and the large tires?

Second, has anyone ever swapped in a v8 and could help me out with some of the planning there (whos motor mounts, best trans/t-case combo)...all the engine learning I have done has been on my other suzuki :flipoff2: .

For the transmission and transfer case, suggestions would be really helpful.

Lastly, this 4-link is defeating me. If anyone who knows what they are doing, I would appreciate you looking over My CAD drawing here...I know my roll axis is way too high in the front, I have been going by this (http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techarticles/suspension/131_0307_link/) and they say to lower the upper link on the frame some, but can I really do this Without really screwing things up? If it is hard to read just ask questions:

http://www3.telus.net/public/sgmurray/pics/4-link.bmp
A bigger pic can be found outside the BBS Bigger Picture. (http://www3.telus.net/public/sgmurray/pics/4-link.bmp)

[TeenyCAR]

Well first you don't need 9.5 inches of verticle seperation at the axle. On the 4 link setup I had on the old samurai buggy I ran 6.5 inches of verticle seperation at the axle. I also ran the lower axle links on top of the axle tubes as far out on the ends of the tube as I could. I then mounted them as flat as I could but still no lower than the bottom of the frame rails I also triangulated them in at the t-case output, which you of course are limited to as the t-case is offset. For the upper links I mounted them above the top of the frame rails at the chassi end. Seemed like there was 5 inches of verticle seperation at the chassi. If I did another suspension I would have put in adjustable mounts to vary the seperation at the chassi with the upper links. Triangulate the lowers as much as you can inboard of the frame rails to get rid of the flex steer and help with lateral axle control movement. I'd also make the upper links as close to the same length as the lowers or your diff. is gunna start pointing at the dirt and possibly cause driveline binding at the u-joints when the axle fully droops out. Anyway my old samurai buggy seemed to work/climb pretty well. I think the links were around 40 inches long.

[DirtJumper]

Thanks, I cut the vertical spacing on the axle down to about 8" and the linkage works a little better, moved the rear link not all the way to the top, kind-of on an angle to keep stress down. My Roll axis is still a little high in the front, but not near as bad.
Latest Incarnation:
http://www3.telus.net/public/sgmurray/4-link3.bmp

Larger HERE (http://www3.telus.net/public/sgmurray/4-link3.bmp)