Chapter 2: The Hardware

John ordered and received a new remanufactured Chevy 350 from ATK. The pulleys and alternator are off of an 80's Monte Carlo 305 that he picked up for parts. The Heddman ceramic-coated headers came from 4WD Hardware. The intake is a polished Holley Street Dominator with idle-7000 rpm range. Of course, he painted the whole thing in good old Chevy orange.

The NV4500 that John ordered through Tellico 4x4 is a brand new heavy duty unit built for the new Dodge turbodiesels. This tranny weighs a little over 200 pounds and dwarfs the old T-5 in comparison. Also immediately noticeable is the short and precise throw of the shifter. Details on the actual conversion will be provided later on.

An Optima red top battery sits on a new battery tray. Optimas are ideal for off-road use, as their sealed and maintainance-free design is well suited to frequent starts, heavy electrical load and the occasional rollover.

While he had the front end apart, John installed a new Borgeson steering shaft. This is noticeably superior to the stock shaft in its construction and design, allowing for extended travel for flexed-out lifted vehicles. These shafts use needle bearings on the upper end for more precise steering.

John also decided to run new brake lines while he had the room to do it easily. For this he used a roll of stainless steel line and bent and flared it himself. He bypassed the old proportioning valve by using a universal adjustable unit from Summit Racing Equipment (seen on the right side). His reason for this was to be able to adjust the amount of pressure being sent to his rear disc brake setup.

Chapter 3: NV4500 to Dana 300 >>