392 or regear and add nv4500

S

sdecker

New member
I have a 72 Scout with a 304, t19 and 4.10 gears. I have run 33's and 35's with this set up and not been satisfied. With the 33's it'll pull up hills ok but it winds out at 70mph. With 35's I struggle in the mountains but cruise at 70 more comfortably.

Fwiw, my 304 has 80k on a rebuild by the po (supposedly). It has afi fuel injection, headers and a dui distributor. It seems to run well as far as I can tell.

I'm considering installing an nv4500 and regearing to 4.88's or 5.29's. Alternatively I'm considering buying a 392 rebuilding it and hoping the torque of the bigger motor will allow me to run 35's with the 4.10 gears.

Thoughts? Pros/cons? Anyone have similarly set up scouts?

Just looking for advice as both option will be expensive.

Thanks,

shawn
 
My travelett was switched from a 345 to a 392 and there is a huge difference in the way that 392 moves the truck around. That said, the 345 in my Scout with 33's moves just fine with 3.54 gears. The 392 is a fair amount heavier than that 304. But to really answer your question we need to know how you intend to use the truck.
 
Thanks. I didn't realize the 392 was that much heavier. That makes me lean toward leaving the engine as it is and trying to meet my needs with gears. One of my concerns though is that I have arbs front and rear. I'm worried I'll need a whole new ARB carrier to move from 4.10 to 4.88.

As to how I use my Scout... That's tough. I drive it to the rubicon, wheel it and drive home. I've also driven from the bay area to sandiego for desert wheeling and camping. My 16 year old son drives it to school sometimes.
 
I think you're ok with gear change with using current ARB's. If I remember correctly, the diff change is 3.73 and up compared to 3.?? And below
 
That would be great. If I don't have to buy new ARB's I figure the cost of the gears, nv4500, adapters, drive shafts and and some labor would be around 5k. I'd guess putting a freshly rebuilt 392 and modifying my afi fuel injection, radiator etc would be about the same.

The gears seem to give me more flexibility, better gas mileage and no cooling issues. But a 392 sounds easier and maybe more fun.

Thanks for the help.
 
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