Can anyone tell me what driveline my overlander has?

[neRok]

Just got myself an overlander, joy . I bought it off a mid 40's husband and wife, it was the wife car and was given to her years ago by her uncle. apparently he built it himself heaps long ago, she said she would borrow it to drive when in her 20's. so now i am trying to work out what bits i have got. Only thing the bloke i bought it off could tell me was that it was a 5L v8 chev and he thought it was landcruiser diffs.

DIFFS - I have done some research on the authentic overlanders and have discovered they had dana 44 front diffs and dana 60 rear. I have never seen one of these diffs, but after checking out some pics on the net, I think I have them. They have removable covers and the front diff has a uni joint at each end for the steering, instead of the cv etc. Can anyone confirm

STEERING - dont know what the tie rod is from? (ps, wheel to wheel is tie rod isn't it?). it has a small dip in it near the diff pumpkin.
after checking out more internet pics, i believe the drag link is toyota 60 series? (ps, wheel to pitman is drag link? still learning this) I have taken it out because the end that goes to the pitman arm lost all its thread and the rod dropped.
steering box is 'power'. but what from? is this the holden box. i haven't worked on an old holden before so dont know

G/BOX - dont know what this is. its got gm stamped on the side. bolts up to the transfer good. is a 5 speed, standard shift pattern (ie 1 2 5 along top and 2 4 R on bottom).
dont know what the transfer is, top to bottom it is 4L N 2H 4H. pretty sure i saw dana stamped on it. front shaft exits on the drivers side, rear is central.

SPRINGS - Can anyone say just form looking (i doubt it)? the rear has got 4 or 5 regular leaves, then 3 load leaves. i thought load leaves were the same thickness as the other leaves, these ones are nearly 10mm thick. is this normal?

whilst i have a thread, does anyone know if i can swap the 307 chev out for a 350? I have learned that after a quick bit if internet reading that the 307 uses the 329 crank in the 285 block, so it is effectively a factory stroker. the 285 is the older/original small block, which then when to the 329, which grew up to be the 350. (ps, cubes might be wrong, but jist is correct) so does anyone know if i can put a 350 in?


thanks for any info anyone can provide.

[Slunnie]

F&R are Dana. Not sure re the rest

Interesting that the rear is SOA and the front is SUA.

[Gwagensteve]

Very few overlanders had Dana 60 rear diffs. From your photos, I'd say you have a Dana 44 front and rear.

Arthur Heywood (who built the overlanders) ordered the diffs and transfer cases to suit from Dana. They weren't from any particular other vehicle, although they will be generally similar to Jeep. This lead to people saying overlanders just had jeep stuff under them, but that wasn't the case.

I thought the transfers were Dana 20? (as used in the 66-77 Bronco) Yours looks like a Dana 20 to me.

Gearboxes were all standard boxes from holden of the day AFAIK.

I think the steering box will be holden but not 100% sure.

I'd be very surprised if it has a 60 series ANYTHING in it - the ball joint tapers are unlikely to suit, amongst other things, but it's possible it had been swapped at some stage.

I had a very old 4x4 australia with an ad in it from when Arthur was closing up shop and selling off all his old stock - there was some cool stuff for sale.

Load leaves are often thicker than regular leaves nothing to be concerned about there.

Can't comment on motor options.

In regard to SPUA front SPOA rear - that's not uncommon - I recall that J20 jeeps ran this setup.

Steve.

[98lux]

265,283, 307, 327, 350, 383 & 400 SB (small block) all have the same bolt pattern.

[Micka]

Definitely not a dana 60 rear. Looks more like dana 44, as G-Steve said.

[ISUZUROVER]

SPRINGS - ... these ones are nearly 10mm thick. is this normal?

Quite normal. lots of vehicles came stock with very thick 2nd stage leaves.

When you next see a 110/Defender, have a look underneath at the rear diff and compare it to yours. They had a Dana 60 (salisbury licenced version) until 2002.

[want33s]

Yours has had a few mods done over the years by the look of it.
They didn't come with Chev motors or 5 speed manual trans.
All were 308 with Turbo 400 auto's.

I have a few articles on them, I'll dig them out tonight and post some details.

Jas.

[khany427]

damn ive wanted an overlander for years!! original, custom i dont care!

yours looks like way too much hassle mate, ile take it off your hands if you like!

regarding the motor though, a 350 will bolt straight in mate, no dramas at all.
however there are a couple of things to consider with rego.
is it running a hq chassis? if so theres no engineers cert needed as hqs came from factory with a 350 option.
if its a hj, hx, hz or wb chassis or anything else for that matter e.g. landcruiser, patrol etc it WILL need an engineers cert.
unless its something like a f100 or chev c10 chassis that came from factory with a 350 or similar size (ford 351) or bigger then your safe.

basically what im trying to say is if the chassis its running came from the factory with with biggest available motor being considerably smaller than 350c.i. then its gunna need engineering, if it came from factory with a 350c.i. motor or bigger e.g. 396,454 etc then its all good.
and when i say 350c.i. that counts for 6cyl,v8,straight 8,v10 or whatever its not the type of motor, its the overall displacement of it.

sounds complicated but it isnt really (ive been playin with this sorta stuff for years though) maybe someone else can explain it better or make it easier to understand??

[neRok]

thanks for all the info!

the rear diff is roughly the same size as the front and looks the same, so probably 44 as well then.

tried hunting around for the gearbox on google at lunch, couldnt find it though. might have to go put a post on a chev forum or something to find out. same as the power steering box, it needs replacing, you can turn the wheel from 10 to 2 o'clock and it keeps going straight.

thats great news about the bigger chev's going straight in. nothing wrong with a 5L, but I wont complain with more
@ khany427 - i am pretty positive it a hz and think it still has the original chassis. the vin number starts with hz and its got a RTS badge inside. and im not interested in registering it properly atm, so bigger motor for sure (maybe oneday, but none of my cars are 'right', i only drive on weekends anyway so not really worth the hassle. they are just to play). and i get what you were saying about the cube limit, its a ratio with the weight or something. i read it in street machine once i think. you pretty much cant register anything over 400cube because you would need one BIG car.

[hiluxmad]

someone once told me they had chev blazer running gear under them but i dont know how accurate this is.....
might be another avenue for reasearch tho?

[98lux]

What is the last few numbers on the chassis number??

QR, is HQ right hand drive

Some more details and i might be able to help some more.

http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/ecars/Conv ... ander.html

http://www.ebroadcast.com.au/ecars/Conv ... r/Ute.html

[want33s]

Here's the article I mentioned.. Will take a while to upload but I'll post pics as they become available.
Scanned from Issue 32 of Australian Muscle Car.
















As you'll see by reading the story your powersteer box is just a HJ-HX-HZ unit.

Jas.

[nicbeer]

neRok.

Did u buy this from a guy named Justin?

[neRok]

neRok.

Did u buy this from a guy named Justin?

dont remember, but it sounds familiar. was in currambine near the train station

and to 98'Lux, just went out and had a look. didn't see QR anywhere, but there is a tag that says HZ cab chassis, built 78. so at least its newer, but no factory chev.

and cheers for those scans want33's. i gonna have a read now

[98lux]

Want33's

as per my link, i can only see HJ and on (hj,hx &hz) so was there any TRUE HQ overlander's??

[98lux]

Below are the original Holden Overlander specifications for the whole range of Overlanders, HJ, HX and HZ models. All the models were modified from the Utility to the basic 1 tonne tray back Ute, the Panel Van and the Station Wagon.



Overlander Specifications, 4WD Overlander (HJ, HX, HZ)

Engine:
Type: V8 ohv four-stroke, hydraulic pushrods. Bore x Stroke: 101.6 x 77.7mm. Displacement: 5044cm. Compression ratio: 9.7-1. Claimed maximum power: (HZ Motor): 161 (216 bhp) at 4500 r. Claimed max torque: 400 (295 ft.lb.) at 3100 r.

Transmission:
Internal gearbox ratios: 1st: 2.48; 2nd: 1.48; 3rd: 1.00; Reverse: 2.08. All gears multiply by 2 for Torque converter stall. Low range: 2.03:1. High range: 1:1. Differential ratio: 3.55:1:Overall Low-Low range ratio 35:1. Gearchange: T-Bar Hydromatic. Clutch: Torque Converter.

Running Gear:
Wheels and tyres: 10" x 15" National XT Commandos on 15" x 8" white steel wheels. Brakes: Front: 12" disc power assisted (increase of 1" over standard). Rear: 11" x 2" drum power assisted (10" x 1 3/4" Standard).

Steering:
Type: Power assisted universal; 11:1-18:1 variable ratio. Turning circle: 16m. (52 ft). Turns lock to lock: 2.6. Suspension: Front: reinforced leaf springs with tele shock absorbers. Rear: As above.

Modifications:
Front Axle: 4400 ft. lbs torque 3000 lb. capacity. 62" track, free wheelhubs, Standard Equip. Rear Axle: 7000 ft. lbs torque 3500 lb. capacity. 62" track, limited slip diff' (replaces GM assembly. of 4000 ft. lb. viz. 75% increase)

General:
LxWxH: 4938x1877x1399mm (194.4x73.9x55.1 inch). Wheelbase: 2895mm (114.0 inch). Kerb Mass: approx, 1500kg (3300lb). Load-carrying capacity: approx 750 kg. Track: 62" front, 62" rear (7" wider than competitors). Fuel consumption: approx. 14 mpg on the open road.

Special equipment fitted:
Bull-bar, rally pack accessories. Warranty: 12-months/20,000 km.

[fool_injected]

F&R are Dana. Not sure re the rest

Interesting that the rear is SOA and the front is SUA.

Just a guess but the SUA front may be to compensate for the subframe
Overlanders use a custom front subfame not the standard holden frame
Holden subframes are notorious for cracking at the dogleg when subjected to offroad vibrations
WB subs are better than the rest as the addressed this problem to some degree

[want33s]

Want33's

as per my link, i can only see HJ and on (hj,hx &hz) so was there any TRUE HQ overlander's??

No HQ's... Heyward didn't start making overlanders till 1975.
Q ee's finished in 74.

[want33s]

F&R are Dana. Not sure re the rest

Interesting that the rear is SOA and the front is SUA.

Just a guess but the SUA front may be to compensate for the subframe
Overlanders use a custom front subfame not the standard holden frame
Holden subframes are notorious for cracking at the dogleg when subjected to offroad vibrations
WB subs are better than the rest as the addressed this problem to some degree

Read the story and you'll see that Overlanders don't use a subframe at all!
They use the commercial (ute/p-van)full chassis. The engine crossmember is modified for diff clearance and to remove control arm mounts.

Jas.

[fool_injected]

Want33's

as per my link, i can only see HJ and on (hj,hx &hz) so was there any TRUE HQ overlander's??

No HQ's... Heyward didn't start making overlanders till 1975.
Q ee's finished in 74.

Slightly OT but my dad used to drive an '81 HZ taxi
Holden kept making Z's after the Commy came out to service the taxi market
In fact it was the very last HZ taxi on the road in Sydney and had a 253 V8