New stuff for the burb

[vectorit]

Well I finally found what I have been looking for, for a long time I have been looking for a matched set of 1972 vintage axles for my Suburban.

Mainly to upgrade to a better braking system, and to stay as close to the year range of my Suburban. So I wanted the large hub Dana Spicer 44, to replace the closed knuckle drum brake Dana Spicer 44.

The rear axle in this set is a Dana 60.

Out of this purchase, the following was included.

Power steering box
4 wheels with tires
2 steel wheels
Front and rear leaf springs
NP205 transfer case
Front drive shaft

The tires are 35" tall and just rollers, so they will go to the recycler since I don't want them. The main thing is, is that 3 of the 4 have 1972 OE 8 lug steel 16" wheels. So with the 2 extra 8 lug 16" steel wheels, that sets me up with all 4 and a spare tire wheel.
These will be checked if they are bent, or damaged then sand blasted and powder coated black like my current wheels.
My current wheels are 16.5's, and are not straight so they aren't perfect.

The leaf springs, I don't need. They seem to be aftermarket, since they were able to accommodate a 35" tire. Don't know what I will do with them at this moment.

The NP205 I will keep as a spare, since my T221 is just fine. So if I decide to convert to 205 due to catastrophic damage on the Rockwell, I will have the most expensive part on hand to begin that project.


Here is the crazy part... I really like my current Eaton H052, and my closed knuck 44 works just fine. The problem is, is that my Eaton has been giving me headaches with getting parts. When I do find the parts they are priced at a premium, and I worry that if I take the burb on a long trip and the Eaton decides to do something stupid - I don't think Gomer at the lone service station 40 miles East of BFE is gonna have the part to get me going.

The brakes work fine, but they are drums and these drums are not easy to get either. Heck, they are 12" drums and they are even more harder to source.

I guess where I struggle with this is, is that I am so sentimental with my burb I struggle with changing big things like this on her. So much that I don't let go of any old parts, and I am not looking forward to storing that Eaton let alone a D44.

Well, here are pics of the stuff.
Thanks to Jenn and Jeremiah of Kingstrucks, they made me a heck of a deal on all of this. Plus Jeremiah did a lot of extra work for me to make this all happen.