Okay, I've had to write this over 3 different times. Please nobody be offended by the post, but I feel like the majority of the people who have posted have kind of missed the point and the opening post. I'm going to reply to the post from most recent to oldest.
Maybe its just me. But a M35 is what it is, I love my LD465 non turbo.(don't want to go over 55mph in it) It does a great job. Why not get a 500hp cat or det in a 6x6 kenworth, freightliner or PB for your speed and braking .
I don't mean to offend anyone, it just seems everybody wants to make it something its not or was ever ment to be.
This is the Deuce Modification and Hot-Rodding forum. I don't want to make you mad or anything, but thats kind of the point of this section of the website. I don't think I even said I wanted to make a 500 horsepower deuce, I asked if any one has used easily available surplus vehicles like school bus, to improve the deuce. Yes the deuce is good at going any where, however, it's sometimes hard to stop. Do you think it's unreasonable for someone to want to install a dual circuit brake system? School buses have the parts, and a lot are hydraulic and stop on a dime, despite weighing more with a full metal cabin.
Okay, here are a few things that won't help you achieve your goal:
1) a new engine of any type.
2) an automatic transmission of any type.
3) fuzzy dice hanging from your wiper motor.
And a few things that will do that for you:
1) differentials with a lower ratio than 6.<mumble, mumble> to 1
2) transmission with a taller overdrive gear.
3) larger tires.
There is a limit to what you can expect from an overdrive gear. They generally are picked to be about 0.7 or 0.8 to 1. And they generally fit the ratio spacing between the regular gears in the transmission.
Tire size is limited by your vehicle size, and your brake capacity... the bigger your tires, the more brake pressure you need to stop the truck.
The deuce was geared to be a tremendous off road puller. The gearing that did that for the deuce was in the differentials (and the Hi/Low transfer case). The transmission is just an off the shelf 5-speed.
Your engine rpm at any given road speed is fixed by the gearing of your truck, and the wheel diameter.
-Chuck
Regearing would be nice. However my experience with regearing, is that, if you can find the gears chances are the costs and labor of it are so high, that you could and should have probably spent the money on something else. I think that if I was truely worried about speed, it would be a good idea, I just want to make my vehicle more comfortable to drive. More comfortable to me might mean an engine that doesn't have a cast iron crankshaft that runs the chance of shattering past 2500 rpms.
Power steering would be nice, I suppose, but the biggest handicap towards the deuce being a good highway machine is the high ratio differentials. Go ahead and put a bigger diesel in the deuce, but you will still wind it out trying to go above 55MPH.
I would think an essential change, to go along with a bigger engine, would be a taller overdrive 5th gear.
And even if you put in a taller overdrive 5th gear, you will still make the differentials sing their hearts out at speeds above 50MPH.
-Chuck
You don't need powersteering for driving, but it should helps of you need to park. I actually think the diesel in school buses may be slightly smaller than the deuces. It's usually a 7.2L International. Not a great engine, but easy to find parts for. Also higher revving.
not powerful, and from what i hear not all that reliable, nor can it use alternative fuels..... this will become more important as the fuel prices rise
i have considered adding the 5 ton multifuel, and 5 ton axles for better brakes.... but i dunno
That gets you super singles, CTIS, an ugly, ugly front end, and an engine that's really not all that powerful.
Sounds like an interesting project. Personally, I would save the money in converting an A2 and buy an M35A3 instead.
I know that some people swear by the M35A3. I don't feel like because it happens to have a yellow engine in it that, that engine is made of gold. Why are they priced so high? You get a less useful engine, a strange front end with more venerable headlights, a slightly better braking system, auto tranny, supersingles that you could have on an A2. At anyrate it's not with 10-15k, and it's also another point i wanted to make.
CHEAP MODIFICATIONS. Why would you spend big money on a A2. I was talking about spending 1200$ max on parts. I don't know the cost of regearing, but I know it usually requires an expert and 500$ for a small vehicle, I imagine gears may have to be custom made for the deuce, and they probably don't have the same close tolerances but are still harder to work with. I imagine it's still at least 500 per axle, you can go have fun on GL for that 1500$, and maybe get a 5 ton.
Anyways, I hope nobody gets hurt feelings, I was just saying my take on it, as constructive as possible. I just felt that given the availability of surplus civilian diesels, it was likely that someone had experimented before, but I guess not.
Thanks.
Oh btw, you can have the biggest, newest, chromest, 150,000$+ civilian 18-wheeler imaginable, and I still don't think it's as cool as the Deuce. Sorry...
Although...Western Stars..... hmmm...
