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I'd tickled as a pig in **** to get to 10. Realistically, I have a feeling it's going to me more like 8-9.
Thank you for keeping it real!!!You're smoking crack if you think you're going to cruise 80-85 in one of these trucks. You compare that YJ in weight, height, tire size to one of our trucks, and are you going to lift it? Tire size, V8 that will be screaming at high rpm with a reliable NON OD tranmission, or a weak 700r4 that you'd kill probably in the first long trip. And 10-15 mpg is a pipe dream.
If you're build a K20 to do all this carry a load of top soil, pull a 5th wheel, have some wheels, lift and tires to go raise hell, you need to a have serious reality gut check. And I'm exactly where you are buddy. I'm converting a K10 to K20 myself. I've converted the 10 bolt rear that had 52in springs, to 56in 3/4 ton C6P spring pack and a 14 bolt full float with 4.10 with Detroit Locker. Just changing the front 10 bolt to 4in Rancho lift springs and a 10 bolt 6 lug that is set up with 4.10's and an ARB Air Locker that I'll change the brake backing plate, hub and rotor to 8 lug. I too would like 35in tires, but don't care for the 12.5 wide, the expense and the probably tire damage if I get aggressive wheeling so I'm most likely going to go with 33in tires or actually since now going to 16in OEM stock wheels to a 305/75R16 that is supposed to be 34in tall. Since I'm not financially able to build my small block I wanted for it, I going to take the 454 outta my C20, and have now acquired a Th400/NP208 combo. Why a Th400? Because I've realized even with a 700r4 and having OD, it's not going to give me all that much of an mpg gain if any at all to give up all that reliability. And this type vehicle is not being made for a gas sipping daily driver street princess. It's going to be a work horse for when needed, recreational use, and hell raising from time to time when I get it out to the trails at the lake or the river. And I don't trailer my ****. I drive my **** just like I did back in the street racing days and back then it was my daily driver in stop and go Los Angeles traffic. Sooo, that being said, I HOPE to get 10mpg, and that's hoping hard to get 10mpg to and from my places of recreation, wheeling whether it be in the mud, river bottoms, or canyon trails, camping. picking up a load of cow ****, hauling a few sheets or drywall etc. And I'll have faith it'll hold up with maybe the occasional front axle break whether it be a stub shaft, axle or whatever, but the rear 14b FF will get me home and so will that Th400. Soo, as lead footed as I am, an 80mph cruise guy myself, this truck realistically, I'm looking at 65-70 and I'll just have to drive the slow lane and get passed a few times with the engine screaming a little bit to get where I'm going, and I will be driving it to my dad's property 75 miles away frequently. It's not going to be a daily driver. So when I can afford the fuel to have the fun or do the work, it'll be ready to do it. And the occasional bad weather snow day or 2 a year we might get.
Just remember, you can't hang with the big dogs if you piss like a puppy. You gonna play or are you going to sit on the porch and be a spectator? Just keeping it real !!!
So if you want more than that out of it, better mpg, more power, more reliabilty, then consider an LS Swap with a 4L80-E to modernize it a bit, but still keep in mind, these trucks are heavy bricks and not aerodynamic at all, but with the right combo, you'll have all the power you can use and might get 14-15 mpg with the correct gear ratio, tires size set up and the correct tune in the LS package.
Not a good reason. Kind of like wearing shoes that hurt your feet because they look cool.
I think for play the manual trans set up sucks.....now this is my opinion.....speed shifting a sm465 is a joke now a divorced transfer case and a super T10 or a Muncy or even a T5 would be fun, but that's the only way I'd go manual in a play time truck.
