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Re-thinking and re-building the Tucker
- Thread starter vintagebike
- Start date
Snowy Rivers
Well-known member
LOOKS GREAT
Chevy V6 and a TH350 ???
Chevy V6 and a TH350 ???
vintagebike
Well-known member
Also getting a S10 Blazer disc brake rear end with drift steer and Mattracks EZ Maxim tracks. Targeting less than 2000 lbs for groomed trail access in Idaho. Will have to wait till Summer, other duties in California
Necessity is the mother of invention. Can't wait to see this one 
olympicorange
Active member
…. very nice,.. same issue here, 2000lb. limit on the trails. the ''mock'' unit looks more like a BBC & TH400 …. if its the same. of course that combo would be almost half your objective goal weight....
vintagebike
Well-known member
It’s a tiny 4.3 Chevrolet V6 with internal balance shaft using a custom built TH350 trans with RV shift kit and a low stall speed TH400 brazed torque converter. A Holley Sniper EFI, electric water pump with marine alternator and air cleaner (not in pic) , aluminum radiator, aluminum fuel cell , light weight Sanderson headers and the lighter Mattracks system will help with weight loss. But we still have a few 99% stock Tuckers and Thiokols.
olympicorange
Active member
…… very nice powerplant..... looks like that will be a nice ''snug'' fit , in the ''V'' nose configuration. guess I looked at ''mock'' engine pic rather quickly, and didn't notice the ''triples'' . so, looking at the chassis/frame assy.,.... are you going to have to ''beef'' up /reinforce any of the main frame assy.,..... projects looking great...……...
vintagebike
Well-known member
We are reinforcing much of the frame with square and rectangular thick wall mild steel tubing. Maybe a roll bar if the weight is down enough. I want to go Faaaaast. (25MPH) What could go wrong??? Can you get aftermarket airbags? 
Snowy Rivers
Well-known member
Air bags at that low speed can do far more harm than good.
25 mph is not a worry...Seat belts with shoulder harnesses would be a great idea.
On my Cat Van BOTH AIR BAGS WILL BE RENDERED NEUTRAL.
I do not want to deal with one of those suckers popping in the event of an small incident.
I have a very slanted view of air bags in general...
A good friends daughter lost her eyes to a damned air bag exploding in her face.
Low speed minimal damage crash and she had the bag go off...
Seat belts in a cat would definitely be a good idea...
25 mph is not a worry...Seat belts with shoulder harnesses would be a great idea.
On my Cat Van BOTH AIR BAGS WILL BE RENDERED NEUTRAL.
I do not want to deal with one of those suckers popping in the event of an small incident.
I have a very slanted view of air bags in general...
A good friends daughter lost her eyes to a damned air bag exploding in her face.
Low speed minimal damage crash and she had the bag go off...
Seat belts in a cat would definitely be a good idea...
vintagebike
Well-known member
Be careful to not take cabin bound Idahoans too seriously 
...especially when they are stuck in California
...especially when they are stuck in California
vintagebike
Well-known member
Lots of cutting, fitting and welding coming up for October. Winter is almost here in McCall.
vintagebike
Well-known member
Thefatsquatch
Active member
By "Low stall speed" how low are we talking? I am converting the 2100 I have to an 4AOD tranny, and I am reading about really harsh shifting if I use too high stall torque converter.It’s a tiny 4.3 Chevrolet V6 with internal balance shaft using a custom built TH350 trans with RV shift kit and a low stall speed TH400 brazed torque converter. A Holley Sniper EFI, electric water pump with marine alternator and air cleaner (not in pic) , aluminum radiator, aluminum fuel cell , light weight Sanderson headers and the lighter Mattracks system will help with weight loss. But we still have a few 99% stock Tuckers and Thiokols.
View attachment 125184
Snowy Rivers
Well-known member
With the combo you have a "Stock stall speed" would be the way to go.
The higher the stall the more RPM it takes to get the thing to move....Move slippage if you will (Within the inner workings of the Converter)
There are three major components in a torque converter Pump, Turbine and the stator....and in many there is the lockup clutch/
The pump in this instance is the outer driven shell and the blades that are welded to it inside the cover.
The turbine is connected to the input shaft and is driven by the thrust of the oil from the pump blades.
The stator is between the turbine and the pump and catches the oil as it flows out of the turbine and reroutes the oil back into the turbine......This is what make a torque converter different than a simple fluid coupling (Like the old GM 4 speed Hydo's had)
A low stall converter is preferred on a relatively low RPM engine (Ford 300 six cyl)
A higher stall converter is used on modified high RPM engines used in racing applications....This allows the engine with a wild AZZ cam to stay running at lower RPM and also to allow the engine to rev into it's power band before the vehicle really gets rolling.
HIGH STALL equals much more heat.....a loose converter (High stall) generates huge amounts of heat due to the major bypassing of oil between the blades (Pump/turbine)
In the application you have you want a low stall converter for creeping around hauling the heavy load....
IF YOU CAN GET a converter rebuilder to rebuild a converter with RV type specs and give you the best lockup clutch available.
I am not really sure that a lockup is going to be a good idea......
Speak to one of the rebuilders in the area that do custom converters....Explain to them the vehicle and the use....weight of about 7000# and so on....Gear ratios.
The lockup clutches in most automotive apps are designed to engage at low torque cruising speeds (Mileage thing) and these clutches are not very strong as far as handling heavy torque loads.
A converter can likely be built up with the clutch removed and then the clutch circuit in the tranny will need to be blocked.....
Running a C6 3 speed HD box and adding a remote mounted mechanical overdrive may be a better choice.
You have loads of room in the tub behind the tranny.
The AOD is not a particularly robust gearbox as compared to the C6 which can take a lot of abuse and shrug it off easily
With a stand alone OD you will be able to use the OD in all ranges 1-2-3 and even reverse
The converters on the C6 are large and not cluttered up with the clutch parts...
A C6 built to heavy RV specs can really deal with gitterdone.
Just plumb in a good oil/air cooler in front of the radiator and you are set.
Personally I would buckle a "Gear vendors" OD box onto a C6 all neat and simple......
The AOD box was designed to get better MPG in passenger cars and generally not a Heavy vehicle
Just some thoughts.
I have been into many of the Ford auto's over the years (Ran a tranny shop for several years) and the early 4 speeds were a tad sketchy..
The higher the stall the more RPM it takes to get the thing to move....Move slippage if you will (Within the inner workings of the Converter)
There are three major components in a torque converter Pump, Turbine and the stator....and in many there is the lockup clutch/
The pump in this instance is the outer driven shell and the blades that are welded to it inside the cover.
The turbine is connected to the input shaft and is driven by the thrust of the oil from the pump blades.
The stator is between the turbine and the pump and catches the oil as it flows out of the turbine and reroutes the oil back into the turbine......This is what make a torque converter different than a simple fluid coupling (Like the old GM 4 speed Hydo's had)
A low stall converter is preferred on a relatively low RPM engine (Ford 300 six cyl)
A higher stall converter is used on modified high RPM engines used in racing applications....This allows the engine with a wild AZZ cam to stay running at lower RPM and also to allow the engine to rev into it's power band before the vehicle really gets rolling.
HIGH STALL equals much more heat.....a loose converter (High stall) generates huge amounts of heat due to the major bypassing of oil between the blades (Pump/turbine)
In the application you have you want a low stall converter for creeping around hauling the heavy load....
IF YOU CAN GET a converter rebuilder to rebuild a converter with RV type specs and give you the best lockup clutch available.
I am not really sure that a lockup is going to be a good idea......
Speak to one of the rebuilders in the area that do custom converters....Explain to them the vehicle and the use....weight of about 7000# and so on....Gear ratios.
The lockup clutches in most automotive apps are designed to engage at low torque cruising speeds (Mileage thing) and these clutches are not very strong as far as handling heavy torque loads.
A converter can likely be built up with the clutch removed and then the clutch circuit in the tranny will need to be blocked.....
Running a C6 3 speed HD box and adding a remote mounted mechanical overdrive may be a better choice.
You have loads of room in the tub behind the tranny.
The AOD is not a particularly robust gearbox as compared to the C6 which can take a lot of abuse and shrug it off easily
With a stand alone OD you will be able to use the OD in all ranges 1-2-3 and even reverse
The converters on the C6 are large and not cluttered up with the clutch parts...
A C6 built to heavy RV specs can really deal with gitterdone.
Just plumb in a good oil/air cooler in front of the radiator and you are set.
Personally I would buckle a "Gear vendors" OD box onto a C6 all neat and simple......
The AOD box was designed to get better MPG in passenger cars and generally not a Heavy vehicle
Just some thoughts.
I have been into many of the Ford auto's over the years (Ran a tranny shop for several years) and the early 4 speeds were a tad sketchy..