I am planning on swapping the engine and axles in my 1958 CJ5.  Currently it has the 5.38 axles in it.  This doesn´t help me get anywhere fast or efficiently.  What would be good ideas for axle swaps that would get me a lower ratio.  I´m trying to obtain speeds of up to 70mph (sometimes, usually around 55-60mph) once I put the Saturn overdrive in.  I´m also looking to widen the base by 6-12 inches overall.  I can weld and my neighbor is a machinist (I know, very handy).  Anyway, if I could get some suggestions, I would appreciate it.  

Sooo, why not regear the axles you have? It all really depends on the tire size, engine, and transmission you are running.  

I did attempt to do that.  I was unsuccessful in finding anyone locally that could do the work.  I would have to ship the axles somewhere I think, which still might be worth it.  I wanted to get a wider base too.  When i checked for wheels it was very difficult to find anything that had the small backspacing i was looking for.  what are your thoughts.  any tire recommendations?  right now i´ve got 8 inch wide tailgunner rims (i think that´s american racing)with the BFG all-terrain *** and they just come flush with the body.  no flares.  

what motor do you have in mind and what size tire do you plan to use. 5:38's and an overdrive would be awesome with 32's and the 4 cyl. and up to 35 or 37" tires if you have little more power. the 58 axles wont take much abuse, dont want to narrow axles? swap in a pre 75' dana 30 from a cj for the front, you probably already have a 44 in the rear, or also pre 75 cj for better brakes and to get rid of the woodruff keyed rear, if you can find one. put on some 6" flares and go to a 44 from a cherokee/wagoneer in the front and back  

Hey thanks for that reply.  From what other people have suggested, I´m looking to go to either the Buick V6 Dauntless, or the Chevy 4.3, and i´ve also gotten a 2.3 V6 TBI suggestion as well (not sure who makes that).  Those 44 cherokee/wagoneer axles really appeal to me because you mentioned 6" flares (which would mean wider base) and I could probably keep the gears the same and not do any break work to handle the speed increase.  What is the ratio like in those axles?  Is there any particular year you would recommend?  Do you think my T-90 can take these upgrades?  i´ve got 8" AR Tailgunners with 32" BFG All Terrain´s right now.  could i recycle those?  would they fit? would they look stupid?  i wouldn´t mind upgrading to some wider  35´s.  it would just be an extra 2 grand that´s all.

thanks for the input  

The 231 v6 and the 4.3 would be good choices, the gm 2.8 (Idont know of the 2.3) can be found in cherokees, s-10 blazers, and camaros in the rear drive form, not a very wise choice. your wheels would fit the dana 30, front 75' and older and are the same width, 76-81 cjs are 3 inches wider and have disc brakes, 82-86 are 6" wider, and standard rotation, the yj is 10." wider and reverse rotation. the wagoneer dana 44  71-73 (5 on 5.5 bolt same as yours) 6.5" wider 74 and later 8" wider but will have 6 on 5.5 bolt pattern but could be swaped to the 5-5.5, gear ratios range from 2:73 to 4:27, I' d go with a 4:10-4:88 with an overdrive for daily driving with 32's, anything larger at least 4:88s. depends on how much change and work you want to get into. the tranny should be fine, the stock wheel backspacing will keep the tires closer to the wheel wells helping with period correct looks. new wheels to fit the 35's will give you an even wider stance, lots of wheelers use 8" wheels for the 12.5" wide tires. even more options are available if you go to a newer trans and t-case.  

ok thanks, that is very helpful  

So, If I kept the 5.38 gears on my stock axles and put 35 or 37´s on with a buick or chevy V6, would I have to upgrade the steering or or suspension?  i´m not going to be doing any heavy 4 wheeling.  I plan on putting disk breaks on the front.  I´ve seen people flip the axle to the bottom of the springs (reverse shackle?).  Could I simply do this without any kits?  I can fabricate stuff and plan on replacing all the suspension brackets and bolts with stainless.  I´d really just be doingthe bigger tires to keep my rpm down at higher speeds.  The reason I´m thinking about the bigger tires is because it is getting very difficult to find higher gears for both my axles, expecially the Dana 25 front.  

The easiest way to do it is to do a spring-over. However, you will be opening a big 'ol can of worms. The steering will need to be replaced with a Saginaw style box, longer brake lines, new driveshafts, and you may need to lower the transfer case or at least grind or replace the yokes for clearance. If you are only going for the larger tires for the effective gearing may I suggest you simply purchase a a Saturn Overdrive unit for your transfer case and be done with it. It will provide a 25% Overdrive effectively turning your 5.38 axle gears into 4.03 gears. Should be able to hit close to 70 with 31s or 32s.

As an aside, installing a Cherokee/Waggy FSJ front axle on your Jeep will require a lot of fabrication. You cannot simply relocate the spring perches on the front axle. The front springs will need to be moved outboard of the CJ frame. If you have never done something like this I would not recommend it unless you are a very proficient and experienced chassis fabricator.

John Cappa  

Yeah, i figured the spring over was more complex then it initially sounded.  i´ve read a lot about swapping the Dana 30 in for the 25/27.  it may be a more feasable approach because there are many gears available for it and I could swap those out fairly easily.  from what i understand there is not a ton of modification involved in the suspension.  I haven´t read anything about having to modify the driveshaft end.  or did i miss that?  man, so many options.  

when you go higher the driveshafts get longer. especially with the front leafs they can droop far enough to drop the shaft out of the yolk  

i did this widening of the frame.i did the same swap.narrow cherokee front,scout rear.i am in the process of doing a wrangler spring swap,and takin pics.this will show you how i made the frame wider.better be a good fabricator for this one.if you want pics let me know