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what was the gear ratio in the 1980 mikado luv. i am wondering how to get more top speed out of my luv it 60 and it sounds like its gona pop. i dont want that so what are some good ways to fix or change that.
kevin

I am having the same issue with my 1972 and would like the same answer. Any help would be appreciated, my truck is in NM and I am in NC, but I am about to go home and get it and would like to maintain a decent speed on the drive back.

Tery

You've probably got a 4:56 rear end gear ratio. The drag racers like the 4:56 because it has no top end, but it will get you to top end a lot quicker. I think the automatic has a higher gear like a 3:73 or something. The lower the gear the higher the numbers. Those chuncks are easy to change.

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I want to be different like everybody else.

manual should be 4.56. Automatics have 4.10.

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Resident lurker

thats what i thought i figured that i had 4.56s. i think my old rear end had 4.10s becasue i could cruse at 65 almost 70 and then it would start to sound like it was going to pop. so how would i go about getting a 3.57 geared rear end?
kevin

I'm thinkin you need to look at a different rear than a stock one....

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Resident lurker

why then i have to find new rims and all that stuff and change out the drop blocks and all the stuff that took me so much time and pain into.
kevin

Not necessarily, the 9" in my truck has axles with 6 lugs. No new rims. Same blocks work. You'd still have the pain though...

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Resident lurker

Both of my luvs (cruizer and parts) had 4.56 gears in them. I put a 10 bolt out of an astro into my cruizer, but I still haven't been able to find anyone to narrow it, so Im thinking bout putting the stock rear end back in it. My small block doesn't like it very much, but atleast it won't look horrible. I am still looking for that ever elusive narrowed 9.

There are several shops in my area that do that kind of work. There are also machine shops that will cut and respline your axles. Call your nearest speed shop, or drag strip. Once I started looking I found more than I thought existed. Hang in there, those Ford 9" rear ends are almost indestructable. If you are not going to hammer it too badly you could go with a S 10 with some Richmond gears. Some of the S10's come with a 8.5 ring and pinion. I called my local salvage yard and they have a interchange book which tells you the S 10 model that has that 8.5 Ring and pinion. The late models have disc brakes. Ok I got a nine inch so I didn't get finished asking all the questions. Late model Olds Bravada, S 10 Blazer, and some S 10 trucks have 8.5 posi w/disc that will fit. The clincher is, I don't know if they have coil springs or not. You would have to weld on spring perches. The four wheel drive model rear ends have all the above, but are 2 1/2 inches wider. Thats only 1 1/4 per side, and I think that could be dealt with pretty easily, ie backspacers. I found a guy that will narrow my 9" for $80.00 . I called Moser and they said $300 for new axles. I like the Ford rear end because they are so easy to work on. Four bolts per side for the axles, four on the ujoint, and you're ready to unbolt one chunk and put in another. Takes about an hour, whereas G.M. you have to change out the ring and pinion that's part of the housing.

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I want to be different like everybody else.

you guys know what i'm about to say, i can feel it

get a toyota 4x4 axle and weld new spring perches under it(it's spring-over from the factory). 6 lug and can be had with several different ratios stock, even more in the aftermarket. 4.10 is the most common, though 4x4s had 3.90s in 1981

has a drop out diff like a luv too so you can swap if you want a different ratio

haven't researched it, but somebody in the gear business is bound to make ring and pinions that would fit the Luv. Buy an old chunk from a salvage yard and put the new gears in. There is some technical knowledge that's involved, and if you haven't done one before you might get a shop to do it, or better yet if you know someone get them to show you, it's really not that difficult. The only other way I know of to get a better top end gear without changing one out is to go with a lot taller tire. What's wrong with six lugs with nice wheels?

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I want to be different like everybody else.

Stand up, hook up, shuffle to the door. Jump
Airborne All The Way

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I want to be different like everybody else.

3rd member out of a mid 80's Izusu pup has 3.42 ratio in them.All You have to do is pull 2 bottom studs and use 2 long bolts,bolts right in

The pups with 3.42 gears are automatics?

Id go with a 3.56 0r a 3.31. Ive got a 3.50 and gonna go to a 3.0 for better highway travel. i got the horsepower so it wont hurt my take offs. also I have a full 9" ford in my lov. by full I mean it was never narrowed. I got the offset rims to push wheels under some then being a step side i brought out fenders about 1 inch with marine mohogany looks good i think and ive been told.

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http://bonsaint.com/luvalbum2/index.htm

more pics of my 76 406ci 4 spd posi.

my shop manual says that 4x4 luvs have 4.10 gears and 4x2 luvs have 3.42 gears.

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1980 chevy luv 4x4 1.8 liter
1979 luv long bed parts truck
1984 2wd isuzu pup parts truck

"A man who says it can't be done shouldn't interrupt a man doing it."

Some people know that the manual has a 4.56 ratio, and other people know that the manual has a 4.10 ratio, but does anyone know for sure which is right?

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Richard Barnes Salt Lake, Utah
1980 Luv Mikado 4X4
http://geocities.com/luvtruck2004/

one of my earlier posts in this thread has the ratios I took out of the Haynes manual. But the Chevy shop manual for my 76 lists only 4.10, with not a whisper about 4.56.

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Resident lurker