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View Full Version : A few quick tips on finding and cheaply buying a HP60



masterbeavis
11-30-2006, 02:08 AM
Alot of you who read my Junkyard find, brag or shutup thread think I am an idiot.

Some of you guys don't seem to know that once in a blue moon you can find the highly coveted 78-79 High pinion Dana 60 in a 3/4 ton F250. This axle was a factory option, known as the snowfighter package. Stock axles did not include the older Low Pinion heavy duty Dana 44. Either you had a small internal style hub 8 lug HP44, or a large internal style locking hub on a HP dana 60.

How to tell between a HD44, and A 60? A HD will have 6 large bolts holding the locking hub onto the hub. A 60 will have a large hub, with small capscrews. Also a dead giveaway is the lack of ball joints. It instead will have a cylindrical shaped thingy on top, without the big nut like a 44. Its called a kingpin :D

Anyways, tips on how to get a good deal.
1. Don't drive in wearing super nice clothes, or drive a new truck. The price can automatically go up because he thinks you will have more money, and be dumb enough to spend it.
2. Never specifically identify the model of axle you are inquiring about. Always ask "can I get a price on that 3/4 ton axle in that ford over there" If you mention front dana 60, dollar signs show up in their eyeballs. Always use the term 3/4 ton, OR 8 lug, never 60.
3. If you are sure its a HP60, and you have the money, pay for it right on the spot. If you pay for it up front, if he finds out later its a 60, and underpriced, too bad, its your axle.
4. Don't ask for a price unless you can afford to buy it. If the thing sits forever, with no interest, it might get cheaper. (be patient)
5. Beware of F250 and 350's from 1980-1986. They will have the large D60 hubs, but will be TTB, not a solid axle. F250's almost always were TTB. To the unsuspecting eye, TTB looks alot like a solid axle.
6. Check the local paper. For about $1200 you can buy the entire truck normally. You can find a junker chevy axle, or an older ford axle to put back under the truck and resell for $800 or so, or strip what you can sell and junk the rest.
7. Watch out for TTB swapped into F350's that came factory with solid axles. Both configureations are bolt in, and can be completed in a couple of hours if you have all the parts.
8. '92 and up will have the ball joint HPD60. The balljoints are not as strong as the kingpin setup, but still are pretty beefy. The thing you have to be carefull of is if you blow a shaft/u-joint, you can wipe out a balljoint, and ruin your trip.

OverkillZJ
11-30-2006, 02:52 AM
OK then, uhhh, yeahhhhhh.......

HERE'S A TIP:

WHEN BRAGGING ABOUT SCORRING A 60, DON'T POST THE FOLLOWING

I pay my $429 for large hub HD44 Priced axle from a '79 F250,


And yeah... if you can't tell the difference between a 44 and a 60 from a 1/1000000th second glance at the pumkin size difference: you're slow, eh.

BigDaveZJ
11-30-2006, 02:53 AM
1. Don't drive in wearing super nice clothes,

So what you're saying is to NOT wear my Armani 3 piece suit to the junkyard?

OverkillZJ
11-30-2006, 02:54 AM
And oh yea... if it is a 79 60 w/ the snow blah blah package: the 35 spline shafts turn down to the same size as 30 spline shafts right after the splines.... replace the shafts.

masterbeavis
11-30-2006, 10:53 PM
I said HD44 priced, NOT I paid for a HD44. I wanted to see if you guys could catch on, or read between the lines. The junkyard manager didn't, and it cost him $1100.

And no on the 3pc suit.

Oh, and the word snowfighter should have given it away if you knew where D60's were born :D

OverkillZJ
12-01-2006, 12:21 AM
I know where 60's are born: my garage.... dont' care as much about one you landed in a junkyard, causing you to try utterly confusing everyone reading between the lines

Congrats on the find, but yeah, you're a confusing bastard.

masterbeavis
12-01-2006, 12:46 AM
If I came out and said I got a HP60 cheap because the guy thought it was a HD44, it wouldn't be fun.

nate
12-01-2006, 02:02 AM
My brother picked one up this summer for somewhere around $1000 shipped. Came from a 78 Ford I think.

He's got the HP D60 and a D70 for the back.... perfect axles for the ZJ... only they aren't mine :smt086

zjeepin
12-01-2006, 09:45 AM
how to find a score in a junkyard...


spend time looking... not posting stupid ass shit that wastes everyone else's time. I've got a 14b/hp60 combo that i don't even have 300 bones in but i don't spend all day posting about it

masterbeavis
12-01-2006, 07:23 PM
how to find a score in a junkyard...


spend time looking... not posting stupid ass shit that wastes everyone else's time. I've got a 14b/hp60 combo that i don't even have 300 bones in but i don't spend all day posting about it
Congratulations!! I do spend time looking in the yards for good deals, in fact I make my living doing so. Its at night when the yards are closed, and I am bored with hunting ebay and craigslist, that I go making posts, that you CHOOSE to waste your time reading. Nobody forced you to read anything, NOR were you forced to post in this "waste of time" thread.

BigDaveZJ
12-01-2006, 07:32 PM
Yeah, but you're posting your brain snot on my website. Thread closed.