Yes sounds good, the quick shifting also indicates you probably have a 4.11 rear axel ratio which again explains why the engine RPM is high when going 60mph

“Heyyou” is right, depending on how hard the acceleration is it may stay in gear a little longer but it should take off realy quick,!!

did it pass MOT ok ?? with the van that old, did you have any problems passing??

viperdave

 

Absolutely no problem passing the MOT, new set of brake pads on the front was all she needed. Has mostly been really reliable, just wish it didn't use so much damn fuel. We sometimes use it for camping trips but depending on the distance, it's actually cheaper to drive the wife's car and stay in a hotel!
UK fuel tax is a killer.

 

Look inside the drivers door jamb. There should be an equipment sticker. It's have the original tire size and other data. It will also state the axle that came from the factory.That's assuming the rear end hasn't been changed. On the rear end itself, there may or may not be a metal tag. It will have two numbers. If it says 4.1, you have 4.11 gears. 3.9 or 3.5 are the same way..

Now, how many bolts hold the differential cover on? 10 or 12? I got out of the salvage business in '84 so my books stop there but you can get another rear end and swap it in. You'll need to find one from 1974 to 1984. It MUST be a van, not a pickup. I think the spring perches are different. The lowest gears from the factory were 3.9 and that will make the engine sing at speed. If you have a 10 bolt cover, 1971-73 may also fit. If I remember correctly, in 1985, Dodge trucks all went with the 5 on 5 1/2 bolt pattern. Before that, only the 4X4 trucks used it.

My gut feeling is you have the 3.90 gearing. 3.55 was the most common but if you don't pull or haul a lot, see if you can find 3.21. They were as steep as 2.71 back then but that gearing is a bit rare and you're acceleration will be a dog, you'll scream on top end if you can find the speed cameras.

 

Are those lights or reflectors on the ends of the front bumper? Are they connected to the signals?!

 

They are white Led lights. UK law we have to have white lights on the front as opposed to the US orange running lights. They're just wired up to the running lights.

 

The diff cover has 10 bolts. There is no plate on the door jamb, although it clearly was there at some point as there are rivet holes. Can't find any tag on the rear end either, do you know roughly where its likely to be located?
Reckon I'll have trouble finding any replacement axle, these are pretty rare over here.

 

Usually, but not always, the tag will be on the left side. A quick and dirty way to find the ratio is to have someone hold one wheel while you rotate the other one with the transmission in neutral.That will give you a rough idea. If you open the rear end, you can count the teeth on the ring gear and that will tell you which one it is. Sometimes the ratio is stamped on the gear but I've seen them with and without the stamping. You can change the gearing but I'm not any good at that as it takes a talent. You can put anything in there just change the speedometer gear on the transmission so your speedometer reads right. Unless the constables have quit using speed cameras.