I have the bus gear reductions under a 69 baha.I have no idea what year this set up came from. These have got me lifted up high enough to stratle a stump.  What I was thinking of doing is reversing these so they will have a lowering efect. I've been wanting to build a lowerd rat out of this thing. Has anyone fliped the gear reductions over to try this or do you know if it will work? I can fabricate a new arm to bolt to but the gear oil may be the only issue that I may have. Please any comments on this. I really like to use what I have so changing to another system will be last option.

See if you can figure out which pan you have. Just cause its a "69" doesn't mean its not a different year pan. Check the VIN under the backseat, should be able to tell you what the chasis year is. If it is an actual 69, then you have the mounts for the IRS transmission which 1) are cheap and easy to find all day long, and 2) don't have huge camber issues like the earlier swing axles do. If it has those mounts (near where the frame horns come out from the torsion housing), you could convert it back for minimal costs and probably trade the gear reduction box set-up for it or break even. I wouldn't bother trying to make it work.

For what its worth, lots of people have taken them out of buses because it greatly limits your ability to keep up with traffic. I think top speed is right at 55 or 60 mph and thats pushing it. But if you are going to keep it a baja, then it would be nice to have the lower gear; I've been the baja jumping up hills and rock faces and you break a lot. I would have loved to have a lower gear. Post up some pictures of your bug. Is the rat rod going to be for the 14 year old or do you have two projects?

I will try to get up pics as soon as I dig it out of the corner and out from under a pile of stuff. Gonna try to start working on it again in the next 2 or 3 weeks. This is the machine that we will make into a rat or finish it as a ba-ha.

If I go rat, I'm gonna put the biggest set of tires that I can put on it but, have the body as low as possible. I have some 34" radial buckshots that I will use for the rat or ba-ha. That's why I was wanting to keep the gear reductions. I have 31s on it now and it don't seem low speeded. That being said, I am used to 4x4's and Rock Crawlers so this thing is geared like an airplane to me.

It has a ball joint front end that I cut the spindle out and made a 4 inch extension plate for lift relocating the spindle. Its not the strut front end.


My plans will also to be to convert it to run on propane either way I go. I am in the propane industry and even my Motorcycle runs on propane.


I do need some inspiration to get back on this thing and you guys are already getting me inspired. I'm probly gonna go to the circle wagon thing in the Smokey's in Oct to get some more stuff, ideas and more inspiration.

oOOOooo I do like samurais.... they do well off road

I like the idea of the rat, but it looks like baja is in your future just based off of everything you have already done and have. The giant tires and the lifted front end, along with the RGBs, seems like you'd be easiest to keep it a baja and you'd be surprised where you can go with it.

I do have an off-road background and yes it is closer to being done as a ba-ha than a rat. That is one reason I am leaning more toward the rat is to do something different. The body work on the rat will be much more forgiving than a ba-ha, (for me anyway). I know the ba-ha , is a capable off-road machine but, no way my samurai would keep up with it or no way it could go slow enough to run with me in the same terane. My riding terane is just not fit for the high speeds of the ba-ha.


I'm still at 50/50 right now.