Seabee M38A1 Build

Looks Good Jon..............Have you loaded that front suspension up yet and got an Idea of what angle you'll have on your rear shackle?

 

Yes... I did a couple times last night. Its gonna be the same as it was before. The front spring eye is in the same place front to back, its just dropped down a little to fit the steering mount. I'm probably gonna have to redo the spring perch on the axle to get the caster and pinion angle right again... I should have went with a 3 link from the beginning...

 

I don't know about that!............No matter what you use there is always going to be packaging problems to get it correct........those springs look like they have allot of arc , that's why I was curious how much they will flatten out. Why your cycling the suspension try and get a good measurement on how much movement you see fore & aft.......your drive shaft guy will need that.

 

The springs are 2.5in lift Rubicon Express YJs so they're pretty soft. They flatten out pretty good...

 

Cool .........on a leave spring I would much rather have a looooong flat spring ........with just a little arc to keep it from going inverted. Looks Good!

 

Thank you sir...

 

Tarry here's my shackle angle... 70° or 20° whichever way its measured...

 

I've got things kinda mocked up to check shackle angles and stuff... This is the ride height until springs settle a bit. I'm pretty happy with it... The longer frame in front still look funny to me, but I'm sure an 8274 will fill that space well...

 

Jon...........20 degrees is a good place to start.......once the springs settle they will probably see 45........Lookin Good!

 

[QUOTE=" The longer frame in front still look funny to me, but I'm sure an 8274 will fill that space well...[/QUOTE]

Looks really good. The jack handle in the picture is pretty much showing the approach angle you are going to have with the new front end. I don't think you are going to regret the extension.

 

I started to weld the frame back together this evening. I have to put some 1/8th in plates on either side of the joint next...

 

Looks good Jon, its coming along nicely.

Looks like you picked a good night for working on the jeep. It was warm today, well at least compared to earlier in the week.

 

Looking good Jon............I'm just about ready to start welding things back also..........made some major changes to the top frame rail on mine over the holidays.

Randy .......still cold in my shop.....especially the floor........feels like I'm walking on Ice.

 

Doing a great job, keep it up.

 

Thanks guys. The weather has warmed up a little... But still cold inside the shop...

 

Good job on it so far. Ya at least the low temps aren't in the negative colum today was a whole 13 today at work out on bogard flat.

 

I got some more work done this weekend... I've got the frame welded up with some 1/8th fish plate reinforcements... And I've just about got the piece done to span the front. It's only 1/8th inch as well, but there is a 90 bent on the outside edge that is an inch tall. It ties the top of the steering box in as well.





I was smart and left room for the hose fittings to sneak in there...
I've got a little more work to do to the top plate like cleaning up around the welds and filling some gaps. I'm pretty happy with how its turning out. Thanks for checking it out. Laters

 

I keep these note pads next to my bed so I can jot down ideas and keep track of what needs to be done. I've spilled coffee on them, my daughter doodles on them. I decided to update my list and clean it up a little.



That's better...
I still have a lot to do, but that is easier to read...

 

I got the axle partly assembled and rolled it out of the shop. It's been riding jack stands since last March. It's been too long. Hopefully I can start making some forward progress now...

 

A couple more shots I took today... I've got a lot of work to do, but its pretty motivating to push it out and look at it...