3b Act II

Welp, the head is cracked at the spark plug holes. I didn't look to see if they migrated through to the outside of the head. I could try a method of cold welding but we'll see.

Something I've been mulling over is cutting the frame horns off and redoing everything from there out to the front. If I can find a place locally to get some steel for a decent price, I'll do it.

 

Way back in the day, I knew a Dude that had his reloading bench in his bedroom, I don’t know which one of you I admire more!

 

I've always wondered if two Subaru heads would fit a 134 with an adapter plate....
Like a Volvo head on a ford 2.3.

 

Did more grinding and cutting on the frame and found a few more cracks.

The worst one I saw.


One of the engine mounts had a crack in it too so I cut the engine mounts off. This is shaping up to be a real treat.

 

I picked up a cheap battery box to relocate the battery. Checked out the block this afternoon and found a crack. Luckily it didn't spread to the exhaust seats but I'll still have to pin the block. Warpage was only .0015" which surprised me. I rechecked the head and it'll live also. The only thing I can say is this old fhead is a trooper and deserves a second chance.

 

Those cracks look like they could be pinned.

 

Yep, they will.

 

Bought a shortened D60/14b. I have to go pick them up.
D60 measures 67" and the 14b measures 65"

I have no idea what direction I'm going with this thing anymore. Deep down I want to do a 413 or 440 swap but that'd probably make for a quick trip to the hospital or morgue. For now, I'll just keep the fhead rebuild in mind for cost reasons.

 

You should build a 406 Ford Windsor motor. Light weight and a long stroke for low end torque. Front distributor too.

 

I'm thinking about replacing the old YJ springs with 47" GM truck springs and while I'm there I'd like to french the spring hanger in the rear to lower the ride height some and extend the wheelbase just a bit. Worst case scenario I have to cut and extend the rear of the frame.

I'll go out and measure to see what's there to work with.

 

I’d suggest outboarding the springs with those wider/heavier axles. If you keep them under the frame, the extra width will put way too much leverage on the springs. It’ll handle like a Weeble-Wobble.

 

Yep, just what I figured I'd have to do.. I was reading about outboarding springs last night. Hopefully, I can still use the spring hangers I just cut out but I have my doubts.

 

I checked the gears in the 14b. 3.73's... not ideal but it is what it is. There is one hmmwv wheel that came with the axles so now I need 4 more.

 

Why does your shop look like your living room?

 

That's because it used to be the living room.

 

Out with the old D30.



I rolled the D60 under there just to see what I have to work with. The truss has to go. Planning to run 36" or 37" HMMWV take offs. I'll get the D44 removed and cut the spring hangers off the frame later this week. I aim to keep this as low as possible. It already looks goofy enough.

 

Removed the D44. It was bittersweet really.

Ballast was needed but if anyone asks, I knew what I was doing.





Sadly it looks as if the steering gear needs to move forward a few inches so that's one more thing I have to do.

 

Put the rear axle under the frame and started measuring. The driver side measured 5" shorter than the passenger side so the diff might be slightly offset. Still working on spring placement.

I decided to keep the YJ springs for two reasons.
1. I have them.
2. I don't have any money to spend on new springs.

The fuel tank looks like it'll be ok where I currently put the axle.

 

Thats pretty darn wide for a flatty, but on the bright side you could probably get 40's under it with some trimming.

 

I managed to get the truss cut off. Killed one angle grinder in the process. I can start working on axle/spring placement now.