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Seabee M38A1 Build

Discussion in 'Builds and Fabricators Forum' started by tymbom, Mar 30, 2014.

  1. Feb 10, 2022
    ITLKSEZ

    ITLKSEZ Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

    Liberty Lake, WA
    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2015
    Messages:
    6,656
    Yeah, I’ll pile on. This is one of, if not THE coolest build on here. I love it.
     
    truckee4x4, blalp!, 47v6 and 4 others like this.
  2. Feb 10, 2022
    Fireball

    Fireball Well-Known Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Pullman, WA
    Joined:
    Feb 9, 2018
    Messages:
    5,627
    This.
     
    tymbom likes this.
  3. Feb 10, 2022
    tymbom

    tymbom Member

    Siskiyou Co.
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    Messages:
    814
    Geez guys you're making me blush... thanks again for the compliments. I'm sure if you saw it up close you'd change your minds. It's far from perfect. Thanks though :beer:
     
    blalp!, givemethewillys, 47v6 and 2 others like this.
  4. Feb 17, 2022
    tymbom

    tymbom Member

    Siskiyou Co.
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    Messages:
    814
    [​IMG]

    Yeesh... I had a couple leaks to attend to so one of those while I'm at it things kinda happened. I think this should be done on a semi annual basis for me anyway. One of the fittings on the fuel lines was leaking and I needed to pull the sender out to tighten the fitting from inside.

    [​IMG]

    With the out of the way, you can see the mess under there. I also pulled out the strips of bicycle inner tube I use to cushion the bottom of the tank.

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    The build up if mud and leaves, pine needles, acorns and nuts and washers on the backside of the tank. I'm going to look around and see if I can find some foam or something to put in the voids to keep the big stuff out. I have a pretty big trip coming up in April so I'm trying to get ready for that and the Rubicon in July... Laters
     
  5. Feb 25, 2022
    fhoehle

    fhoehle Sponsor

    Harford Township, PA
    Joined:
    Apr 11, 2012
    Messages:
    1,427
    This is such a nice build. You have done great. I wind up looking through it and get engrossed in the reading and forget to comment. Seeing others comment made me realize I haven't done so. Great job! So functional!
     
    ITLKSEZ, Fireball and dozerjim like this.
  6. Feb 25, 2022
    dozerjim

    dozerjim Member

    western New York
    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2010
    Messages:
    966
    x2
     
    Fireball likes this.
  7. Feb 25, 2022
    tymbom

    tymbom Member

    Siskiyou Co.
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    Messages:
    814
    Thanks again guys!
     
  8. Mar 12, 2022
    tymbom

    tymbom Member

    Siskiyou Co.
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    Messages:
    814
    So I just a fun little what the heck moment the other day. I parked the jeep in the shop and was tinkering with a silly idea I have for a spare tire carrier. Underneath the jeep I see a little drip. Not much. But in a weird spot. Crawl under and stick my finger in it and it's water. I look up, and behind the motor mount I can see some rusty orange gooey funk.

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    Here it is with the motor mount removed...

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    And the other side...

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    Driver's side by the oil filter...

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    This is the only one that looked okay. Now because on a SBC 400, the two middle cylinders are siamesed, there's only the four core plugs, or freeze plugs. This motor sat for at least seven and a half years when I was building this, and who knows how long before that.

    [​IMG]
    See the pinhole?

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    They all started leaking at the exact same time.

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    So I replaced all four with new brass plugs. It's not hard to do, it's just tedious. So if you guys have a engine that's been sitting awhile, it might be a good idea to replace these while the engine is on a stand, just for peace of mind.

    [​IMG]
    Another thing I did was this old school hot rodders trick. If you drill a hole and put a 3/8ths bolt through, with a lock washer and nut on the backside, it makes the motor mount nearly solid. These things are just two metal parts held together by vulcanized rubber so the engine can torque over pretty hard. Eventually the mount will break. With the low 7.00 1st and 4.56 axle gears, 4:1 transfer case gears, the drivetrain would torque over and the fan would hit the shroud, making embarrassing noises. Now it barely moves.

    Well back to work. I still have to figure out my spare tire carrier idea. Thanks for checking it out. Laters
     
  9. Apr 27, 2022
    tymbom

    tymbom Member

    Siskiyou Co.
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    Messages:
    814
    [​IMG]

    We made it back to the crash site of my uncle's F-16 over spring break. This year was a little different than last year as the weather didn't cooperate with us.

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    I flat towed the Jeep with the F350 as well. I was originally planning to drive the Jeep most of the trip, but the fuel prices made that huge jump before we left, so that didn't happen.

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    Our first night we camped on the old narrow gauge roadbed of the Carson and Colorado railroad near Montgomery Pass. In the early 1900's this line was purchased by the Southern Pacific. The line ran 300 miles from Mound House Nevada to Keeler California, down by Lone Pine on Hwy 395, in the Owens Valley. This portion was abandoned in 1932. We found a couple old railroad spikes laying in the dirt where we camped.

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    We set up camp and hoped the wind didn't blow too much. It was cold, only about 50 degrees. The wind was blowing all night and we woke up early, ready to get warm in the truck and get going. We continued up the roadbed to Montgomery Pass to hook up the tow bar when I noticed some oil on the left rear wheel. The hub seal had failed and let everything run out. Luckily I planned ahead and brought an extra seal because those aren't Napa parts.

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    The grease coated the brake pads and made a huge mess. I didn't have a way to clean everything up and get the caliper to retract so I wrapped a bungee and some wire around the caliper and held it out of the way. With one of the pads and a chunk of wood in the caliper I still had a brake pedal so I could drive. It was stinking cold and we had some miles to go.

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    We made our way down to Beatty Nevada stopping a few times to check our seal and make sure everything was okay. We met some of the city council.

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    We stopped by the old train station at the ghost town of Rhyolite.

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    Then we went to Corn Creek and headed out into the desert to the F16. That's Area 51 in the distance behind the jeep. Having only 3 brakes working wasn't too much trouble since we were driving on slow dirt roads.

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    My uncle was so happy to be with his plane again. He was the 1st crew chief on the plane back in 1979.

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    It was fun hiking around looking at all the parts and hearing his stories about working on jets for 20 years.

    This is where our trip took a turn. We headed back towards Hwy 95.

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    I climbed on a rock.

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    As we drove back towards the highway it was looking a little hazy and the wind was picking up.

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    Back at Corn Creek and the wind was blowing a dust storm. It wasn't too bad here, but we planned to camp another night near Shoshone California, on the edge of the Death Valley National Park. So we got all hooked up and started driving.

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    I was hoping that the wind would be gone by the time we got to Shoshone. It wasn't. It got worse. We had hoped to do some exploring in Death Valley and go to the museum there, but it wasn't gonna happen. We didn't want to camp in a sand storm so we kept driving. ^^^ this pic was taken as we dropped down into Death Valley on the south end near Ashford Junction. It was getting late and we decided to head towards our next place we planned to camp. We drove through Death Valley in a sand storm that was pretty crazy. The was a bunch of places the road was covered in sand. The other camp site was in the dust storm as well. So we continued to Lone Pine. At times the head wind was so bad I thought the truck had two flat tires. We were chugging along at 50mph. We finally made it to Portuguese Joe's campground in Lone Pine at about midnight. That storm had wind gusts up to 100 mph. Two semi trucks and a camp trailer were blown over on 395. Roofs were torn up and trees were knocked down. The next day we had breakfast in Lone Pine and headed north. We decided to cut our trip shirt since we were all tired of the cold and wind.

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    We did stop at the Laws Museum, near Bishop. It's really neat. That ol steam engine ran on the tracks up until 1960 when Southern Pacific abandoned the rest of the line. The Laws Museum has the old train station and tons of neat old stuff.

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    We drove the rest of the way home without any trouble. The jeep tows really good behind the F350. I was pleased with that. With my full-float rear axles, all I had to do was pull the cap off the outside of the axle, slide the axle shaft out, then put the cap back on. I had a 3 inch cardboard tube I slid the axles in to carry them. It was pretty slick.

    [​IMG]
    Now I need to put my brakes back together and vacuum the sand out...

    I also have a list of stuff that need to be done before the Rubicon trip in July.
    Thanks for checking it out. Laters
     
  10. Apr 27, 2022
    Dave Deyton

    Dave Deyton Member

    Fuquay-Varina, NC
    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2003
    Messages:
    847
    What a cool story.
    Great with pictures. I like the Area 51 and Death Valley scenery.
    Looking at the crash site with your uncle sounds super interesting.

    Thanks for sharing this.


    Dave
     
    tymbom likes this.
  11. Apr 27, 2022
    Lockman

    Lockman OK.....Now I Get It . 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Silver Hill,...
    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2018
    Messages:
    2,698
    Very Cool documentary there, Jon.
    ......I was envious & glad that you are so 'Tight' with your Family. I'ts Frigg'n important, my Friend. (y)

    Oh yeah.....:rofl:Was it stump'n time in Beatty ? I see that at least one of the City council members had their ' Hoove ' out for handshakes ??? :rofl:
     
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2022
    tymbom likes this.
  12. May 18, 2022
    tymbom

    tymbom Member

    Siskiyou Co.
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    Messages:
    814
    [​IMG]
    My crazy idea is starting to shape up...

    I carefully balanced a spare 37in tire and wheel on a toolbox on the jack in an attempt to see how high I need to make the spare tire ride.

    [​IMG]
    I welded a 3/8ths bolt to a little plate...

    [​IMG]
    So I could thread a rubber bump stop on...

    I managed to scrounge around and find all the metal I need so hopefully tomorrow I get it built since I did the majority of the head scratching today...

    I'm excited to see how this turns out...
     
  13. May 19, 2022
    tymbom

    tymbom Member

    Siskiyou Co.
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    Messages:
    814
    Well I kinda out tricked myself... I thought I had a plan. One of the things I dislike the most about tire carriers on the back of jeeps is that they can be easily torn off. Unless there is a bar or something between the tire and what it's catching on, if you're dropping off a ledge or rocks, the tire can cause trouble.

    I thought if the tire could lift a little as you rolled forward then it would alleviate the problem. So I started building the tire carrier with that in mind.

    [​IMG]
    I put a ring on the pintle hitch and made a slotted receiver with the rubber snubber in it for the support of the tire carrier.

    [​IMG]
    At the top I made sort of a hinge.

    It didn't really work out right. The hinge allowed too much side to side slop and slip joint on the vertical support really needed to be up at the top. With the slip at the bottom the angles were all wrong.

    [​IMG]

    So I have a nice stout bar across the rear of the cage between the seat and the edge of the tub. I might be able to sneak the hardtop back on.

    [​IMG]

    I recycled the upper shock mounts that I had tried on the front suspension. The ends of the bar have a 1/2in coarse threaded nut on the inside of the cap.

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    I removed the upper joint and scabbed another 2in section of tubing. Which by the way is 2x2 1/4in wall. The 1x2 is thick wall too, I just remember how thick.

    [​IMG]

    The whole shebang pivots on the pintle hitch and once you hoist the 150ish pounds of tire up you just thread the 1/2in bolts through the shock mounts and into the horizontal bar.

    [​IMG]

    It clears the two gas cans...

    [​IMG]

    The tire is held up nice and high, I hope the departure angle is going to be good enough.

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    Now all we need is one of those trash bags that goes on the spare tire...

    I took Dahliah and Toby on a test ride down to the mail box on 2 miles of dirt road and you can't even tell it's back there. I plan to add some bracing in a couple spots and paint it all up. I'm pretty pleased for using a bunch of extra metal I had laying around. The only part I bought besides the ring was the plate that the wheel mounts to. I did a search for a 5x5.5 spare tire mount and found it on eBay for about 20 bux. I'm getting ready for the Rubicon!
    Thanks for checking it out, laters
     
    jeepstar, txtoller, dozerjim and 6 others like this.
  14. May 19, 2022
    NVBORN

    NVBORN New Member

    Sparks,NV
    Joined:
    Mar 15, 2022
    Messages:
    36
    Nice looking jeep! I just started looking at your thread. I dig your jeep
     
    tymbom likes this.
  15. May 20, 2022
    tymbom

    tymbom Member

    Siskiyou Co.
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    Messages:
    814
    Thanks!
     
  16. May 20, 2022
    Lockman

    Lockman OK.....Now I Get It . 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Silver Hill,...
    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2018
    Messages:
    2,698
    Nice work Jon,
    I'm only try'n to support here , when I ask if that Tire & wheel actually weigh in @ 150#'s ? I think that if you come down hard with that ' Hangin' Weight ' , that the torque that's generated, will twist those bolt's ????? I Dunno......Kinda an inline kinda spin thing ?
    Maybe an angled tube support back down to the Pintle ?

    **** Please disregard my above concern . I now see that you did that , already ! ****
    That will surely do the Rubicon, Man. Let's have fun out there !
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2022
    tymbom likes this.
  17. May 21, 2022
    tymbom

    tymbom Member

    Siskiyou Co.
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    Messages:
    814
    Big tires are definitely heavy... The steel wheels are 45 pounds... I'm planning to make a few test trips before the Rubicon just in case...
     
    Lockman, '74Renegade and Norcal69 like this.
  18. May 21, 2022
    '74Renegade

    '74Renegade Active Member

    Fair Oaks, CA
    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2005
    Messages:
    1,275
    I've been watching your build since the beginning, getting a chance to see it in action on the Rubicon will be amazing.
     
    tymbom likes this.
  19. May 25, 2022
    tymbom

    tymbom Member

    Siskiyou Co.
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    Messages:
    814
    Thank you! I hope it all works out... I've been tinkering with things trying to get ready
     
  20. May 30, 2022
    tymbom

    tymbom Member

    Siskiyou Co.
    Joined:
    Jun 13, 2012
    Messages:
    814
    [​IMG]
    Y'all ever have one of those days when you're out cruising around and everything is going good and then something happens? Not me. I started the other day with a bang. I pulled out on Hwy 97 to go out and cruise around with my dad and we felt and heard a big bang. I pulled over to the shoulder to see what was wrong. I made sure all the shifters we're in the correct position, let out the clutch and we didn't have forward drive... Hmmm I pulled the axle shafts out and they were okay. Well no big deal. I decided I wasn't going to waste my day and go home. I locked the hubs and carried on. With the twin shifters I can disengage the rear axle and drive on the front axle. It pulled around kinda goofy but made it.

    [​IMG]
    We drove around north of Mt. Shasta and checked out the spots we cut firewood.

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    We found a great place for a picnic and just had a relaxing day out in the woods.

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    When I got home that night I pulled the rear 3rd member out. It's pretty nice having full float axle shafts, I didn't have to jack it up. Turns out the ring gear bolts decided to work their way out. Mind you, I barely rolled over 3,000 miles before this happened.

    [​IMG]
    There's a couple perfectly intact bolts and some broken ones. The only thing I can think of is we forgot to put locktite on the bolts. New parts are on the way. Hopefully the locker is going to be okay. There's a couple of the holes that got chewed up, but at 700 bux for a new one, I think it can be saved. I'm hoping I can get it put back together and make it through the break in cycle before the Rubicon trip. I think I'll get some ARP bolts for the next go around. Also I was saw a video where a guy was building diffs and he tack welded each bolt to the carrier. I thought about that too. I'm also going to pull the front end apart and check it out. It needs to come out and fix a leak anyway...
     
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