Just a small project

Thanks! All I can say is that I'm trying to do the best I can. I think my ideas at times are a little ahead of my welding abilities, but I'm making it work. I still wish I could get more consistent welds. Just wait for the tube bending shenanigans.

Got the motor pulled today. It was a PITA to pull it. I had to deflate the tires to get clearance and unfortunately 8ply sidewalls don't deflate that well without the extra 800pounds of motor and trans on top of them.


Getting it into the new frame was just as much of a hassle. No tires to deflate, had to use a car tiedown strap to level the drivetrain for clearance. My frame stands got in the way and the hoist wasn't able to go far enough back. However its in, for now.




I still have some tweaking to do to the position of the motor. Its looking good. Motor mounts will be interesting, espicially the pass side. I need to figure out how far up that upper link will be going for the front 3 link. I guess thats this weeks after work chore to do.

After those are done I need to pull the trans out and rebuild it as its grinding into every gear and the input bearing is noisy.

I need to find a standard jeep PS pitman arm for that steering box. Then I can start finalizing the front suspension design.

Kevo

 

keep on keepin on. looks great man.

 

:drool: you say mare consistent welds??? They look great to me!
What form and type of welder are you using anyway??
I must say..(in Darth Vader's voice) IMPRESSIVE!

 

Yup, more consistent looking welds would be good, or more consistently good looking welds would help. It all ways seems like I make my best welds in areas where no one can see them. I've been using my trusty millermatic 175 and solid .030 wire. Its not the machines fault its the welders fault!

Doesn't seem like I got much done this weekend, even though I was workin on it all weekend.

The motor mounts are more or less done. What a PITA! I had the brillant idea of getting rid of the stock stamped steel brackets on the block and making up my own mounts. This allowed me to run the mounts where I need to and I shouldn't have any clearance issues. Unfortunately, all the mounting holes in the side of the blocks are at different levels making it hard to design a simple and effective bracket.

Some will say my mounts are overkill. However I've seen a couple XJs with broken motor mount bolts and I've seen one in the shop with the mounts litterally broken off the block! I tried to tie into as many holes as I could. Might as well do it right the first time if I can.

Drivers side,

I'm not real happy with the bend in the frame rail plate. I may redo it.

Pass side, haven't made the frame rail plate yet.


It now sits without the any other supports.

I was able to pull the engine hoist out and sweep for once. I need to find a stock jeep pitman arm so I can start designing the panhard and draglink for the front suspension. I still need to pull the trans and rebuild it as well as finish the rear skidplate crossmember.

Enjoy!
Kevo

 

I'm teaching myself how to weld to reassemble my 2a. Your welds look great, mine on the otherhand.. well lets just say that if i hit it with a hammer and it doesnt fall apart, get out the grinder and make it look better! Your thread has inspired me to tackle my tub and not just save up to buy a new one. I guess i always wanted a frankenjeep anyway. My ac 225 couldnt make the pretty welds you make with that great millermatic in my hands anyway. I was looking to buy the very nmachine you have but stumbled across an Ac 225 for 60 bucks and well thats really cheap. Keep up the great work, I learn just by looking at your pics.

 

That's ALWAYS the way it goes. Whenever I lay beautiful MIG beads that could be mistaken for a TIG machine it's always on the underside of a crossmember or something nobody will ever see. On the other hand, if I'm going to run into porosity or just fall asleep on the trigger you can be sure it's something that's going to be staring people straight in the face.

Your beads look good, but it seems like you're moving a little fast. Try a few passes with the wire speed slower and the heat up a little so you can make larger, slower circles and see how it goes. Or not - it's whatever works best for you. Looks pretty overbuilt. I think the motor mounts are a good idea. Not that the mounts would break, but the block is a little fragile there. You'll probably be able to drop the chassis off a 2-story roof without anything breaking. Good work.

 

I've been using .045 shielded wire with co2 for all my fab forever. Just bought a new miller 250, runs like a dream. Extension cords for welders are evil. If they are a neccessity with you're situation they should be as short as possible and large a wire as practical, I have one that is 8-3 and it works pretty well without a huge power drop. Nice to see someone building instead of just making off the shelf magazine parts work. Good job!

 

Awesome thread & great work on the frame. I've been wanting to extend mine, separate the axles a bit and get a little wider at the same time. Using the OEM frame concerned me a bit and it seems like all the boxing and reinforcement may be more work than cutting up some new steel.

Appreciate the post. J.

 

Thanks for the comments! I'll have to try slowing the welding down a bit. I think my biggest issue is just being able to see where I am welding at times and sometimes my depth perception gets off due to tight quarters where I am welding. Sometimes I'm just an idiot.

Yup, I started with a stick welder back in the day. There's a reason I own a mig now!R)

I honestly can't wait to start bending tube. I'm a bit scared as I hope it doesn't turn out funky, but I'm anxious none the less. The tube part will be like framing a house. It will go from nothing to something substantial in a very short period of time. I can't wait!

Kevo

 

On the tube, Bend Tech software paid for itself quick for me by reducing wasted tube.

I think I missed the thickness on your frame rails, 3/16?

 

I really like the progress on your rig so-far. keep up the good work. This inspires me to keep going on my own project. Heres a question-where do you pick up your sheet metal for fabricating parts?

 

The frame is 1/8" or .120 wall tubing. I was thinking of going 3/16", but that just seems like overkill now and besides the 1/8 was expensive enough as it is.

So far I've bought everything from the local steel yard. They're not cheap, but its difficult to justify driving all the way to paso robles or 2.5hrs to bakersfield if I only need a few pieces. I do have quite a bit of "shorts" left over from other projects. Steel is expensive so I try to save as much as I can. I will need to buy probably $1000 worth of tubing when I get to that point and most likely I will make the drive if I can get a good price. As for the thick wall suspension links I am going to see if I can buy tubing from Polyperformance. I do what I can. At least my addiction isn't killing anyone yet!R)

Kevo

 

I'd have used the 11ga as you did.

Cpl weeks back, 2x4 11ga was $5.50 a foot in Denver. 99% of my tube work is in 11ga HREW.

 

Didn't get much done this weekend.

Went over to PolyP and Drew pointed me towards a waggy pitman arm they had on the shelf. Brand new, fits the larger taper of the chevy tie rod ends and is the right length. Tried to finish off the rear crossmember behind the t-case, but I need bolts to do it. Went looking for some bolts this morning and I can't seem to find what I need. Looking for some grade 8 fine thread bolts 4.5 inches long. I can find everything else 4" or 5" bolts, coarse thread, or grade 5, but not what I want. I guess I'll have to order through fastenall.

So today I tried to figure out the steering box and panhard mount situation. I think it will all work but its tight. The panhard will mount below the steering box sector shaft so it will be inline with the draglink end. What I have in mind will be a little complex, but it'll be strong enough and should look cool once its done.

Anyhow, on to the pics. Rearward skidplate crossmember. Needs bolts to finish tabs etc.... Should look like trans crossmember just forward of it when done.


I redid the frame plate on the motor mounts. Its the same, but I was able to bend them better at work.


After figuring out where the box and panhard were going I went ahead and plated the frame.


Some will say this is overkill espicially if I am going to be running ram assist, but I figure I might as well do it right the first time. Here the box with the new waggy arm is clamped into place.


I will machine up some sleeves to go through the frame for the box bolts. I'm also drilling the box holes out to 1/2" instead of the 7/16" that they were.

So this week I need to get the box mounted and finish that crossmember. Then I'll make the panhard mount in front and pull the drivetrain back out in order to flip the frame over to weld the underside properly.

I still need to buy tubing bender dies and build the bender, as well as get all the joints and tubing for the front suspension. Not to mention finding the winning lottery ticket!

Kevo

 

inspiration

 

Good question Dan! I actually hadn't even tried it so tonight I pulled out my spare tie rod end and hooked it up.


Yup, it fits. According to this site:http://www.partsmikeparts.com/tre_comparison.htm you may be running an ES2026R or ES2027L tie rod end. I am just running the standard ES2234R tie rod ends, although I might switch to the ES2026R on the drag link if my old tie rod ends bind.

Anyhow, I was able to machine sleeves last night and tonight I drilled the box mounts out to 1/2". I was barely able to get one 1" hole drilled in the frame tonight before my hole saw gave up. Thats ok, I'll get another tommorrow and the box will be mounted up tommorrow night.

Kevo

 

I think this thread should go into the tech section if possible. Very nice work!

 

Looks great!!! Is your tranny x-member flush or is it below the frame rails??