British Columbia do it all CJ2A build with V8 Power

Egad!

Regarding that tub, where's the rust? There's some folks here that would consider that tub a gem.

Nice work so far!

 

The tub is worse than it looks. The floors are pretty rusty and the braces are rusted out. Under the tool box is really rusty but the box itself isn't too bad. The back floor area is really beat up and the supports are rusty. The wheel tubs are patched up rather poorly and the quarter panels are full of holes under all the bondo and tremclad. I will sandblast it all first and then I am sure it will look like swiss cheese. I am a capable metal worker but lack time and patience. It would be easier if I didn't have such high standards. Even though it is only a Jeep that will get wheeled I am sure I will end up restoring it like one of my classic cars. I have a little while to think about it. I want to get the chassis finished first. I will start dealing with the body in the late spring early summer.
Greg

 

Greg, do you have the part # on the spring hangers. also on the shackels. great looking jeep BTW. i think youve sold me on the 34/10.5's those look perfect. thanx.

 

Nice looking build. I saw the cotter pin on the rear axle hub nut and figured you must work on aircraft. Then I clued into your login name... Fixed or rotary wing?

 

The part number on the spring hangers is http://www.4wd.com/productdetails.aspx?partID=11055# The hangers are the same front and rear on the late CJs with a thicker bushing used up front to accommodate the 2" factory front springs they used. They are a nice hanger and are cheap. I didn't think it was worth my time to fab them for that price and it gives the frame a factory look. The shackle hangers were http://www.4wd.com/productdetails.aspx?jeep-sid=0&plID=895&partID=8316 for the rear and http://www.4wd.com/productdetails.aspx?jeep-sid=0&plID=895&partID=8332 for the front. The front is for 2 inch springs the rear is for 2 1/2" springs. I went this route because the Rubicon express lift kit I bought was for a 76' to 86' CJ that originally had the narrower springs up front. The kit uses 2 1/2" YJ style springs front and rear. The Rubicon Express front shackle narrows down to 2" at the mount. If you are not using their kit but going to 2 1/2" springs all around, use the rear 2 1/2" shackles and mounts front and rear. Here are the shackles. http://www.rubiconexpress.com/JeepParts/Product.aspx?part=RE2785 Front. http://www.rubiconexpress.com/JeepParts/Product.aspx?part=RE2786 Rear. the Rubicon Express kit is really nice and complete and although it is pricey I think it will be worth it as I am told the ride is excellent. I love the 34x10.50" Swampers as well. They have just the right proportions to me for what I am doing.

Yes I am an A.M.E. We do are cotter pins in a particular manner. I work rotary wing. These days I am wrenching on Bell 205s and 212s for a small operator.
Greg

 

thanx man! that is pretty cheap.

 

Cool, I'm apprenticing as an AME with Canadian Helicopters. Mostly Astars for me, i'd like to get into the bell mediums later.

 

Looking really, really, really good. Everything looks slick and well done. I agree, those 34's look perfect.

 

gotta nother ? what is the over all height of the 34's airred up and sitting on the ground? you know real world height.

 

I finally got another couple of days to work on the jeep again. I swung the engine in place and bolted it up to the sm 465 tranny adapted to my Dana 18. I just made some temporary mounts to hold it where I want it and I am going to fab up some real engine mounts today after I mock up where my steering shaft and box will sit. I don't want the two to interfere with each other. She is a tight fit but I think it is all going to work. The biggest problem is going to be finding room for a Rad and electric fan. I think I am going to cut the new crossmember I made out of there and redo it to allow the rad to drop down and sit closer to the grill. The tranny is big and poking through the floor a bit but with some sheet metal work I will be abl to deal with that. I had to clock the Dana 18 to the lowest position on the AA adapter to have the shifters clear the tranny. Drive line angles don't look too bad. On the weekend I am going to borrow a tubing bender and fab up a 1" tubing crossmember and under belly skidplate combo. I haven't decided if I am going to stick with the truck oil pan or go with a camaro oil pan that is 3" shallower. This pan might work OK if I skidplate all the way up to it. Here are some pictures of the progress.
Hood clearance is tight but will work without the fancy engine cover.


I am thinking of ordering some small block Ford headers for a Flatty from Advanced Adapters and then just cutting the flanges off of them and welding LS1 flanges on. They should work with only minor mods from there.

Greg

 

Size-34x10.50-15LT , Weight-58, Tread Ply- 6, Side Ply - 4, Tread Depth - 22/32, Tread Width -9.2, O.D.-33.6, C.S.-11.20, Revs/ Mile -603, Rim-15x8.5, Max PSI-45, Max Load -2655.

The actual measurement is 32 7/8" high.
Greg

 

Time for an update and some more pics. I made new engine mounts with some street rod style rubber isolators. I ended up cutting a piece of plate and drilling it to match the block bolt pattern and I used some brackets form the engine mounts I had kicking around from an old Mazda B2200. They turned out really nice and still left plenty of room for my steering shaft to pass by along the frame.
I also made a Saginaw Steering box mount and modded my crossmember to get the steering together.
The next project was my tubular crossmember and skidplate build to support and protect the Tranny/Transfer case as well as the engine oil pan. I used 1"x .120" DOM tubing and bent up a tube frame crossmember and mount for support. A good friend of mine let me take home and use his JD squared hydraulic tube bender. It is a sweet machine and he has 1" and 2" dies so I did this out of 1" and I will do some other work including the roll cage out of 2" x .120". I made a tube frame with diamond plate addition that bolts on to protect the engine oil pan. It was a real tight fit around the engine to allow the front driveshaft to clear by it. I think everything will clear with a 1/2" or so to spare. I ran out of time so I haven't quite finished welding it yet, as well as I need to add some diamond plate the the section just under the tranny. I am pretty happy with how it all turned out and it has left me with lots of ground clearance as well as good protection for the under belly. I used the mounts that came with the advanced adapters adapter as well as a original replacement isolator for the torque mount on the far right of the transfer case.






I have to say it is really tricky to get the bends the way you want them without wasting material. The tubing is pricey so I was doing my best not to wast any. It was fun putting it together though. I gave up on trying to deal with calculations and bend radius's as I found it easier to just freehand it and do trial and error. I can't wait to get to my Tube fenders, rocker guards, roll cage and seat mount frame. I want to get this chassis stuff done first so I can paint it all. I will have another week off to work on it it two weeks.
Greg

 

:drool:

 

just found your build; very nice work. wanna do one for me when you finish this one?? haha

 

I agree...... And your credentials are......Profabricator, machinist, pipefitter.....R)

 

Thanks for the Kudos guys.
I have managed to get some more accomplished in the last couple of weeks. I picked up an aluminum 65' mustang radiator and made a mount for it. I have attached it direct to the frame rather than the grill. I trimmed away all of the old rad attachment from the grill to give me as much clearance as possible. I don't have much room to fit a rad and fan between the grill and the engine. I picked up an electric fan from the wrecking yard out of a 96 Ford Taurus, mounted it to a piece of aluminum that I had and attached it to the rad over the core. It is a two speed fan capable of 2500 cfm on low speed and 3500 cfm on high. It all just fits with only about a half of inch to spare to the water pump. These are the joys of trying to fit a V8 into a flatty. I would of had more room if I switched to a Camero or Corvette accessory system but that all costs money so I wanted to use the truck accessories if possible. It is looking like it will all work with only one more trouble to deal with, and that is the upper rad hose fitting out of the top of the water pump turns right into my air intake elbow to the throttle body. I have a couple of ideas for a solution to that though. I think it will all work nicely in the end.


I also have some more finished pictures of my crossmember supports and skid plating.


I am quite happy with how the crossmember turned out. It will be good protection and still allow access for maintenance.
Greg

 

Wow!

With regards to the radiator shround:



It's hard to tell from the picture, but will the shroud allow airflow thru the radiator outside of the radius of the fan? From the picture, it looks like there's not much clearance between the shroud and the radiator for airflow.

Nice work!

Eric

 

It looks tighter than it is. There is 5/8" or more clearance between the core and the shroud. That is still tight but it pulls air through well. The bottom right corner might be lacking a bit but you can still feel the air flow through with your hand.
Greg