1963 Us Navy Dj-3a

[Fireball]

I've spent the most of the post Rubicon week catching up on mowing and weed spraying.

Now it's time to make the Rubicon 2027 prep list for this Jeep.

Near term items roughly in order:

• Fuel pressure regulator - Done
• Fix battery tray to keep battery in place better
• Replace zerks in spring pivots
• Check hubs/axles for water
• Shorter Pitman arm
• Bronco air cleaner
• Sew top
• Fuel return line
• Splash guards for tail lights
• Reinstall 7-blade fan or some other more aggressive fan
• Clutch/Brake pedal pivot rebuild
• Pedal pivot skid plate redesign
• 30 spline rear axle upgrade
• Mechanical parking brakes
• Rocker/floor/hat channel rust repair and sliders
• Roll cage tie-ins, New seat mounts
• 3pt harnesses
• Straighten and brace front bumper
• 1" taller suspension redo with longer shocks and high clearance spring plates
• Box spring hangers

Further out:

• EFI
• Engine refresh

Maybe:

• Hood vents
• Overdrive with Tera-lo bowl gear
• Re-gear axles

The new list is on the wall now with one item crossed off:

I need a shorter pitman arm because the the drag link is hitting the tie rod. It's not enough to bind since the drag link can pivot out of the way, but it's tearing up the boot:

The current Pitman arm is 6.5" and I have a 5.5" one on an extra steering box that will solve the problem with minimal effort. The slight drop will also be nice:

For the engine refresh, I have this V-6 of unknown provenance but it looks clean. I'll do some disassembly and inspection to see what it needs. Ideally not much. If I'm lucky, rings, bearings, gaskets; and send it:

 

[Fireball]

Knocked three small things off the list last night.

1) Added this corner piece to the battery tray so the battery can't shift at all:

Now the 3/4" clearance to the alternator blades is ensured. I may tighten up my anti-torque strap on the other side of the engine too:

2) I checked the hubs and axles for signs of water intrusion since we had a couple near floorboard-height water crossings on the Rubicon. All look good.

3) The spring hanger zerks on the right side of the Jeep we removed/damaged by the trail:

So I replaced them:

 

[Ohiowrangler]

Could you go a zerk that requires a needle? The gain would be maybe 3/8", worth it ?

 

[Fireball]

Could you go a zerk that requires a needle? The gain would be maybe 3/8", worth it ?

That's a good thought. However, they will most likely be going away I do suspension work later this year, so I just replaced them for now.

 

[ITLKSEZ]

suspension work later this year,

Ooooh… the $1m question…
YJ springs? Over or under?

 

[Rich M.]

Ooooh… the $1m question…
YJ springs? Over or under?

D44 from a Wagoneer, coils...

 

[cj2atruck]

Coil spring for the win.

 

[Fireball]

Ooooh… the $1m question…
YJ springs? Over or under?

D44 from a Wagoneer, coils...

Coil spring for the win.

Since it works pretty well and I like that it is still very "Jeep", this Jeep isn't getting massive additional mods. I'm just looking for about an inch of lift, similar ride quality, more shock travel, and more clearance under the springs.

The plan:

• I've got high clearance spring plates sitting on the bench.
• Because of the spring plates, I'll move the shock hangers to the axle tube. Since that moves them up higher, I need to redo the upper mounts. I'll fit in the longest shocks I can in the process.
• I'll either re-arch the existing springs or build some new packs out of stuff I have laying around.
• And that's it. Minor suspension updates and sliders and it's Rubicon ready again. It really worked well.

This was all planned before the Rubicon, but I had to stop working on the Jeep to get some shakedown time before the trip.

It's a fine line between doing some upgrades and blowing the whole Jeep apart for a year. Given some external time constraints I have coming up, I want to keep this Jeep functional (except during small projects, of course).

However....

I've been a bit inspired by tymbom's and timsresort's Jeeps. I have a "CJ-2A" in pieces with a title, a 58" wide D44 front axle, a T-98 with an adapter, a large hole transfercase, and 5 lug D60 rear axle (that needs to be narrowed). Now that Jeep might get some 37" tires and interesting suspension. I haven't decided on an engine yet, but it would be something with native EFI. Probably an belly-button LS or maybe an LV3 V6 if I can get a manual trans tune for it.

That project won't start until next year, and the '71 may end up getting sold to cover the expenses.

 

[timsresort]

Since it works pretty well and I like that it is still very "Jeep", this Jeep isn't getting massive additional mods. I'm just looking for about an inch of lift, similar ride quality, more shock travel, and more clearance under the springs.

The plan:

• I've got high clearance spring plates sitting on the bench.
• Because of the spring plates, I'll move the shock hangers to the axle tube. Since that moves them up higher, I need to redo the upper mounts. I'll fit in the longest shocks I can in the process.
• I'll either re-arch the existing springs or build some new packs out of stuff I have laying around.
• And that's it. Minor suspension updates and sliders and it's Rubicon ready again. It really worked well.

This was all planned before the Rubicon, but I had to stop working on the Jeep to get some shakedown time before the trip.

It's a fine line between doing some upgrades and blowing the whole Jeep apart for a year. Given some external time constraints I have coming up, I want to keep this Jeep functional (except during small projects, of course).

However....

I've been a bit inspired by tymbom's and timsresort's Jeeps. I have a "CJ-2A" in pieces with a title, a 58" wide D44 front axle, a T-98 with an adapter, a large hole transfercase, and 5 lug D60 rear axle (that needs to be narrowed). Now that Jeep might get some 37" tires and interesting suspension. I haven't decided on an engine yet, but it would be something with native EFI. Probably an belly-button LS or maybe an LV3 V6 if I can get a manual trans tune for it.

That project won't start until next year, and the '71 may end up getting sold to cover the expenses.

Wow, that was a quick upgrade.

 

[ITLKSEZ]

You still have that air suspension IIRC

 

[Jw60]

Did you see what i did with my springs? Sort of criptic in my build but I used yj shocks basically flush with the bottom of the spring pack. Then I blew apart the spring packs and robbed front leaves for the rear. You could probably use CJ5 main leaves with the good arch flatty pack

 

[Fireball]

You could probably use CJ5 main leaves with the good arch flatty pack

Different length. Flatfender springs are shorter both front and rear. I have 3 full sets of Flatfender main leafs, and I have lots of spring packs to swap the rest of the leafs with.

 

[Jw60]

Different length. Flatfender springs are shorter both front and rear. I have 3 full sets of Flatfender main leafs, and I have lots of spring packs to swap the rest of the leafs with.

You should have enough room on the spring plates to move the center bolts 2" and and spring hanger brackets in the 4" at the belly and slightly longer shackles for the curb appeal to remain "stock".

 

[47v6]

I was looking at the LV3 idea

https://gmauthority.com/blog/gm/gm-engines/lv3/

The LV3 vs LS…(LQ9) I would assume the LS has more support, but space is limited in a flat fender.

LV3 is under 400 lbs at 285 hp while the iron block LS (LQ 9)is under 600 at 350 hp or so

Is the extra effort of the LV3 worth it?

 

[Fireball]

Is the extra effort of the LV3 worth it?

It's the length that would sell me on it.

 

[47v6]

It's the length that would sell me on it.

But, Tim put an LS in his 3b.lots of v8s in flat fenders .Same length firewall to grill as the DJ or CJ. It’s the over all height of the assembly under the hood. I have 1.5” body lift to fit my tall 4.3.. and it kind of needs it.

 

[timsresort]

Well the nice thing about LS, especially gen3, is they're cheap and plentiful. I think you could do it with a F body intake and electrical fan. You probably wouldn't fit the battery under the hood though. But that extra hood height really made my life easier.

 

[cj2atruck]

lots of v8s in flat fenders .

My first motor swap in any rig was a v8 in a 1942 Jeep in the early 1980’s. I had no idea what I was doing, but somehow it worked…

IMG_2611 by Rick, on Flickr

 

[Jw60]

I would like to see someone put a police interceptor sedan 3.5, 3.7 na, or 3.5 ecoboost in a jeep. The accessory drive and intake is different for the sidesaddle 3.5 to fit in the sedan.

The old flex was 4500lbs empty and scooted along just fine. I towed the jeep around town and the 4000lb camper more than once.

 

[Fireball]

That very CJ-2A had a small block Ford in it when I was a teenager. I'm no stranger to v8 flatfenders.