ok here's the deal. i have an 85 cj7 laredo that has been sitting next to my garage for a while its been on and off the drawing table a dozen times.

well its back for the last time.

here is what i have for it and what i have planned. my father and i bought it to restore for my little brother... well that idea was trashed. then i was gonna just make it streetable... that idea crashed. yadda yadda yadda.... well anyways talked with dad and he said i can do whatever i want with it at this point because i still want to do something with it. what were gonna do is build a trailer queen. he siad he would pick up a trailer for it and pitch in 2 or 3k to the jeep. he said he would do that because ill be doing all the work and all the fabrication. SOOOOOOO here is what i have for it and what i was thinking about doing.

85cj , 258, t5, d300
tub is rotted. i have a second tub and all new floor pans
i have an 88 AMC 360 from a grand waggy that needs a rebuild i know where a fuel injection kit is sitting in can pick up from a friend who runs a junkyard. i have a 400 auto and a dana 20 out of a 73 grand waggy (and a bunch of other 73 parts) i have all the adapters to bolt the entire drivetrain together.

i have a dana 61 too that i can use and a bunch of other random stuff.

now here is where we get down to binnes.

plans...
build a new frame with a long arm style suspension (most of it ialready have designed on paper) with coilovers.

since its non street.... maybe stretch it a lil bit, move the axles as far forward and back i can, fuel cell yadda yadda

dozer dan and i were talkin last night about maybe rear steer.... then we whipped out the classic 2.5 ton rockwell idea w/ rear steer. what do you think. i know CJ has been working on it with his TJ. i figure hey why not, i know a yard that has a good 30-40 sets sitting i can probably get whatever i need cheap. do a full hydro setup front and rear :D

tire wise... looking at 42's if i go rockwell. and whatever i run ill slap beadlocks on.

so any opinions recomendations ideas etc.
i figure with the rockwells with the gearing i wouldnt have to do anything to the d300 other then twin sticks if i use it.

sounds like you got some good parts all you need to do know is put it all together. i would go rockwells rather than mess with the 61 and if you are gonna use the dana 20 i would get the 4.86 low gear set for it so you will have some crawl.
just my .02

Too bad the 4.86 gear set for the dana 20 is BIG BUCKS as in MUCHO DENERO:rolleyes: For the price of that gear set you could pretty much get an atlas II. Sure rear steer is sick with it....but you really don't need it. Especially if your not gonna compete with it. I would get a junker 1 ton truck for cheep and swap in the axles and maybe some other drive train parts. The sky is the limit...have fun;)

i should be able to slap the d300 in there though that would solve the gearing issue.

Originally posted by desertCJ
Too bad the 4.86 gear set for the dana 20 is BIG BUCKS as in MUCHO DENERO;)

That & you can't put 'em in a Jeep case, only Bronco.

Originally posted by Dust Puppy
i should be able to slap the d300 in there though that would solve the gearing issue.

Exactly how do you plan on doing that. The turbo 400 that has the Dana 20 behind it won't accept the Dana 300. They have completely different bolt patterns and inputs. Are you sure you're ready to work on Rockwells? :rolleyes:

cmegoup

i guess that didnt come out right... since its not a street vehicle the tranny is no big deal. i can get my hands on pretty much anything my biggest concern is getting the gearing right in the tcase. i can leave the d20 back there and gear it (big bucks) or i can get a diff tranny that will work with the 300, or i can just get an atlas (with the rockwell gears the highlander isnt a bad idea)

Save yourself some cash and use an NP205:rolleyes: If that isnt' geared low enough for you...get a doubler for it. Weighs too much you say? Yourr rockwells already put you in that catagory. Too long? You said you were move the rear axle back anyways. Just something to think about, and its' a whole lot less than an atlas with more gearing options.:idea:

I think the key here is that (you have a friend who owns a junk yard). End of needs.!!.. get a passanger drop np203 or 205 with a doubler mated to a tranny and then get a drivers drop divorced np205 and use a drivers drop front axle. sweet bullet proof (long and heavy) junk yard 4 to 1.