future expedition project

[fordman1978]

since this forum started ive been thinking of building an expedition vehicle for hunting trips and some wheeling. and one of the frist vehicles i thought of was a jeep wagoneer i know they arent the most common but they made them for about 40 years, they can haul alot and are nice and simple and not too expensive. i will be getting one as soon as my truck sells.
what does everybody think the most important things will be to do to it?

so far the plan is leave it leaf sprung probably 3-4" of lift, selectable locker with 33-35" tires, build a heavy duty roof rack, snorkel, tire rack with gas can mounts build some strong bumpers, and a winch.

for tires im thinking tsl's or tsl sx's because of the strong sidewalls but they would wear kind of fast on trips across the state for hunting and dd duty. or wait until they get new sizes for the new bfg mud terrains. what would you go with? maybe a different tire something that has a long tread life and good grip in mud, sand and snow.

[Black Bart]

The best thing you can do is join www.ifsja.org and do alot of research there.
Those folks know every glitch and fix for a fullsize jeep.
A couple of things right off, The hoods seal too well, and heat won't escape, so hood vents of some sort will go a long way in fixing overheating problems. Also, they are prone to vapor locking, so this will need to be addressed as well.

[fordman1978]

thanks for the info. im sure it wouldnt be too hard to fix those problems.

[OTR]

Yep Waggies work well...

http://www.panamintcharlie.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10013/WagSwansea.jpg

If you are going to limit yourself to a 3-4" lift with a wagoneer, 33's will make life much easier for you. The 35's will require alot of cutting, or an unreasonable bodylift and lighter cutting.

However, put a 4" lift on a wide track Cherokee (2 door) and fit 35's with little or no cutting.

I wouldnt worry too much about cooling problems unless you get one with them. Plenty of fsj's running around cooling just fine... Except mine. I recently cut my hood, but Im not too sure that it made a huge difference overall.

They've got a great wheelbase (109"), they're not too big for the tighter trails, many have v8 power if you feel you need it or i6's if you want better mileage/range, the can be had cheap, plenty of room for 4 adults with gear, later models have A/C, leather, cruise, power everything, the list goes on.

kris.

[fordman1978]

thanks for the info and that is a nice waggy btw. i will go with 4-6" of lift if i do decide to go with 35"s which is what will most likely happen mainly because alot of the places i hunt and wheel have some nasty ruts and deep snow.
i have found a few really nice ones for under 1600 but its nearly impossible to get rid of my ranger for the last of the money.

[Docfranco]

If i were going to usa a waggy, i would start here
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jeep-Wagoneer-Limited-1985-Jeep-Wagoneer-Rare-turbo-diesel-rust-free-4x4-auto_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ6284QQihZ006QQitem Z160237369898QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

It would get great mileage and be able to run biodiesel or convert to run veggy oil. :p

[fordman1978]

i like the idea of a diesel waggy. just not that it is the unibody cherocar style waggy.

[bigun]

There have been several diesel swaps on the IFSJA.org using both the GM 6.2 and the Cummins 4BT, as black bart said there is years of experience with these rigs if you have a problem it has probably been seen before and there are known fixes.

[Trail Mule]

I have a wagoneer, and I love there funtionality, and looks. They are very easy to lift because of the leaf springs. I did a spring over on mine, which didn't take a lot of time or know how. They have stout drivetrains :D. Most have the amc 360, some have the amc 401. And the cherokees have the I6 that the cj's had. Most of them came with either the tf727 or the th400 transmission made for jeep, so they can't swap the GM th400. Transfer case are a little strange but there good. Most had dana 44's from early 70's to 79 and then they put the amc 20 rear axle from 80 or 81 to 87. But that was a really stout axle because it came with one piece axles, and larger ring gear than the dana 44. From the early 70's to the last one made they came with a front dana 44. These are really stout rigs, and easy to modify. I am building mine up a little over kill. High pinion dana 60 front, sterling 10.25 rear, np435, and np205 :D. I did the usuall stuff to the motor. Cam, intake and truck avenger carb, and distributor:mr-t:.

[gp_frk]

first thing you need to do when you get one is bypass the ammeter. LOL
Oh and watch out for the hood latch it likes to take out lines of meat from your scalp.

[fordman1978]

thanks for the good info. this will be on the back burner for a while though since i will be going to work in texas for a few months

[bigun]

Good luck on the job, coming from Oregon tx will be something of a shock!! LOL My current ride is a hybred 76 cher. and 75 J20 called Crom with M715, Scout, and Allis Chalmers tractor parts thrown in for fun! This year it'll be getting an up graded drive train in the form of Front D HP 60, 14 bolt rear TF727, with a 203 205 doubler, and it runs on propane. While it is not a expedtion vehicle perse it does show that they are adaptiable to what ever you whish to make of them.

[fordman1978]

i know it is i had to drive down a month ago to check it out and it is a huge difference between here and there.
sounds like you have an awesome build going on. when i do the waggy it will just be mild for my little expeditions and hunting. for most of my wheeling i have a 79 bronco im working on that is on 39.5 tsls and waiting to swap in my 14b still looking for a d60 or d70 front for that though.

[Que_Honda!]

Yep Waggies work well...

http://www.panamintcharlie.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10013/WagSwansea.jpg

If you are going to limit yourself to a 3-4" lift with a wagoneer, 33's will make life much easier for you. The 35's will require alot of cutting, or an unreasonable bodylift and lighter cutting.

However, put a 4" lift on a wide track Cherokee (2 door) and fit 35's with little or no cutting.

I wouldnt worry too much about cooling problems unless you get one with them. Plenty of fsj's running around cooling just fine... Except mine. I recently cut my hood, but Im not too sure that it made a huge difference overall.

They've got a great wheelbase (109"), they're not too big for the tighter trails, many have v8 power if you feel you need it or i6's if you want better mileage/range, the can be had cheap, plenty of room for 4 adults with gear, later models have A/C, leather, cruise, power everything, the list goes on.

kris.


Don't mean to hijack but some more pics and info on this rig please

[OTR]

Don't mean to hijack but some more pics and info on this rig please

This is the only other one I have uploaded. I tend to drive more than I take pictures. Swamp lake trail...

http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/jeeps/files/Users/Kris-Tholke/WagSwamp.jpg

Its all stock, except for the axles. And they were stock in some old Ford at one time. So I guess its still all stock...

Ok. The WB is stretched to 112". Had to make the hangers for the springs and shackles. Currently on 35's but built for 37's. Front bumper is still not done, but it holds the winch. Still needs a rear bumper, havnt gotten to that. 360/727/208, f150 hp44 front, f150 9" rear. Couple of scratches

kris.

[Que_Honda!]

looks real sweet i used to own one and it reminded me of what i wanted to do with it.

[offroadjunkie]

even if it wasnt a diesel and wanted an expedition rig you could always just put in a big fuel cell, or tank. A small v8, like a 318 or a v6 like a 4.3 would probably get the umph you would need. If combined that with a say a 40 gallon gas tank even if a v8 gets you at worst 12mpg your still looking at 480 mile range.

[fordman1978]

gas tanks arent a big deal i have a few 50 gal tanks i can use from my dads old company. they were used for refueling equipment and would be great on an expedition trailer