Been lurking for a while now. After watching some of the nice builds going on I figure I would share some of mine. I've had this '66 800 since '99. Got it with no eng,trans, or tcase. Threw a chevy 305, th350, np203, j20 dana 44, and chevy 12 bolt that I had laying around in it. Installed some lockrights, new painless harness, bestop seats, autometer gauges, and built a cage. Ran it this way for about 2 months, until I went to Hollister and found that I needed more gearing. Pulled the 305 and dropped in a 350, and installed a 203/205, and bumped up to 35" MTRs. Built my own rock sliders, bumpers, skidplates. Worked well like that for a couple of years. Rubicon, Fordyce, Hollister, Ect. Here's some pics of the early years. When I got it it was dent and rust free.

Nice lookin 800. Did you get all that drivetrain squeezed into the stock wheelbase or did ya stretch it? What's it look like now?

Sean

So after many trips through the Rubicon, the rear lockright started acting up. I had a rear 60 in my shop so it was time to put that in. I had the spindles reamed out so I could fit 35 spline dutchman shafts, install 4.10's, detroit, and disc brakes. Cut off the spring hangers and install some chevy 52" springs in the rear and chevy 4" lift springs in front. Install an ARB in the front and swapped out the 3.73's to 4.10's. Installed Dutchman inner and Warn outer alloy shafts with CTM joints. High steer arms also went on. Ran great like that. Rubicon, Fordyce, Hollister not a problem at all. Then there was the trip to the Hammers in '06. It did well considering I was still running a carb, Did snap a front main leaf spring on sledgehammer though. Thankfully I had a premier power welder and welded the leaf back together. So get home and install new front springs, holley fuel injection, got ride of the side tanks and installed a fuel cell, 38" swamper TSL's with staun beadlocks.

It's stretched to 103" when I changed the springs.

A little preview to come.

Here's some pics from Barret Lake in '07. By now the sheetmetal has taken some good hits.

nice lookin 800 wish i still had mine

So after Barrett, we made our 3rd run down to the Hammers. I knew that I was on borrowed time with the 44 up front, but I don't hammer it and the auto takes up alot of the shock. So know with all my gear, the old girl now weights it at 5700lbs. Well, first day, first trail (jackhammer) I snapped the warn stub shaft. Luckily, I had the stock spares, and replaced the short side axle. Ran Wreckingball, Aftershock, then on the third day, on Sledgehammer, I snapped the stock front innershaft that I had replaced earlier. Well, I still had the alloy inner with the broken stubshaft. Took the alloy inner and the now stock outer and got me going again. Ever try to disassemble a CTM joint from a shattered axle on the trail? It is a pain in the ass. Well, it looks like time for a front 60.

Tits...

So now it was front 60 time. I had already set the front springs to chevy width. Found a chevy 60 on CL that was local. Superclean complete with calipers. From a mid '80s so it had the bigger inner shafts, except that it was 3.73 geared. Ordered up an ARB, 4.10's, new spicer 35 spline stubs and warn hubs, and Sky mfg. high steer arms. Arms hadn't shown up yet in the pics.

that has to be the fastest axle swap ever nice work looks good. wish i had a 60 front

Thanks, It took another week after to get the gears and locker in it. Had to wait for them to show up. Wanted the 44 out so I could sell it. Paid $1100 for the 60 and sold the 44 for $1000.

So with the 60 in and done with, the next run I do is our annual new years day run to Lake Pillsbury. Now I am not to fond of snow, but I go anyway. Well the old girl now weights in at 5900lbs, without me in it. Well, our four rigs get as far as we can, till all of us got stuck at the same time. It took @2hrs to get everyone out and turned around. I am thinking now that it is time to put the old girl on a diet. Here's some pics of our trail leader that day trying to get around me. Damn jeep drivers. Blew out his window and dented my fender. Was able to snatch block to a tree with my winch to his jeep to get us untangled.

So when I get back the teardown begins. My plans are to shave some weight, and get better visablity. I start by removing the front sheetmetal. Then I cut out the innerfenders, remove the bulky heater. What a messy engine compartment.

The plan next is to build an inner hoop to attach the sheetmetal to. Narrow the front 10"s, and push the nose down 2"s. Bolted the fenders on to see how it would look.

Ok now its time to build the front hoop. 2"x.120 tubing. Hosefeld bender with a 10' cheater bar. Man that stuff is hard to bend. By this time I had already cut out the rear panels. I'm not in order how I did it, but trying to keep the different sections together, front, rear, ect.

Now that the front hoop was done and the engine compartment cleaned up, we'll move onto the rear. The rear panels were beyond saving, very dented, I had a '64 scout 80 that I had bought a few years ago. The floorboards were completely rotted away. I saved the front sheetmetal, then cut the tub at the bulkhead figuring that I would make a trailer with the backend. I never did, but that ment that I now had some rear panels to use for the 800. Well out comes the spotweld drillbit and remove the rear panels from the 80. Also removed the panels from the 800. The bad part on the 80, was that I never intended to us those panels for the 800, so when I cut it down for a trailer, I didn't cut it at the seams on the lower rockers. Oh well, nothing a little more welding couldn't take care of. I also will dovetail the rear 10"s.

Now that I had both rear panels off it would be easier to start cutting for the dovetail. I cut it on the corner of the innerwell, air chisled the back spot welds off, relief cut on the bedrail behind the cab and then pushed it in 5"s (per side). I then cut the top piece of the inner well that was now exposed, leaving @ 1" then bent that piece up 90 degrees and welded it back together. Cutting was easy, spent alot of hours welding it back together. Sheetmetal is time consuming to weld, at least for me. I also found a new place to mount my tranny coolers.

Found a problem when I took the panels off. The kid I got this from had made his own 2" bodylift for it and I had left it in because it helped clear the the 2" up clocking on the np205. Collapsed body mounts. Now I know there not the greatest looking welds, but they definitely will hold. I don't claim to be a fabricater or welder but I can get by. I am an ag mechanic by trade. You can also see in the pic where I had long ago plated the bottom and side of the frame with 3/16 angle iron.

Next I cut @3"s off the rockers and built some new rock sliders out of 4" x 2" .180 tubing. I tied these to the frame and built a new front body mount. The cage gets tied into the rock slider. I also bent up a new cage. I later added more bracing in the corners, and some v-bars in the front.

looking pretty good.

a lot is different from the day i picked up the front end from you..... it's still a nice corn binder

Thanks. It took alot of early mornings and late nights to get it done.

Next it was onto the rear. I cut out the rear crossmember/body mount and made a new one out of 1.5/1.5 sq. tubing with some mounts to attach the new rear bumper that I will be making. I had a 20 gallon fuel cell that used to sit in the back, but now I wanted to drop it through the floor. More cutting with the cutoff wheel and I have a big hole in the tub. Welded a cradle to the frame rails and set the cell into it. Now the cell sits even with the bottom of the frame. I have never had a rock hit that area before, but I decide to build a skidplate out of aluminum for that off chance on does.

With the fuel cell now plumbed in I can now drive it around again. This had been the longest time down without running since I've had it, 1 month. With all the panels welded up and the fuel filler and holes where someone had added some extra taillights in welded up, it was time to start the bodywork.

Looks good Doug, Nice progression pics :D

Rear body work done and in primer. Also built a new rear bumper, 3"x3" angle welded to 4" flatbar.

Now it was onto the hood. I had been putting this off till now, because I knew it was going to be a ton of work.

Looks good Doug, Nice progression pics :D
Thanks, Dan. Anymore progress of yours? Heading over to Shellville this weekend to help a buddy try and finish up his buggy before we head to the Hammers on the 12th of Nov.

Rear body work done and in primer. Also built a new rear bumper, 3"x3" angle welded to 4" flatbar.

You need to move those 5 point "neck" harness mounts up higher:eek: The mounting should be not more than 4" below shoulder height. Some one is going to snap their back :eek:

Yea I know I need to change that. I left it lower so I could still get into the back. What do you guys suggest? Hoop behind each seat? or? I put the backseat in when I take the family. Put in a hoop (black) and also tie it in to the top and side (blue)? Maybe?

Here's what the cage looks like now. What other bracing should I do? Do you think that 1 1/4 .120 wall tubing would be fine for the seat belt brace or should I use 2" .120?

Here's what I'm thinking.

I think this will work.

Finished up the hood, then finished the body work on the front end. Used the forklift to see where I still needed to trim the fenders at.

Body work was done, so now it was time for paint. Plan was for desert tan flat, changed my mind at the last minute and went with dodge ice silver. It's great having a friend that has his own paint and body shop. He shot the color and clear for me at my shop, hell he even buffed it out for me. 2 coats color, 3 coats clear.

Put the front sheetmetal back on, needed something to break up the color. Brett said he had some paint at his shop and would bring it over.

Fresh from paint.

Hung the doors and put the cage back in. We'll see how long it takes it get dented again.

Bad ass build, makes me want to find a 800 to build.

very nice 800 indeed.

What was the actual time line for the build.



I know sure as shit you didn't do it in the week you've been updating this thread :D


clean.

How long ago did you finish it?

How much weight did you lop off?

Have fun in Shellville, I took a nice ride in a biplane over in Shellville, Not too much on my junk as of late, Waiting on funds for the doubler. I may bend some tube around the holidays, looks like you have that down.

Nice build! I hope the 1ton's hold :homer:

It took two months from when I first started removing sheetmetal to final assembly. Finished the dovetail and paint in march of this year. I not going to say finished, because it will never be done. Weighted it after paint, 5160lbs with tools, spare parts, doors on, and without me in it. Much happier with that, than the 5900lbs that it was. I hope the 1tons hold, I upgraded to yukon 4340 shafts a couple of weeks ago. Had smoke coming off all four tires getting up this waterfall. Nice being able to throttle down when I need to now. Didn't used to do that with the 44. Figured I'd better upgrade the fronts before the hammers. Running my 37" Cooper STT in this climb. They do much better on the road than my swampers, great off-road to. They stick very well. Amazingly I never touched the bank. It stopped an inch from hitting the windshield frame. Backed up a little and brought the front end back down then made it all the way out. This was a couple of weeks ago at Cow Mountain.

Didn't take long to get the first dents into it. First run out with new paint. Hollister in April, running through the ravines.

Back to pulling dents and paint. Here's a few pics from the mini rubicon at Hollister. Definitely feels lighter and the visablitity is so much better.

Bought some new shocks and outboarded the rears. Welded on some new front upper mounts. 14" travel ranchos. Looks close to the coolers, but there's 2 inches of clearance.

:eek:Dang man. Awesome job on that Scout. Great, now I miss Snoopy.

Ok, I've got to throw this one in. Johnson Valley portapotty.

740 lbs is a substantial weight reduction. Looks good. The porta potty is priceless! Just gotta park heading into the wind!

Nice build....The Scout looks great. But I can't figure out why yours is so heavy. What kind of spares are you carrying? Mine was 4360 lbs back when I had it together (weighed empty)...and I had similar drivetrain components.

I cut down on what I bring for spares now. I had spare drag link, tie rod, front axle shafts, rear spring. Now I have just both spare driveshafts, u-joints for driveshafts and axles, nuts and bolts, alternator ( I am running dual alternators), fuel pump, heims, hoses, belts, tools, gear oil, grinder, rod ( have a premeir power welder in it). I know that the dual tcases(203/205) are pretty heavy. Front and rear bumper are 1/4 wall tubing, rock sliders and skidplates are 3/16, I also plated the frame rails between the front and rear spring handers with 3/16 angle (I landed hard on the frame once and put a dent in it, won't happed again) Steering box mounts are 1/2" plate. Both 60's arn't light either. All that steel adds up. My problem is that I am an ag mechanic and I need to carry alot of crap in my service truck to be able to fix things in the field and that tends to carry over into what I bring with me when wheeling.

nice build. an inspiration as I look to build my own.

Great build thread Doug. Lets see if we cant dent that thing up next week at the hammers! It just looks too damn perty.

Thanks again for the help this weekend.

JP

Killer build, nicely done.

Yeah, nice build. The weight doesn't seem too bad now. My 80 on 37's weighs 4200 with a spare tire, lots of parts, and me in it. I plan on some weight reduction this winter too. Pinch and drop the nose like you, full hydro, aluminium rad, lose the inner fenders, lose the spare tire, move some stuff around. I'm shooting for 3700lbs in trail form.

Again, nice rig and nice build. :beer:

Yeah, nice build. The weight doesn't seem too bad now. My 80 on 37's weighs 4200 with a spare tire, lots of parts, and me in it. I plan on some weight reduction this winter too. Pinch and drop the nose like you, full hydro, aluminium rad, lose the inner fenders, lose the spare tire, move some stuff around, 25 more horsepower. I'm shooting for 3700lbs in trail form.

Again, nice rig and nice build. :beer:

Fixed...

Excellent thread. :smokin:

Very cool thread. I can't wait to hear about the carnage in JV.

Back from the Hammers. Carnage, bent both rear springs, broke front and rear drivelines, had spares though. No new dents. I'll add some pics later.

nice with the no new dents,i know it had to hurt just a little with the first run out after fresh paint and beat up that side.nice rig to btw.

I normally do not like pinched/dovetailed Scouts, but you did a great job! :smokin:

Some pics of the carnage. Two broken driveshafts, two bent rear springs.

Some of the fun.

All I can say is NICE:mr-t:

Love it!

This had been the longest time down without running since I've had it, 1 month.

To that I would like to say :flipoff2:!!!

But really, I love it, keep this thread rockin'.

Appreciate the comments. Thanks. So are any of you guys running Staun beadlocks. I've been running them for 2 1/2 years now. Never been happy with them. Blew out my second liner now. I done with these. I'm going to try the allied's now.

I looked at getting some of those Staun beadlocks a few years back, but ended up with H1 rims and rubber beadlocks. I drove about 10 miles on the trail with a flat tire an made it out of Fordyce. The rubber inside did not even get messed up:smokin: The tire split a side wall, so I just drove on it. Thats my spare too:shaking:

Got my new beadlocks in.

Well with winter here. I figured I should probably put a top on. The STC softtop I have won't fit now due to the dovetail, so I am going with the half cab I have. It had been cut to fit my old cage. The new cage is wider and the top wouldn't come down to meet the windshield. Nothing that a cutoff wheel couldn't fix though. Trimmed the back and I am going to have my upholstery guy build me a back panel that snaps onto the top. Made a cardboard template for a fillerplate the top can snap to. I still need to clean up the cuts, and weld in a filler piece where the tops cut for the center bars of the old cage.

Well with winter here. I figured I should probably put a top on. The STC softtop I have won't fit now due to the dovetail, so I am going with the half cab I have. It had been cut to fit my old cage. The new cage is wider and the top wouldn't come down to meet the windshield. Nothing that a cutoff wheel couldn't fix though. Trimmed the back and I am going to have my upholstery guy build me a back panel that snaps onto the top. Made a cardboard template for a fillerplate the top can snap to. I still need to clean up the cuts, and weld in a filler piece where the tops cut for the center bars of the old cage.

That is almost exactly what I have in mind for mine. When I built the cage a few weeks ago I wanted it tall so the 1/2 top wouldnt fit. I even have it marked but I want to put another 40' or so of tube in before I make the cuts in the top.

Looking really good.

So I got the half cab fitted and built a panel for the top of the bulkhead that my upholstery guy can make me a back panel that will snap to the top. Hopefully he can do it next week. Installed a heater. Ran ducting to the defroster ports. Not much room for the heater vents, ran it under the steering column. Seems to put out some good heat, should keep me warm on my snow runs. Need to change the thermostat out from my 165 to a 180.

The silver color looks really great on that rig. I seen a silver G Wagon that I almost bought because it was that same silver color.

Not many vehicles look good in silver.

Killer job very clean :smokin:

Very cool.Nice Scout!

Super nice build!!

Got any shots of the doubler and its position in the truck? How much floorboard manipulation was needed to it keep tucked in high and tight?

I've found a new favorite 80/800.:smokin:

Installed a heater. Ran ducting to the defroster ports. Not much room for the heater vents, ran it under the steering column. Seems to put out some good heat, should keep me warm on my snow runs. Need to change the thermostat out from my 165 to a 180.

Which heater? I'm going to redo mine again...

Only have 1 pic of the doubler right now. I need to change the tranny oil, so I'll need to pull the skidplates, then I can get somemore pics of the doubler. No cutting of the floorboards. The doubler is clocked 2" up. I do have a 2" body lift built into it and that helped clear everything. The heater I used is a heatercraft. It had 2 ports coming out of it but I needed 3, so I cut out the ports off the old heater and screwed them into the new heater. Now it has two, 2" ports (defroster ducting) and one 2 1/2" port (vents). I'll take somemore pics of it tonight.

Hey Doug, Did you go with ORD on the doubler?

Yes, went with the ORD with the 2" up clocking on the 205. Cage is looking good on yours.

I was considering the flat, but with the HP 60 I have an issue with the starter motor. I hope the 2" up will work. anyway glade to see yours is all better.

Picked the scout up from Minaglia's Upholestery yesterday. He did a fantastic job on the back panel. Drove it home in the rain, no leaks, and nice and warm inside. He even made the back window match the angles of the cage.

Sweet dumb question. Why did you go standard V versus inverted on your windshield? I doubt it matters for strength but when i put mine in I like the visability of inverted better.

My cage is tucked close to the windshield and the mirror was kind of in the way. Plus, I liked the way it looked with the V instead of the inverted V. I've found that for me, it doesn't affect my vision at all.

Found time to change out the fluids and while I had the skids off I snapped some pics of the doubler for those that asked how it fit. Now I know that my crossmembers are not to pretty, but I built them 6 years ago and have since learned to fab much better. But they work so I havn't felt the need to build nicer ones, plus you can't see them when the skids are on.

Here's a shot of the frame rails where I plated it with 3/16" angle iron, after an incident with a large boulder that resulted in a dent in the frame. You can also see that the skidplate sits a little lower than the frame. If I wanted a flat belly then I would have to cut the tub to clear the tcase. Also, you can see my custom bent skidplates (from my last run on the Hammers)

Shaazaaaam! Very Nice!

Looks good Doug, nice war paint on the under side.!!!!!! six feathers for you.

awesome build! I love the top on there...it looks so clean and factory. This may be a dumb question but...what is that little piece right above the back window on the top? Looks like some sort of fitting there....just wondering. Awesome Scout though!

cb antanna mount

Yep, CB antenna. Well, took it out for it for it's first snow run this year. Heater and halfcab worked out great. Definitely kept me warm and toasty inside. Had one problem though. I had 1 injector stick wide open on the way back down the mountain. So after pulling the injector and trying to clean it, ended up jb welding it closed so I could make it down the mountain on the other injector. Couldn't just unplug it because it was stuck in the open postion. Finally happen. Had to tow it home on my buddy's truck and trailer that he towed his rig up on. I take pride in the fact the my rig isn't a trailer queen, so it was a little embarrassing to have to tow it back home, but what can you do. Didn't think to carry a spare injector. I will now though.

Looks nice.


Sucks that the efi let you down... I've been there. :shaking:

Some reason you didn't clock the 205 flat with the bottom of the frame other than a tunnel clearance issue? I would definately make the clearance for the 205 and it appears to me that the 203 at the trans cross-member can be made strait across with 1 1/4" tubing. Mine is.

From here, a few miles away, it looks like you don't need a cut out mount. With the 205 flat, your front drive-line should clear a strait mount.

Yep, CB antenna. Well, took it out for it for it's first snow run this year. Heater and halfcab worked out great. Definitely kept me warm and toasty inside. Had one problem though. I had 1 injector stick wide open on the way back down the mountain. So after pulling the injector and trying to clean it, ended up jb welding it closed so I could make it down the mountain on the other injector. Couldn't just unplug it because it was stuck in the open postion. Finally happen. Had to tow it home on my buddy's truck and trailer that he towed his rig up on. I take pride in the fact the my rig isn't a trailer queen, so it was a little embarrassing to have to tow it back home, but what can you do. Didn't think to carry a spare injector. I will now though.

No need for embarrassment, sh/t happens, at least you had a rig their to bring you home.

Some reason you didn't clock the 205 flat with the bottom of the frame other than a tunnel clearance issue? I would definately make the clearance for the 205 and it appears to me that the 203 at the trans cross-member can be made strait across with 1 1/4" tubing. Mine is.

From here, a few miles away, it looks like you don't need a cut out mount. With the 205 flat, your front drive-line should clear a strait mount.

I already get some slight driveshaft bind at full droop on the rear shaft, so if I go any higher with it, it will bind it up. Sure I could put a limit strap on it, but I've haven't yet found where it has held me up at all with it hanging down a little. That's why I built the skids so I could slide on them. I do need to change out the bolts on the skids to button head bolts so it's a little smoother. It may be the angle that I took the pic, but if the center cross member was straight it would run right into the driveshaft. Plus I have a low pinion 60 and a lot of droop in the suspension. There would be no clearance for the front shaft as the suspenion cycles. I'm gathering parts to put together my other 350 I have sitting here. So when I pull out the one that's in it I may redo the motor and transmounts to move everything higher. We'll see. Depends on how lazy I am. I do want to raise the motor mounts and get rid of the 4x4 steel spacers I put in to raise the motor up. The motor mounts were in it when I got the rig.

Well, I haven't talked to much about what I did for the steering. Back when I got the scout, it had a powersteering box on it. The kid I got it from said he had put the box on. I don't know what it came off of, but when I had it rebuilt they said that it was a IH box. Did the 800's come with powersteering? The rag joint was shot, so I found a u-joint style coupler that fit the splines on the box and would work with the chevy steering column that I put in it. (didn't have a column in it when I got it) Bought an AGR pump, and ran it that way for a couple of years, until when I wanted to go to high steer. Bought some poison spider high steer arms for the Jeep J20 front 44 that I had in it at that time. Well, I find out that the pitman arm is going to be in the way of the tierod. So I cut the stock steering box mount off and built some new mounts out of 1/2" plate. Put a slight bend in the plate so the pitman clears the frame when turning. (Nice having a 100 ton press) I think I moved it @ 3 inches forward. It's been a while since I did it. Now I had to cut out a notch in the grill for the box. Built a lower steering brace and skidplate for the box. Fast forward a couple more years and the AGR pump goes out. A call to PSC, and now I have their performance pump and remote reservoir. Works great, haven't really found the need to go with a ram assist. Turns the 38's fine. Let's see what else? 3/4" x 3/4" heims, tierod 1 1/2" dom .250 wall, draglink 1 1/4 dom .281 wall. Think that's about it on the steering. Oh, Sky Manufacturing high steer arms on the 60 and tranny cooler as a P/S cooler.

Cut out the old engine mounts and welded in some new ones I had laying around. Built some runners to hold the front of the skid plate up. Assembled my spare engine. It will go in next month.

hey Doug, That's a good looking motor on the stand. what kind of numbers you got with it?

Not sure on the #'s. I'm hoping for 325+. Bought it from a friend a couple of years ago. He had bought a mid 80's tow truck for the front 60 and it had a freshly rebuilt 350 in it. I paid $50 for the motor. I pulled it down and checked it all out. Everything looked good. 4 bolt main bottom end. Installed a high volume oil pump, comp cam extreme 4x4 cam, (second largest one, didn't want to change to a high stall converter to run the larger cam) double roller timming chain, edelbrock performer heads (had them sitting around for another truck that I now don't have), roller rockers, and performer rpm intake. Hope that will get me the power I'm looking for.

Pulled the old motor out thurs. Ran into a problem when I tried to install the exhaust manifolds on the aluminum heads. When I tried to bolted them on, the manifold would hit the lower portion of the head and not seal. Bought some block hugger headers, but I knew that they would not fit between the firewall, because the exhaust manifolds would barely fit. Plus now I have to get the exhaust redone. :mad3: Slipped the engine in to see where I need to trim the fire wall, then pull it back out. Cut the firewall, reinstall the engine, get two bolts in, look up and see that I forgot to put the flexplate back on.:shaking: Pulled it out again, reinstalled the flexplate then slipped it back in. Hope to get it all back together on Sun. Get the exhaust redone next week and then fire it up to break in the new cam.

We'll I did get the exhaust redone a couple of weeks ago. Brought it home and it fired right up. Great. Turn the hand throttle up to 3 grand to break in the cam. After 5 minutes I see that the headers are starting to glow, crap, I check the timing, adjust the computer, still glowing. Mess with it the next day, still can't figure out why the hell it's running lean. The next day I have a side job to pull the engine, tranny, t-case and wiring harness/ computer out of a rolled '97 k1500. (engine, sm465, atlas all going into a yj. I'll be installing that also. Never done a smog legal swap before, should be interesting.) Spent the next day (missed the superbowl) dropping the pan, timing chain cover to check that I had installed the cam correctly. I did. As I'm putting that all back together I notice that the intake gaskets are oil soaked. Pulled the intake, checked the heads and intake with a straight edge. Looks good. Reinstalled the intake with new gaskets, fired it up, intake still leaks. ( leaking through the lifter valley) Pull the performer manifold off the old engine, installed the performer on the new engine, with new gaskets. Still not right. Now I'm pissed. Mon. cleaned up the old engine, repainted and resealed it, installed the roller rockers, performer rpm intake, and headers on it. Pulled the new engine out and installed the old engine back in. Old engine runs tits. Better than before. Talked with Edelbrock, their telling me that I need to use their special gaskets. I don't know. Feed up and tired of pulling engines.

hmmm thats odd about the new engine...I take it you didn't install the edelbrock heads because of the sealing problem you were having with the intake? That's odd...that sucks cuz the new motor with better heads/cam then the old one would definately make more power. Whats the specs on the old one? Just stock heads and cam or what? Why didnt you put the new cam in the old motor? Wouldnt work with the valvetrain and rods/heads on the old motor? Well that sucks.... I hope you get it figured out, cuz like most all of us think,the more power the better!!! I think you'd be better off with the headers, even though they're not long tubes they prob wouldnt choke the motor as much as the manifolds would, especially the new one. It just sucks it was a pain in the nuts to get them in there. You should try and grab a video or some sounds clips of the motor, I'm sure it prob sounds pretty nice.. What did you do for exhaust on it muffler/cat wise? Good luck to ya bud, I hope you get everything worked out and BTW, I don't know if I've told you this but I think your scout is one of my favorites if not THE favorite one I have....Love it!! Sorry for such a long post and so many questions, just interested in it is all..

Installed some new Corbeau seats. Now that I have only the halfcab, I needed to figure a way to have my wife and daughter sit up front with me. Had my upholstery guy make me a backrest that I could bolt to the bulkhead behind the center consule. My daughter will sit on the center consule(it's padded and she's only 8) She tried it out and said she will be fine with it. Still need to add the seatbelt though. Put my swampers/allied beadlocks back on. The old girl's getting pretty wide now. 86 1/2"s up front. To bad my trailer is only 83"s between the wheelwells. Guess I'll have to go over the wells now.

hmmm thats odd about the new engine...I take it you didn't install the edelbrock heads because of the sealing problem you were having with the intake? That's odd...that sucks cuz the new motor with better heads/cam then the old one would definately make more power. Whats the specs on the old one? Just stock heads and cam or what? Why didnt you put the new cam in the old motor? Wouldnt work with the valvetrain and rods/heads on the old motor? Well that sucks.... I hope you get it figured out, cuz like most all of us think,the more power the better!!! I think you'd be better off with the headers, even though they're not long tubes they prob wouldnt choke the motor as much as the manifolds would, especially the new one. It just sucks it was a pain in the nuts to get them in there. You should try and grab a video or some sounds clips of the motor, I'm sure it prob sounds pretty nice.. What did you do for exhaust on it muffler/cat wise? Good luck to ya bud, I hope you get everything worked out and BTW, I don't know if I've told you this but I think your scout is one of my favorites if not THE favorite one I have....Love it!! Sorry for such a long post and so many questions, just interested in it is all.. Actually the bottom ends of both motors are nearly identical. The newer one is bored .030" over though. Running the same cam, double roller timing chain, high volume oil pump, both are 4 bolt mains. Didn't swap heads, because I'm thinking that is where my problem is. No cat, single 3", 3 chamber flowmaster. Sounds good.

what do you plan for a headrest for her? that bulkhed will hurt if she hits her head.

is that a blower motor in the glove box? what kind?

any shots of the doubler and mounts?
what did you stretch the WB to? looks like you just pushed the front forward?

She's tall enough that her head is above the bulkhead. It's like a lowback seat. I won't be getting crazy with my wife and daughter in the rig. In nicer weather, I remove the bulkhead and bolt a highback bucket seat in the back. Yep, it's a heater in the glovebox. It is a heatercraft heater and works very well. Has a 3 spd fan. Check out post 87 for pics of the doubler. Wheelbase is now 103. Most of the stretch is in the front. Running chevy 47" front springs, and chevy 52" rears. I'm going to push the rear back another 1" when I link the back.

thanks, not sure how i missed those.

hard to tell from the pic, but do you have room for a t-case e-brake?
is your motor in a stockish location?

nice build btw, very motivational

Not sure on the diameter of the t-case e-brake, but I think it would be a tight fit. If I were to do it again, I would notch out the floorpan and push everything up to get a flat belly. Then there definitely wouldn't be room for the t-case e-brake unless you cut out the pan for it. I'm running a microlock for an e-brake. A buddy had an 800A with 304 in it, (factory) and that engine was way forward than mine is. Mines tucked back a little bit. That's where I needed it to fit the radiator in it. It's offset to the passenger side a little bit. I notched out the firewall to fit the headers.

Actually the bottom ends of both motors are nearly identical. The newer one is bored .030" over though. Running the same cam, double roller timing chain, high volume oil pump, both are 4 bolt mains. Didn't swap heads, because I'm thinking that is where my problem is. No cat, single 3", 3 chamber flowmaster. Sounds good.

Yeah thats what I was thinking too with the problems getting the intake to seat correctly. Sounds like its prob pretty stout tho. What are you running for a carb? Does it have a lopey idle with that cam in it? Have any video clips or anything of it? Thats sick...chambered mufflers sound really good too...

I am toyota guy, but you have an awesome rig. Great Job!

We'll I did get the exhaust redone a couple of weeks ago. Brought it home and it fired right up. Great. Turn the hand throttle up to 3 grand to break in the cam. After 5 minutes I see that the headers are starting to glow, crap, I check the timing, adjust the computer, still glowing. Mess with it the next day, still can't figure out why the hell it's running lean. The next day I have a side job to pull the engine, tranny, t-case and wiring harness/ computer out of a rolled '97 k1500. (engine, sm465, atlas all going into a yj. I'll be installing that also. Never done a smog legal swap before, should be interesting.) Spent the next day (missed the superbowl) dropping the pan, timing chain cover to check that I had installed the cam correctly. I did. As I'm putting that all back together I notice that the intake gaskets are oil soaked. Pulled the intake, checked the heads and intake with a straight edge. Looks good. Reinstalled the intake with new gaskets, fired it up, intake still leaks. ( leaking through the lifter valley) Pull the performer manifold off the old engine, installed the performer on the new engine, with new gaskets. Still not right. Now I'm pissed. Mon. cleaned up the old engine, repainted and resealed it, installed the roller rockers, performer rpm intake, and headers on it. Pulled the new engine out and installed the old engine back in. Old engine runs tits. Better than before. Talked with Edelbrock, their telling me that I need to use their special gaskets. I don't know. Feed up and tired of pulling engines.

Sidejob on a smog legal YJ, huh? Sounds like you need to start another thread.

Sidejob on a smog legal YJ, huh? Sounds like you need to start another thread.
Who hasn't done a yj build though. I might start a thread though, since we can't seem to find much on a ca smog legal 5.7 vortec swap. We'll have it ready for you by our Moab trip. Here's a pic of your rig for you Jerry.

I assume you look on the smog police web site?

http://www.bar.ca.gov/80_BARResources/07_AutoRepair/Engine_Change_Guidelines.html

The guy who I'm building it with is very good on the electrical and has called BAR on what we need to have, to be compliant. We had a whole truck that we stripped and luckily it already was a manual transmission so the computer is setup for a manual transmission. (running a sm465 and atlas 4.3 behind the 5.7 now)

How do you like the 37's and 38's clearance wise with the d60's.

How do you like the 37's and 38's clearance wise with the d60's. It's allright. The front's not much of a problem, but the rear hangs up more than I would like. Here's some pics from Hollister last weekend. No one in the club made it through the left side on frame twister. I was the first to try it, and had the smallest tires.

Well it's been awhile since I did much to the scout. Built some rear bars to try and keep the tub out of the rocks in preperation of the outer limits trail at the Hammers. Should have built the bars higher. It does fly well though.

I came down so hard on the rear bumper that it bent it up into the body. The front was flexing so much that it was grabbing the front fenders and bent them out. I also twisted the splines on the steering box at the pitman arm. Full hydro wil go in this month, then I will rework the rear body.

Rk, Looks damn good, even with the damage. It was too pretty before:flipoff2:

Rim happen from the landing, or crawling? Looking forward to more pics, that thing's always been :smokin:

Rim happened when crawling. Jumped it about a dozen times. Walked off where the tires left the sand then where they landed. It was @40 feet. Had a blast doing it.

Rim happened when crawling. Jumped it about a dozen times. Walked off where the tires left the sand then where they landed. It was @40 feet. Had a blast doing it.

Vids?

Nice Scout.

Sick rig! What headers are you running? What vehicle are they for? Can you post more pics of how well they fit? I still have the factory ram horns on my 350, but want to find a set of headers for it. First set i got didnt fit.

I also like your heater. What is that out of?

Sick rig! What headers are you running? What vehicle are they for? Can you post more pics of how well they fit? I still have the factory ram horns on my 350, but want to find a set of headers for it. First set i got didnt fit.

I also like your heater. What is that out of?

Running Flowtech headers part number 11000FLT. Check post 102 for pics on where they hit the firewall. I notched out the firewall for clearance. The heater is a heatercraft part number 201HOR.

what do your rear shock towers look like?

thnkx

Not much. Tied into the cage.

So full hydro steering is on order, as are some ballistic joints for the rear. I'm going to do a trailing arm rear suspension with tj rear coils and a panhard bar. We'll see if it works. I will also cut off the back. I am thinking that I will cut out the rear tub behind the front seats and add tubing. Here's some pics on how I am thinking of cutting the tub. I will attach the rear skins to the tubing, and cut the frame off behind the axle.

rkscout I get idea of tubeing the back half, I just think your Scout is a sweet lookin rig. I'm at the same point to where the next step is a buggy. Its a tough call for me as I like to have the looks of a Scout but the trails are getting tough enough you need a buggy to keep wheelin without distroying the sheet metal. I look forward to seeing your progress, by the way your Scout is one of the best lookin early Scout I have seen and a great thread on Priate............Robert

rkscout I get idea of tubeing the back half, I just think your Scout is a sweet lookin rig. I'm at the same point to where the next step is a buggy. Its a tough call for me as I like to have the looks of a Scout but the trails are getting tough enough you need a buggy to keep wheelin without distroying the sheet metal. I look forward to seeing your progress, by the way your Scout is one of the best lookin early Scout I have seen and a great thread on Priate............Robert

X2, and im all for hacking up sheet metal, your rig is just the standard for full bodied 80/800's everywhere! My scout has wet dreams about your scout. Its kindof weird.

This thread reminded me of this one... :homer:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=490136&highlight=

I'm with the above. It's your scout, do whatever the fawk you want with it, but I love it as a full-body scout. It's one of the nicest examples of a 80/800 i've seen. IMO it's too nice to cut up, at least until you beat on it and destroy the rear sheetmetal though:flipoff2: It doesn't look like you have too many problems getting hung up in the rear either.

Looking for opinions. Still what to shorten it. What do you guys think. Cut the rear tub out an tube it and leave the rear panels like in the above pics? Or, leave the tub and shorten the rear fender and reattach the end caps? Or leave it as it is?

That still has a Scout flavor, me likey:smokin:

Looks good to me. Honestly, I'd keep it full body till you start banging the sheet metal a little more.

Looking for opinions. Still what to shorten it. What do you guys think. Cut the rear tub out an tube it and leave the rear panels like in the above pics? Or, leave the tub and shorten the rear fender and reattach the end caps? Or leave it as it is?

Leave it as is. Really nice ride!!

When I bobbed mine I took off the end caps took out 8 inches and then just re-attached. Pretty simple. Then it also keeps the full bodied look, id say go with that.

Leave it or skin a tube frame. Don't like seeing beautiful rigs cut up.

I chopped mine up because I had already killed the bed sides. I chose to shorten the sides and reattach the end caps. In hind sight it would have been better to have sold it when it was relatively straight and built a full tube buggy and just rocked scout skins. So, if I were in your situation thats probably what I would do.

Its pretty nice as it is and therefore should bring a nice chunk of change that would go a long way toward a no compromise tube buggy. But its yours to do what you please with.

Thanks for the responses. After much thought, I'm going to leave it as it is for now. Right now I'm going to focus on getting the full hydro steering in, and building my hillbilly trailing arm rear suspension for it. Hopefully my steering and suspension parts will be here by next week.

Looking for opinions. Still what to shorten it. What do you guys think. Cut the rear tub out an tube it and leave the rear panels like in the above pics? Or, leave the tub and shorten the rear fender and reattach the end caps? Or leave it as it is?

I say tube the rear and do something like mine. comp cut and shorten using the stock end cap seams like said before keeping just the outer skins. it still looks very scout. i had to cut my taillights because I wanted them to look stock but you shouldnt have that problem.

I say tube the rear and do something like mine. comp cut and shorten using the stock end cap seams like said before keeping just the outer skins. it still looks very scout. i had to cut my taillights because I wanted them to look stock but you shouldnt have that problem.

my wife parks just like that at the grocery store. :laughing:

Well I got the steering in on Sat. Still waiting on the double ended ram to get here. Had an old ram at the shop that I made work until the correct one gets here. I have a run on Fri that I want to make. The new ram will attach to the high steer arms. Used the stock tie rod to attach the ram to for now. I will trailer it up to the run, so it will be fine. Its very touchy on the road right now. Not going to mess with it till I get the correct cylinder in though. Couple of pics of the old steering box mount I had made for it.

Cut a piece out of an old grill I had and patched the hole in the grill where the steering box came through. Still have to do body work to it, but I'm going to wait on that until I shorten the rear. Also took a few more inches out of the front fenders and grill to help clear the tires better.

you probably get tired of hearing this but that is one bas a$$ unit. My favorite full body 800 and gets wheeled hard. Sweet ride top notch

Well the correct ram finally came in last week. Built a mount for it and installed it. With my short high steer arms, I only needed 6"s of stroke. PSC put stops in their 8" ram to give me 6"s of throw. They set me up with their slow orbital. The steering is still very quick though. 2 1/4 turns lock to lock. Has some road feel to it, and somewhat returns to center. Not as fast as the steering box, but it does return.

Install a borgeson steering shaft in it this week to get rid of the play that was in it. Much better now. Took it today for the first real trip down the freeway. It did well enough. Was crusing @ 70mph. It has a slight pull to the left. I don't remember if it had the pull before though. Have the cooper stt's on it now.Had a set of 33s on my '06 dodge and a set of 35"s on my '99 dodge. They both pulled to the left. Now both are running 35 bfg km2s and they don't pull now. I have to throw the swampers back on and see if that fixes it or there is another problem.

I put a large cup full of the heavy weight air soft bb's in my swampers and that made a hugh differance.

Yep, one bad ass 800 for sure.

Started on redoing the rear suspension today. It's going to be a three link with a panhard bar. Exhaust is in the way to do a four link, but if this doesn't work then I will have to figure out how to run the exhaust to clear the links. Springs are 3.5" lift tj rear's. Arms are 2" 1/4 wall tubing. More tomorrow.

really excited to hear about your 3 link rear. Im in the planning stages for my 80, and am having a really hard time figuring out rear links and NOT putting the fuel tank inthe bed. I need room for the boys and camping gear, so bed mount fuel tank is out. Have been leaning toard radius arm rear with panhard, despite what the pirate folks say about radius arms.

whats your overall pinch in the front now. like 6" per side?

Started on redoing the rear suspension today. It's going to be a three link with a panhard bar. Exhaust is in the way to do a four link, but if this doesn't work then I will have to figure out how to run the exhaust to clear the links. Springs are 3.5" lift tj rear's. Arms are 2" 1/4 wall tubing. More tomorrow.

I'd figure out how to move the exhaust...

Let me know if you want pics on how I ran mine. I have 4 link with single exhaust.

really excited to hear about your 3 link rear. Im in the planning stages for my 80, and am having a really hard time figuring out rear links and NOT putting the fuel tank inthe bed. I need room for the boys and camping gear, so bed mount fuel tank is out. Have been leaning toard radius arm rear with panhard, despite what the pirate folks say about radius arms.

whats your overall pinch in the front now. like 6" per side?

I though about radius arms also, but going to try this route. It will have a centered upper link and shouldn't bind when flexing like radius arms will. I don't have much invested into it right now. Already had the tubing, and a buddy gave me the springs. The panhard bar will be my old tie rod that I took off when I went to the full hydro. Just had to buy 6 joints, and the weld in bungs, also bought the lower coil buckets. All the other mounts I have been making myself. The front pinch is 5" per side.

I'd figure out how to move the exhaust...

Let me know if you want pics on how I ran mine. I have 4 link with single exhaust.

Like to see pics on how you ran yours. My change the upper link to a wishbone.

My junk is four linked, and I had to dump my exhaust in front of the rear 60. Even if you can find space for the pipe to go above the axle, flex will be an issue. But then again I have four link. You can look at my exhaust in the 5spd/4spd transfer case install.

Mine follows the contour of the inside of the right side frame rail over the top of the diff. I have triangulated uppers from the frame to the truss. I'm very happy with this setup, certainly not ultra hardcore, but great preformance for me and great stability off camber.

http://b1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/01207/10/85/1207425801_l.jpg

More done today.Just about finished the lower mounts and built the axle truss mount. Crossmember is going to be in the way of the upper link. I will have to notch it out. Will start on the upper frame mount tomorrow. Need to change the driverside lower shock mount to match the other side. Will tie the diff cover into the truss also.

Getting there. Upper link tacked in. Had to see what it would do. No panhard bar in yet. Allright, back to work.

Getting there. Upper link tacked in. Had to see what it would do. No panhard bar in yet. Allright, back to work.

Panhard for the rear? I hope you're not using a panhard along with triangulated links?:eek:

Panhard for the rear? I hope you're not using a panhard along with triangulated links?:eek:

Looks like the rear has straight lowers ad a single straight upper link.

Sean

Panhard for the rear? I hope you're not using a panhard along with triangulated links?:eek:

I was thinking just the opposite, I hope you're going to run a panhard with those straight links:D

Straight upper, slightly angled lowers.

Looks like the rear has straight lowers ad a single straight upper link.

Sean

Oh I see, it's a single upper link. I was looking at the truss on top of the axle and thought it was two links..
With no latteral support I'm suprised it didn't swing to the side and fall over when you twisted it up.
I guess I should have looked at all of the pictures.

More done today. Got the truss tied into the diff cover. Started on the upper link frame mount. Need to finish it, and brace it better. Panhard bar tacked in. Notched out the crossmember, and welded in a piece of tubing.

Flexed up'ed, the panhard just clears the diff, need to pull the springs, and see what it does with the suspension at full stuff.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=490468&stc=1&d=1262228765

Nice fab work but I would try to support this upper link mount in some way as that is alot of force on a bracket that looks like the leverage is about 12" away from the mounting point on the square tube. Maybe weld another square tube in closer to the upper link mount tabs? Other than that, looks tits.:smokin:

Sean

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=490468&stc=1&d=1262228765

Nice fab work but I would try to support this upper link mount in some way as that is alot of force on a bracket that looks like the leverage is about 12" away from the mounting point on the square tube. Maybe weld another square tube in closer to the upper link mount tabs? Other than that, looks tits.:smokin:

Sean Thanks. Actually that's my plan. I'm going to weld a piece of tubing near the link back to the cross member. The leverage on it the way it is now will probably rip it off the frame. Ran out of sanding discs today. Will have to wait to clean up all the torch cuts and misc stuff.

Cool. Keep up the good work.:smokin:

Sean

Started on the upper link frame mount. Need to finish it, and brace it better.

Shit. I just went back and saw this. Keep up the good work I'm going back to my jug of eggnog.:homer:

Sean

Just about have it finished. Need to cut off the old spring mounts, and do some clean up work. Drove it around the block, handles nice. Really happy how it came out. Added a brace and gusset to the upper frame link mount.

What, all this in like a couple days:flipoff2:

Your making the rest of us look bad. Some have years into there junk and it still on jack stands.

now, I know next to nothing about links, but could you not fit straight uppers and angle lowers in there? Center the lowers at the tcase output, and run straight lowers with your exhaust? And while we are on this subject, and at the risk of sounding like a total asshat, could you nut run the single upper with the same angled lowers, and if at 45 degrees, get rid of the panhard?

on a side note, do you have much rear steer with the panhard?

lastly, your running full width arent you?

How are you protecting the fluid coolers mounted in the RR wheel well?

Pete

Nice work RK, and nice scout.

Out of curiosity what's the measurement from the ground to the bottom of the frame rails? ~22" I'd guess.

Plug/RK, it does look like you could have ran a triangulated lowers and straight uppers on the outside of the frame. I ran my uppers on the inside of the frame rails. http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/ss57/1wook/Scout%20800/?action=view&current=100_5334.jpg

Plug, in order for your angled link to work you have to add a second location point at the front to keep it from moving side to side.

Very clean work Doug! Looks good, Ill swing by one of these days and check it out. Keep up the good work.

JP

now, I know next to nothing about links, but could you not fit straight uppers and angle lowers in there? Center the lowers at the tcase output, and run straight lowers with your exhaust? And while we are on this subject, and at the risk of sounding like a total asshat, could you nut run the single upper with the same angled lowers, and if at 45 degrees, get rid of the panhard?

on a side note, do you have much rear steer with the panhard?

lastly, your running full width arent you?

Honestly, I'm not to good with links either. Didn't think to run it with the lowers angled and staight uppers. Ha ha, probably would have worked well. Oh well, this is what I have now, and it seems to handle well. Will have to see how it does on the rocks. Had plugged the numbers in the calculator before I started, and it said 9.5 degrees rear steer. The actual numbers I ended up with are diffent though, so I'll have to plug those in and see what it says. Yes, running full width 60's.

How are you protecting the fluid coolers mounted in the RR wheel well?

Pete

No protection on the coolers. Never had a problem in the 2 years they have been mounted there.

Nice work RK, and nice scout.

Out of curiosity what's the measurement from the ground to the bottom of the frame rails? ~22" I'd guess.

Plug/RK, it does look like you could have ran a triangulated lowers and straight uppers on the outside of the frame. I ran my uppers on the inside of the frame rails. http://s561.photobucket.com/albums/ss57/1wook/Scout%20800/?action=view&current=100_5334.jpg

Plug, in order for your angled link to work you have to add a second location point at the front to keep it from moving side to side.

Think it's around 22"s. It's still at the shop, will be able to work on it again sun, and will check the frame height then.

Frame height is 22 1/4"s on the 37's. Plugged the final numbers into the 3 link calculator, it says 9.42 degrees oversteer.

it says 9.42 degrees oversteer.

I wonder what this means in the real, applied world?

Well, tried out the new rear suspension a little bit today. Had to drag out one of my guys. He thought it wasn't to muddy to service the windmachine. I think I need bigger mud flaps.:D

looks like a cow shit all over your rig man!.guess those half bald 29.5's just couldn't cut it on the chevy.your rig is still one of my favorites,now get a hoes on that thing. :flipoff2:

So did the rear suspension work out how you were expecting it to?

All washed and cleaned. New suspension did good. Rear driveline still in it. That was the main reason for the rear links. Had bad axle wrap. Had put a antiwrap bar on it when the leaves where in it, but I ended up tearing it off the axle tube. I winched the truck out of the hole, and had to drag him all the way out in reverse. Took five minutes to get the truck out, and 2 hours of cleaning. The rear bumpstops came in today, so I've need to get those mounted in. Went with Timbrens for the rear. Installed some fox air bumps in the front a couple of weeks ago. I'll post up pics of the front and rear when I get the rear mounted in. Also need to put a limit strap on the rear still. It's fine with the coils bolted top and bottom, but if I lose the spring retainers the rear will have to much droop that the driveline will bind.

damn good lookin scout. you ever have a lack of people to wheel with you outta come up to mix canyon in vacaville on one of these sundays. it may be a bit of a drive for you but its worth it id say. pm me for more info

thats great. Hope you had him wash it for ya.

As promised, here are the pics of my bumpstops. Fox Air bumps up front. Also added some bumpstops above the steering cylinder. Reason for those are to keep the steering ram out of the engine pulleys when I decide to jump it again. The rear I used Timkren bumpstops, they are actually overload springs, but work well as bumpstops. They will compress a couple of inches, so they are kind of progressive. Built a extension for them, and then mounted them inside the coils. I needed them that low to keep the upper link out of the crossmember. Also got some new rocklights in. They are pretty sweet. Has a strobe feature and a wireless controller. Best of all they were FREE.

Also had to trim the front bumper back.

Nice.

Somebody had posted in general about how they redid thier timbren bumpstop mounting(that looked identical to yours) because it destroyed them. I think it was Lucas Murphy or veteboy. If I remeber right they mounted the timbren to the axle and put a smiley shaped piece on the extention.

Thanks for the info. I'll have to check that out.

I like that yours are inside the coil. I am just running stock bumps off an s10 blazer. This is the route I took.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/JamesFoster/12052009143.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/JamesFoster/12292009157.jpg

Took it to Hollister last weekend and was able to work the new steering, and rear suspension pretty hard. Preformed great. The suspension handled great. Was very predictable, and as stable as it was with the leaves. Just no more axle wrap. Steering did good too. Did bend a steering stop though. That's about it though. Very happy with the way it turned out.

:smokin:

nice work

Starting to get the parts together to link the front. Picked up some used 14" swayaway coilovers yesterday. All charged up and ready to go. Not sure on the springs rates though. I'll get them installed and see how things look.

Starting to get the parts together to link the front. Picked up some used 16" swayaway coilovers yesterday. All charged up and ready to go. Not sure on the springs rates though. I'll get them installed and see how things look.

Can you really put that kind of shock absorber in a Scout? :flipoff2:

Can you really put that kind of shock absorber in a Scout? :flipoff2:

I was told that they would bolt right into the factory mounts, and that the coils would help with load capacity.:D Checked them out alittle better today. A friend picked them up for me for another friend. They are actually 14" co's, which will work better for me anyway. The lower springs are stamped with 250#s, still don't know what the uppers are rated at. Still up in the air on how I'm going to link the front. I need to flex it out and see where I can mount the links. I want to stay away from a track bar, but I don't think that I can triangulate the links the way I need to with the engine as close to the axle as it is.

any noticeable rear steer with that panhard?

any noticeable rear steer with that panhard?
Not that I noticed.

No tech, added to the rear section of the cage. Wanted more protecton for when my daughter is riding in the back. Also had a new bikini top made. The old one was pretty tore up. The only problem with the cage the way it is now, is that I can't fit the spare tire through the cage to fit it inside the bed anymore.

Doug what's the deal with the COW BELL!!!!

Colesjeep used to be in my fourwheel drive club so he knows that the club gives out the cowbell each month to a member that does something stupid. In my case, I was supposed to deliver it to another member in Nov, never did, and it has been sitting in my garage since then. Since the club has turned into a bunch of pussies that don't go on runs, had more members enter their jeeps in a car show than went to Hollister to wheel, I got it for not bringing the cowbell back to the meetings. I'm sure I will get it for next month too for welding the dinger to the side of the bell.

Couldn't have said it better myself!!!!

Ordered up my parts to four link the front end. I'll still be using a trackbar due to space issue's. Ended up ordering all the brackets instead of making my own. To busy with work to have the time to make my own. Ballistic should ship out the joints and brackets on Mon., then I can start putting it back together. Got all the old brackets cut off and cleaned on one side. Still need to finish the other side. The front axle will get moved forward @ an inch, so the steering cylinder will not have a chance to hit the engine pulley on full compression. More to come.

Coils? Coilovers? Come on, be specific.

I kind of think you'll be done next Sunday, if it goes like the rear.

14" used swayaway coilovers. The suspension will be a similar setup as on my dodge. 4 link with trackbar. I would hope to have it done by next sunday, but I think it will take a little longer to finish. I'm doing it in my garage right now. I'll get everything mocked up and tacked in here. Then trailer it over to the shop where I'll articulate it with the forklift to check everything, then final weld it all in.

Well the brackets finally showed up yesterday. Tacked the brackets on to see where everthing would end up. Still waiting for the ballistic joints and square tube bungs to show up. Might get those next week. Set a piece of tubing and a tire iron in to show where the links will be. I'm going to try and place the trac bar behind the axle. So far in mock up it looks like it will just clear the oil pan, air bumps, and the top of the diff housing.

Updates?

Worked on it a little tonight. Still waiting for the ballistic joints to come in. They said they should ship out the end of the week. We'll see if that happens. I took off one of the johnny joints off the rear so I could use it on the front mounts to get the spacing between the brackets right. Fitted some of the brackets, and will probably start welding them in on thurs. Kind of pissed that the joints haven't shown up yet.

Kind of pissed that the joints haven't shown up yet.

That is a pisser...

I have Curries on the rear and Ballistic on the front. When I bought my Ballistic Joints, they were quite a bit less than Curries. I see Curries are about $6 less now.

I have no idea how they compare in strength or preformance or anything else, I haven't had trouble with either.

I called poly performance after I found out that the joints would take awhile to get. They told me that like currie, they were out of stock on the johnny joints. So I am kind of stuck waiting for ballistic right now.

Looks good! Just got myself a 60(Or so I hope) so i'm looking forward to meeting up with you guys at the hammers in Nov.

Made a little progress in the last couple of days. Got most of the brackets welded on. Still need to reinforce some of them. Joints should be here on tues. Finally.

Looks good.

It looks like your moving the front forward, how much, and what kind of wheel base are you gonig to end up with?

I did push it forward some more. It was at 103"s before. I think it will be 105"s when done. I pushed it forward so the steering ram's not below the crank pulley like it was before.

Got more done today. At least it's off the jack stands now. Still more to do.

One more.

What are you using for your link material? I saw that you used square 2x.25 for the rear. Same for the front?

It will be 2"x2" .250 wall square tubing.

What's the plan for the axle end panhard mount? Something custom?

Axle end panhard mount is welded to the axle mount link brackets. It will also get welded to the diff housing and get tied into a bracket that I'll build that get bolts to the diff also. If that makes any sense.

Little more done last night. More bracing on the coilover mounts. Plated the front side of the axle tube link mounts.

Well I drove it to work this morning. Did good, more body roll than before, but that was to be expected. Had to change the upper link mounts on the frame side. When I lifted it up, the pinion angle would drop way down and bind the yokes. Only going to run one upper link because the links where binding up when flexed with all four hooked up. Flexed it out this morning. Driver's side coilover hit the trackbar mount. I'll have to trim it, or move the mount under the frame.

More pics.

as if this thing didnt already have crazy amounts of flex:eek:

still is my favorite scout ever. :smokin:

Ahem, yours flexes more than mine...

Looks good.

So THAT is why you were getting rid of the leafs!
I know what i'm doing next winter:smokin:

All the work that was involved to link it, I'm thinking I should have stayed wth the leaves.:D Still more to do. Need to tie the trackbar mount into the diff housing, build pads for the air bumps, either relocate or trim the upper trackbar mount, square up the axles. Ordered up some crane high steer arms today. The sky arms on it now are very short, and I have only 2 1/4 turns lock to lock, so the steering reacts very quickly. I'll pull the stops out of the steering arm to use the full 8"s of stroke and then drill the crane arms to match up. It will also give me more "power" to turn the tires due to the longer arm having more leverage on the knuckle. Beefcake, you going to have yours ready for the hammers?

If I have to finish it on the trailer while my buddy drives(can't vouch for the legality of 65MPH rig building) I'll have it ready. Just made the decision to go ahead and save for a 203/205 doubler. Might take a month or two, but that and tires are my last big purchases.

Your going to need some pretty tall tires to get clearance under that dana 80.:D I don't think you'll need to worry about breaking it though.

Your going to need some pretty tall tires to get clearance under that dana 80.:D I don't think you'll need to worry about breaking it though.

Thats the issue, i'm just gonna run gov surplus 37's, so do I shave it and work with the clearance that i have and know that I have the strength to run 40's? Or do I swap it for a rear 60/14 and gain clearance but need to put more money in shafts when I go bigger? Questions questions questions.

I'll try not to worry about clearance, I hear there are lots of rocks to stack at the hammers:D

Finished tying the track bar mount into the diff. I didn't want to weld to the housing, so I can up with this. The 1" plate has a bolt in it that goes into the hole where the center pin would go if it was still leaves. The taller round plate is the bumpstop pad.

A little more done this weekend. Had to change the frame side trackbar mount . When I would flex it, it would hit the tranmission pan. Built a longer mount so it wouldn't pull the front end over as much. Everything is a very tight fit. When flexed out and the drivers front tire is turned to the left, it contacts the coilover. I'll put some limit straps on it to keep the tire out of the spring. Only hits with the 37"s. The 38" swampers clear though. (they are narrower and have less backspacing on the wheels) Still need to do put some springs on the brake lines to keep them out of the tires.

More pics.

Couple more.

Did a little more on it. Changed up the tire carrier a little bit. It used to just slide into the reciever and not pivot down. It made it hard to load things in. Added a top mount and made it hinge. Also got the limiting straps installed. Now I just need the high steer arms and mounts for the steering cylinder to show up so I can redo the steering. I also want to tie the diff guard into the steering mount. Trying to get it all done before I hit the Rubicon on Memorial Weekend.

Looking good Doug. Are you going up to the Rubicon in June also? I got a buddy that has been wanting to go and see what it's like and I figured if you guys were going maybe we would jump in with you.

Yep, still going the second weekend in June as always. Your more than welcome to come along.

:beer: One of my all time favorite Scouts :beer:

Thanks I'll try to make it. Haven't been real busy at work these days so it all depends on the funds,but it has been a couple years since I was up there.

I was talking to my cousin in truckee yesterday. Says there is a TON of snow up there. We were planning a june 5/6 trip, but it may not be possible according to him. they are still getting snow as of two days ago.



rkscout, have any pics or info on how you dropped the nose on that thing?

Thanks on the heads up on the snow levels. We'll be camping at wench creek campgrounds memorial weekend, and just going in for day runs. That will give me an idea on the snow condition for when we try and run the full trail two weeks later. As far as how I dropped the nose down, I built new body mounts that raised the body 2"s. I cut the grill down just below the turn signals. (probably gained another inch) I relief cut the top of the fender where it bolted up on the top at the firewall. Then I just pushed the fender down. Since I had already cut the fender so much that there was no support to it, it was pretty easy to more it down and in. It did give the fender a slight bulge though. I like the look of the bulge though. Of course though, I cut out all the inner fenders and it is all bolted to tubing. Also a pic of the hood. Give's you an idea how I sectioned it. If you want any pics of certain areas, let me know and I can take pics of it.

Looks like the same way I did my hood too....adding a skinny triangle in the front.:smokin:

thanks for the info. Im not sure if I will pinch the front or not. but I would like to drop the front some, and already cut out all the inner fenders and will copy you regarding hanging stuff from tube. Also figured it would give me a good place for the CO's.

So if I understand correctly, you just put a relief cut in the top, where the bolts are? the buldge is created because you did not take some of the side of the fender out???

how far did you drop the nose, and would you do more or less if you did it again?

thanks for the info. Im not sure if I will pinch the front or not. but I would like to drop the front some, and already cut out all the inner fenders and will copy you regarding hanging stuff from tube. Also figured it would give me a good place for the CO's.

So if I understand correctly, you just put a relief cut in the top, where the bolts are? the buldge is created because you did not take some of the side of the fender out??? If you look at the attached pic, where the top of the fender meets the firewall, you can see the notch. That was done because the fender hit there when I pulled it in. Yes, the bulge was created because I didn't cut the side of the fender.
how far did you drop the nose, and would you do more or less if you did it again? I believe that the nose is dropped 3"s. It gave me much better visiblity, that and the narrowing. I haven't felt the need to drop it lower. I also can't take it down much lower, because then the hood would hit the top of the radiator then.

If you don't plan on narrowing the front, I think that you will need to relief cut the fender to be able to push it down.

got it, thanks

More done yesterday. Pull the ram apart and removed the stops that were inside. Now I have 8"s of stoke instead of 6"s. Installed the crane high steer arms and drilled it out for the heims. From the center of the kingpin to the center of the hole for the heim, is 7 1/2"s. That puts me on the steering stops when I run out of stroke on the ram. Also had to more the ram forward 2 1/4"s so it lines up with the holes in the new steering arms. I now have 3 1/4 turns lock to lock, compared to 2 1/4 turns before. Haven't had a chance to drive it yet to see if it handles better.

Edit.. Pulled the ram apart and removed the stops that were inside. Now I have 8"s of stoke instead of 6"s. From the center of the kingpin to the center of the hole for the heim, is 7 1/2"s. That puts me on the steering stops when I run out of stroke on the ram.

I made my ram travel stop at the knuckle stops. Or risk shearing off the bolts/studs holding the arms in place when making tight turns. You can adjust the stops out, but don't pin it to win it with the wheel fully clocked or the u-joints might get mad.

Drove it around a little last night. The steering is soooo much better now. Not as touchy as it was before. Handles well too. I get some pretty good lean going into turns, but nothing that I can't control.

Drove it around a little last night. The steering is soooo much better now. Not as touchy as it was before. Handles well too. I get some pretty good lean going into turns, but nothing that I can't control.

Testing time is over, drive the piss out of it and take video! :flipoff2:

Good job.

Testing time is over, drive the piss out of it and take video! :flipoff2:

Good job.

Thanks. This is how the ole' girl spends most of her time on the road though. I get better mileage towing her to the trails than if I I drive her. Plus I have a/c and satelite radio in the dodge. Dug up some old pics back from '03 too.