I have had this rig built for about 1.5 years and am doing a partial rebuild/ finish I guess. Figured I would post up my progress. This is what prompted the rebuild:
It actually still ran and drove, but the frame was so twisted the ps pulley bent and chucked the belt.
I picked this rig up and parted it out and kept the body/ frame:
I was (am?) having pretty spectacular breakage in the rocks just about every trip, did better in the snow. In one year Ive been through 3 outputs, 5 rear spring packs, many drive lines and u-joints, a rear housing, carrier, and shaft. Most if not all of of this was caused by my piss poor rear suspension design/ setup which is what i am working on now. The plan is to go from inboarded rear springs to 4link with beefy parts/ xj front springs. I am also working on cleaning up wiring and maybe even getting some useable storage.
Also started to finish my dash after all this timebrown panels are aluminum, shiny plate is an access panel for the trans lines, #12 panel is also aluminum just need to wire brush them)
And thats where im at right now. I am waiting to hear back from the machinist boring/ tapping my links (dropped off in december). In the meantime I am trying to clean up wiring/ fix leaks/ do dash stuff.
The first couple of pics are kind of misleading. Number one and two are after i highlifted the cab out and tossed the hood, the last one was before. I was afraid i would scare my parents. I drove off a cliff (literally) and rolled many times, at some point my roof hit a tree and/or a rock. I actually landed in a river wheels down. I felt really, really, stupid, but I was uninjured. There is nothing to see with the links yet, the lowers are 2" solid bar with 1.25" heims. I have bushings and 1" heims for the uppers but havent decided what to use yet for those and what in what combination. I am trying to track down a rearend right now since mine has almost no useable parts left.
So I got some more work done. Picked up a rearend and tore it down, and did a conservative shave. This is a dana 60 out of a dodge, but the catch is its an "HD". It has some pretty big extra ribbing on the center section but thats all I can see thats any better than a standard 60. after searching some supposedly have the 35 spline shafts and bigger bore spindles but this one sure doesnt, just standard 30spline. I took about 1/2-5/8 off the bottom, the ribs hang down alot farther than than standard 60s I looked at. Also welded the tubes to the centersection and welded up the carrier as hot as my little 110 could. Had o take alot of breaks to not only let the housing cool but also the welder.
Also on the bright side i got my lowers back from the machinist. It was going to be much more expensive to have them cut the threads than to have them bored and just buy the tube adapters. The shop I chose was a total nightmare, just happy to get my materials back. On my mind now is how far can I move my rearend back. Right now the tires rub on the top, front, back, and inside of the bed so I think a trim is in order. I need to decide on what premade brackets to order and how I am going to build my link truss.
Finally got may brackets and upper joints, but the 1.25 RH tube inserts are still coming. For some reason all the brackets were too tight to just slide on the axle, which was a little frustrating after spending all the extra money. Also got my diff cover, but the drain plug was drilled on the top for some reason. I shaved it to match the housing, figured at this point ill just weld up the hole. I still need to order the driveline flange and some misalignment spacers.
I also managed to turn down my 60 hubs and redrill them, which took alot of time. I drew up the 8 lug and 6 lug patters and the center bore of the wheel to make sure it could work and to find the spot where the 6 lug holes were farthest away from the 8 lug ones. there are several that are pretty damn close but they are fine. I need to figure out what rotors to use for discs and what to do to keep the studs from spinning but the hardest part is done.
Got some more work done this weekend, started the axle truss and a buddy came over and is doing all the welding with his new tig. Takes a long time to get everything as clean as it should be but it is way nicer thatn what I could do. I need to figure out a way to do more gusseting on the truss but it should be pretty beef. There is a 5/8 bolt threaded through the top of the center section to help out. Just so happened to be a really thick raised boss there so I tapped it. I also started the fender trim but not much to see there.
That street sign you're using for one of your panels. If you pop it in the oven it will melt the glue holding the reflective sign part on and you can peel it off. Then you just need to use some solvent to get the glue residue off.
Warning, it will stink up your house to high heaven, but it works great. A friend of mine skinned his whole buggy w/ old street signs.
Well im bored so might as well do an update. I got the 4link finished enough to go for a trips, super happy with the performance. On my fifth trip out I noticed my reduction box was make a chirping nose like a bad bearing, boy was it. I also broke my 5th output, and just about every last bearing was wasted in the cases. I put a chromo output in it, 23 spline input, and a marlin R10 adapter on it to hopefully help those problems. I also pu in a th350 to make the rear driveline longer. Since the adapter needed a new crossmember anyways I decided to redo it entirely and lower the rear flange a little for a better driveline angle. I also put on beadlocks to help my wheel bending problem and also keep the beads on there. Finally did new seats and half doors, along with a tailgate to keep my tool bag contained a little better.
Bunch of pics in no particular order:
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