I've been learning a lot reading posts on Pirate, and I thought I would take the plunge to start posting my build. A little background: I've been tinkering around on the same 53 CJ3B for most of my life. Here's a shot of my rig and me in 1962...I'm on the right.
My grandpa bought it new in 53, my Dad owned it after Grandpa passed away. The engine eventually seized. It sat for a while, then I rebuilt it in high school with help from my Dad. In the late 70's /early 80's I swapped in a Pontiac Iron Duke 4, saginaw steering, 11" brakes, and the typical white spoker wheels and 31" Dick Cepeks. At one point it got wacked by another car, bending the frame and body, and while I got it fairly straight with help from some frame shops it was never quite right. I started on a next phase of build to install a 4.3 Chevy service crate motor I got a good deal on, and some other mods, but the frame problems bugged me, and I was a bit stuck on what I wanted to do to address that. Moves, job demands, raising my family, and my other side career in a blues band led me to set it aside, and it languished for many years. After seeing all the great frames and overall builds that folks have done on Pirate, I'm now back at it, and have planned out the design and started building.
Here's a summary of the "CJ3BL" build plan. The "L" in the CJ3BL build name is for "Long" as I plan a stretch, and also since my initials are "BL".
Frame: 2"x5"x0.120" stack construction, with 2"x5"x0.188" bumpers. 142" long bumper to bumper.
96" wheelbase (16" longer than CJ3B, 2.6 longer than YJ/CJ7.
2.5" YJ Springs, SUA
Chevy 4.3 V-6
T-18, Dana 18, Warn OD
Dana 44 Rear: Original housing with Summers Brothers Full Floater Axle. Currently 11" Drums- may change to disc.
Dana 44 Front: CJ Wide Track width, with Chevy small spindle/Ford Hub/Chevy Disc Brake/Ford Rotors
Currently have 33" BFG's on Weld forged wheels, but may move up to 35's.
Original/modified Grill, Hood, Fenders, Cowl. Back tub will be fabricated.
Cage, side bumpers will mount direct to frame rails, essentially as a buggy. Body panels will mount to frame/cage structure while keeping the overall look fairly traditional. I think I have it worked out pretty well on how I'll attempt do this.
I don't have a CAD program, and I use Illustrator for a lot for other stuff, so I laid out the design in Illustrator as 2D line drawings. I did the layout at 1:1 scale with giant fonts. I used separate layers for dimensions and major design elements so that I can turn on and off details as needed. I then shrink to print 8.5" x 11" sheets to work from.
I've been building for a few months and have the basic frame done. I've been taking pics as I go, and I think I now have posting figured out, so will start posting pics of the build and get caught up to doing it real time.
My grandpa bought it new in 53, my Dad owned it after Grandpa passed away. The engine eventually seized. It sat for a while, then I rebuilt it in high school with help from my Dad. In the late 70's /early 80's I swapped in a Pontiac Iron Duke 4, saginaw steering, 11" brakes, and the typical white spoker wheels and 31" Dick Cepeks. At one point it got wacked by another car, bending the frame and body, and while I got it fairly straight with help from some frame shops it was never quite right. I started on a next phase of build to install a 4.3 Chevy service crate motor I got a good deal on, and some other mods, but the frame problems bugged me, and I was a bit stuck on what I wanted to do to address that. Moves, job demands, raising my family, and my other side career in a blues band led me to set it aside, and it languished for many years. After seeing all the great frames and overall builds that folks have done on Pirate, I'm now back at it, and have planned out the design and started building.
Here's a summary of the "CJ3BL" build plan. The "L" in the CJ3BL build name is for "Long" as I plan a stretch, and also since my initials are "BL".
Frame: 2"x5"x0.120" stack construction, with 2"x5"x0.188" bumpers. 142" long bumper to bumper.
96" wheelbase (16" longer than CJ3B, 2.6 longer than YJ/CJ7.
2.5" YJ Springs, SUA
Chevy 4.3 V-6
T-18, Dana 18, Warn OD
Dana 44 Rear: Original housing with Summers Brothers Full Floater Axle. Currently 11" Drums- may change to disc.
Dana 44 Front: CJ Wide Track width, with Chevy small spindle/Ford Hub/Chevy Disc Brake/Ford Rotors
Currently have 33" BFG's on Weld forged wheels, but may move up to 35's.
Original/modified Grill, Hood, Fenders, Cowl. Back tub will be fabricated.
Cage, side bumpers will mount direct to frame rails, essentially as a buggy. Body panels will mount to frame/cage structure while keeping the overall look fairly traditional. I think I have it worked out pretty well on how I'll attempt do this.
I don't have a CAD program, and I use Illustrator for a lot for other stuff, so I laid out the design in Illustrator as 2D line drawings. I did the layout at 1:1 scale with giant fonts. I used separate layers for dimensions and major design elements so that I can turn on and off details as needed. I then shrink to print 8.5" x 11" sheets to work from.
I've been building for a few months and have the basic frame done. I've been taking pics as I go, and I think I now have posting figured out, so will start posting pics of the build and get caught up to doing it real time.