[rkscout]

Then and Now, an 800 build

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.

 

[slipscomb]

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

 

[rkscout]

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.

 

[rkscout]

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

 

[rkscout]

A little preview to come.

 

[rkscout]

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

 

[ogrescout]

nice lookin 800 wish i still had mine

 

[rkscout]

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.

 

[Harvester of Sorrow]

Tits...

 

[rkscout]

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.

 

[ogrescout]

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

 

[rkscout]

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.

 

[rkscout]

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.

 

[rkscout]

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.

 

[rkscout]

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.

 

[rkscout]

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.

 

[rkscout]

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.

 

[rkscout]

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.

 

[rkscout]

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.

 

[rkscout]

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.