my one ton cj2a project

Well, I think I am far enough along that I will actually finish, so I thought I'd post up on the project. I spend most of my time researching on this site. It has been a great resource so far.

A little background...

I had a nice 48 CJ2A that I picked up in Seattle. 225 v6 oddfire, ford t18a, dana 18, d30/d44 on 35s. The motor had a bad miss (due to a hole in the #4 exhaust valve) and a few leaks here and there. It worked pretty well in the PNW where the trails tend to be tight and twisty. I could drive 2 hours to the trail, wheel all day and drive home. The jeep was a dd for about a year and a half. I really didn't like 2 things; the 80" wb and the carbed v6 and I was looking for an excuse to "fix" those issues. The clutch went out and I had my chance. So, here are a few pics of the jeep before tearing into it.

Snow Wheeling in the PNW




Last trip from PNW


And how it sat when I pulled it all apart. I don't know what I was thinking...



So, I sold the motor, axles, tires and wheels and a whole bunch of other parts to fund the build.

The specs are:
1994 Ford 5.0 from an F150 (looked for a HO mustang but couldn't find a reasonable one)
ford T18a
Dana 20
Chevy d60 front
14bolt rear
4.10s
39.5x15x16.5 tsls
16" Fox 2.0 airshocks on all 4 corners
3 link front, 4 link rear
104-106" wb

Some pictures...

The motor is out.


Axles gone too.


The 14 bolt cleaned, rebuilt, and upgraded to disk brakes. I mounted the tires and slid it under the jeep. I also put a tire up front for 106" wb.

 

The rear of the tires is just past the bumper. It is about 10-12" stretch in the rear.


Then, I slid a front tire into place to get a look at 106". Much better.


I spent a ton of time trying to get the drivetrain in. I think I had it in and out of the jeep 50 times, but in the end it was worth it.


There is about 3/4" clearance at the hood, 3/4" at the firewall, and 1/2" at the radiator.

I got the radiator in this past weekend and started on the 14 bolt truss and brackets. I hope to finish it in the next week or so...then on to the frame, and links...

 

maybe this should have been in the builders forum....

 

NIce

 

Almost like my project......except I didnt have the stones to cut as much as you did, so I used 37s, kept it as low as I could, and pushed each end out to make a wheelbase around 90.......ha!! 106 makes me jealous

 

my initial plan was to just relocate the spring hangers for a little stretch to 90 on the 36s, but one thing lead to another and he i am... We'll see if i make it to 106, but i am shooting for 104-106. I think what i do for steering we dictate the final wb.

 

That stretch will be interesting to see. When I restomod my M38, I want to move my front axle forward a bit. Maybe I'll learn something.

Looks awesome too!

 

Nice, I remembered seeing that for sale, and your pretty close to my neck of the woods.

 

yeah, it is only a 2 seater with the rear fuel cell so i was looking for something with a little more room. I also spent about 6 months convincing myself to cut the tub...

i am still learning the area. you can't be too far north though (i think)

 

Nice build. Keep the pics coming.

 

Looks great. Can't wait to see it you get it all to work out.

 

i managed to get a little more done. The rear axle brackets are all tacked in place. I bought some PVC and made a set of control arms too and once i was happy i cut the tube. This week I will be shooting to get the axle in, frame brackets tacked in, and I will hopefully check for clearance issues.

14 bolt brackets
Once I am sure they are in a good spot, I will plate and gusset them, but until I am sure they are just the plates.


lowers and shock tabs


links 2.0x0.250 DOM


lower and shock axle mounts. i will add gussets.


upper axle mounts


7" of upptravel


not quite on its own weight, but close. this is essentially ride height...maybe 1" to high.


from the side.



the front of the jeep will come up an inch or two b/c of the rake.

 

Nice work but iam in to more stock the better how much do u have invested in the build so far???

 

i sold the old axles, motor and a few other things to fund this. so far i am on budget. After the full hydro and a new tires and wheels, i will have 5k in the build.

it had a 225 v6, t18a, d18, d30, d44, locked with 5.38s before, so i had a bunch in it already.

 

Sounds good ill be waiting on more progress keep on jeepin

 

very nice. i thought about linking mine when i was in the prep stage, even drew up some designs for them and calculated them out on a link calculator. im interested to know if you used a link calculator and what the numbers were. or how you designed the setup.

 

yes, i used the link calculator.


it might be hard to read, but it is 80% AS at ride height, and it ranges from 60-100% through the travel. 0 roll axis and 26" roll center. the pinion angle changes by +-3 degrees for 6" up and 8" droop. i am running 16" shocks so i have a 1" buffer on each end.

 

very nice!

 

a few more updates. I decided I didn't like the rear shock mount across the cage, so I cut it out and started over. I built some hoops that came through the floor. My cage will still be tied to the frame, but I like this a little better.





Because I wanted the front axle pushed out a lot (12-14") I needed to address the front frame. I would only have 3" of uptravel in the front if it stayed with the bend.



Goodbye


I cut out the dip, sleeved the frame with some 1/4" tube, and welded it back together. I gained about 3.5", so I will now have about 6.5" of uptravel to use. You can kind of see it here. Just under the grill mount is the new tube. I will add a few fishplates to tie it all together. I was able to reuse the winch mount and stinger this way too.



I had to put the whole front end together to get the new grill mount in place. This picture is the final wb (100") and ride height. The jeep is 2" lower on 40s than it was sprung over on 36s. Plus I gained 20" of wb.


Front end shot.


cheers