new to the jeep thing

the title says it all
anyways im drag racer/ street machine guy building a 86 cj ( i think a 4" lift with 1-1/2" shackles ) for my buddy.
any web sites / other forums for info or any one that has one of these swaps in metro detroit that has a truck i can look at would be greatly appreaciated
im putting a sbc backed by a sm465 / dana 300, he has the novak t-case adapter.
my question is does any one make a skid plate that will clear the belly of the trans. or do i need to cut and re-box the factory skid plate.
also will the novak trans mount position line up with the factory trans mount position if i modify the skid plate. im want to keep the drive shaft angles to a minimum also if possible.

how about header recomendations, does any one know of a fuel sending unit with a 3/8 feed line. for a 15 gal steel tank. thanks gplarryv@aol.com

 

Welcome from GA... you have a lot of folks up that way... you could always make your own skid plate...

 

I don't make make/fab very well so I'm not much help there, but just wanted to say welcome. Someone here should be albe to help with suggestions.

 

thanks guys
are there any forums that you know of that ar emore for the cj7
larry

 

Whether or not you're doing it to a CJ7 or a CJ5, the people who know are on all sites.

cjoffroad.com

jeepforum.com

earlycj5.com

sierrajeep.com

bustedjeep.com

You can also go to google and type in Jeep Tech articles and find a whole list of useful sites.

 

www.greatlakes4x4.com
www.michiganjeepers.com

and the most teq will www.pirate4x4.com

 

thanks again larry

 

Welcome to the Jeeping world,,,, remember, A Jeep is a hole in the ground where you throw money.

Depending on how things go together it may be as simple as drilling new mounting holes for the trans mount in the skid plate or new holes in the frame, skid plate, or both to move it to the rear, or it may be as hard as building one from scratch. With these swaps, sometimes you dont know till it's all mocked up and you can take measurements, which is what I recomend. Install it all with the TC supported on jackstands or a jack and take a few good measurements. Be sure to account for the front dtiveshaft clearing the skidplate during range of motion as the suspension travel, sometimes it will catch on the front edge. I had to remove a section for clearance just from installing new lift springs.