Project 5.0 progress

Wait I thought you sold the 5 to work on a commando?

 

Sammy,
you must be thinking of someone elses build.

However,,,,,,,,,,,,,
now that you mention it,,, I DO know where theres a '68 Commando sitting in a farmers yard that might be aquired for a project,,, wife needs a Jeep,,,,,,,

I am keeping the CJ-5

 

OK, got a new cam so here are some updates on the CJ.

Here are the comparisons between the stock Dana 300 and the STaK 3 speed Mini-Monsterbox



Here are the shots of it installed.




As you can see I didnt get to install it completely flat, if I had, the front driveshaft would have made contact with the bellhousing and starter with only 3 inches of suspension travel.

Here are the shafts, the rear already had been modified with the double-joint but is now a whopping 16.5 inches long The front is from a Cherokee XJ that was shortened to 31 inches. The shop owner here (Fleet Pride) gave me a deal, charging only 80$ each for shortening & balancing.


NOW,,, all I have to do is,,,,,
install the shafts,
install/modify the "universal" shifter & linkages,
fabricate trans/transfer case support
fabricate skid plate,
re-install exhatst,
patch hole in the trans tunnel/floorboard,
fabricate shifter boots,,,,,,,,

have I forgotten anything else,,,, probably!

Later,
John

 

Jim,
for me "Budget" means spending wisely, not necessarily spending the least ammount. The STaK box was 800$ more than the parts to rebuild a super heavy-duty D-300, but fractoring in the headaches it saved me, as well as time consumed, I am happy with the choice. Plus, the extra low gear gives me a whole new dimension in off-road preformance.

 

WOW,,,,, now I dont feel so bad.

 

I know where you were going with it,,,I am just overly-sensitive I guess,,,,,, must come from the wife looking at the credit card statements

 

OK,
I have 4 days off this weekend (well,,,3 actually, promised the wife we'd go to the wine festival one day) to work on the Jeep.

Wish me luck!

I'll give updates later on.

9-5 OK,,,, UPDATE: Was crawling around under the Jeep checking out how I want to do the skidplate and due to the size of the case I need to re-do the exhaust on the passenger side,, gotta do that first since I want to make sure the skid is done right,,,,

Good news is I got a 30" X 38" X 1/4" plate for the project for 45$.

 

Well, the long weekend didnt work out as plannad (do they ever?), but work has been steadily progressing. I am now almost finished with the skid-plate, here are some shots of getting it mocked-up and tacked together.


The TC Support

The Trans and TC supports/skids mocked up








Final welds finished, ready for clean-up and paint, which wont be happening today because it has been constantly raining.

It took 20 seperate pieces to form it, I didnt gain as much ground clearance as I'd hoped, but this plate will definately do it's job.



The welds dont look too good (but they are strong) so I'll probably grind them flat before installing it.

 

Nice fab work . . . Nothings going through that !!!

 

Looks good John, you will definitly be on the road before I even get to start assembling my Jeepster. Grinding the welds smooth will make that really look good under the Jeep.

 

Thanks guys,,,
I gave up on grinding the welds, it's there to interfere with rock contact so I decided pretty was an un-necessary option (plus,,,Im getting tired of not being able to take this thing out on the trails). So I just finished applying the 3rd coat of paint and it will be getting bolted in tomorrow after work.

I also got the shifter linkage in, it needs some very minor tweeking but is pretty much good to go.

So, all thats left following that is getting the seats back in and patching the holes in the floorboard, re-routing the passenger side exhaust to clear the new case and then getting some shift boots in to keep the road & trail crud out of the inside.


Honestly,,,, it never ends! Gotta love a Jeep!!

 

I was out of town this past weekend, but I will be pulling out the skid this week sometime,,, 3 stripped holes in the frame (2 pass side, 1 drivers) I need to repair,,, figure I'll just drill them out & weld in 3/8th nuts. Everything else looks & fits nicely though, so maybe while it's out I'll go ahead and grind down the welds.

Then I need to re-rout the passengers side exhaust and squeeze it past the frame-rail and T-case.

 

OK,
got the nuts welded into the frame and the skid plate & TC support installed, as well as the shifter installed and linkages hooked up & working.
Took it for a test drive and played with the various gearing options and WOW,,, this T-case is an animal!!! I put it in super low (5.22:1) rear wheel drive and backed the rear tires up to some big concrete blocks, eased off the clutch and let it do it's thing,,, just sat there rolling the tires against the blocks hunting for traction,,, if the front had been engaged it would have climbed them without even touching the throttle,,, will be nice to actually crawl without having to keep the rev's up in order to keep it from stalling.

Here are some views of the skid,








view from the front isnt so good,



And heres the shifter & linkage,,, just need to patch up the big a** hole in the floor now



Now,, after the test drive I had 2 flat tires the following morning, and I didnt even take it off-road. Seems that while the build was underway the sidewalls dryrotted/cracked and now some small holes that were OK before are now causing leaks, so now I have to get new tires, I just dont trust my wifes or my own safety to these ones even if they could be patched. So, give me any advice or experiences with the tires I am considering, which are:

BFG KM-2's (35x12.5x15)

Yokohama Geolander MT (35x12.5x15)

Goodyear MT/R (old style, no kevlar) (35x12.5x15)

Big-0 Big Foot XT (35x12.5x15)

Interco TSL Radial (36x12.5x15

Interco IROK Bias (36x13.5x15) tire dealer here keeps telling me the bias will be undrivable on the road and should be for trail only.

There are some less expensive tires out there like the Mud King, but I have had bad experiences with tires with only 2 ply sidewalls (Big-O is 2 ply)

Also,,, has anyone heard how the new MT/R's with kevlar preform off-road/in the rocks with it's funky asymetrical and less agressive tread pattern. That tread looks kinda wimpy and more like AT than MT to me.
Well,,, gonna patch the floor this weekend and get the shifter boots ordered.
Then once the new shoes go on IT'S PLAY TIME,,,,,,,, the shackle reversal is going to have to wait a while, this things been down too long and I wnat to get it out on the trails

See ya out there.on me!