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The Never Ending Tale Of A 74

Discussion in 'Builds and Fabricators Forum' started by shadetreetim, Mar 5, 2022.

  1. Mar 5, 2022
    shadetreetim

    shadetreetim Member 2022 Sponsor

    Riverside, Ca -...
    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2019
    Messages:
    199
    This was going to be the tale that never started about my 74. When I purchased the Jeep I only planned some minor mods. Not anything worthy of a thread by my way of thinking. But as the years pass, the work is starting to add up, and recently I’ve decided to do a couple of mods that may make this thread worthy. We’ll see. But before we discuss those, let’s start back at the beginning. It was a sunny day back in 2019.... or I guess we should start in 2016...

    In 2016, after buying a stock JK Sport, Lady Shadetree and I discovered we both enjoyed going out wheeling on BLM land. Some of our best friends got Jeeps too, and we all went together. At first she was apprehensive with all of it. Now Lady Shadetree points to every hill and says “let’s go up that one”. Over several years we slowly upgraded the JK with a locker in the front axle, 2” lift, 35’s, Winch, Lights, etc. We really enjoyed the JK, it worked well on the street and was capable in the dirt and rocks. Lady Shadetree would drive it to work with the top down sometimes.


    The problem with a JK is its big, heavy, and feels disconnected from the trail a bit, and it feels plastic. As fun as it was, I kept thinking about the simplicity of an earlier Jeep. I prefer old cars and trucks anyway, having had many hot rods and street rods over the years. The decision was made to sell the JK and find something older. Living in Southern California with its smog rules, I only considered anything pre-smog, ’75 or older. I eventually found my 74 CJ5 on Craigslist out in Yucca Valley. Exactly what I was looking for. The seller was 10 miles out of town, down a desolate desert dirt road. But the Jeep was exactly as pictured on the ad, and it was capable of a test drive. The Jeep had lived its whole life in the desert so it was pretty clean. Glad to see it already had a DUI Distributor installed. After a quick test drive, the seller and I built a couple of brackets to connect my tow bar to the frame. I was lucky he had some junk metal and a willingness to help me out with his tools as I didn’t have a plan B. I pulled the rear drive shaft and took off for home.


    The PO had told me what he knew was wrong, the transfer case leaks bad, suspension bushings bad, body mounts rotted out, gauges didn’t work, etc, so I put it on my driveway and got to work.

    First up, pull and reseal the transfer case. Good thing I had pulled the drive shaft to tow it as the transfer case was bone dry inside. The Dana 20 case was encrusted with years of crap. The Jeep lived down a dirt road and had been leaking forever it seemed. Looked like the shift seals were the worst culprits. It took longer to chisel and wire brush the debris off than it did to reseal the case. The Novak kit had everything I needed to reseal it. Reassembled with Right Stuff Sealant. While I had the transfer case out I installed a JB Custom Fabrications Twin Stick.


    As dry as the transfer case was, I wondered about the axles. Pulled the covers and resealed them, then filled with fresh fluid. Found a couple worn out u-bolts and replaced them too.

    We also needed to resolve the frozen parking brake. All the cables looked rusted up so I ordered all three. The e-brake assembly under the dash was frozen too, but a few days of dousing it with Kroil got it functional again. I ordered all new hardware for the brake assemblies at each wheel, front and rear, and replaced a couple of leaking wheel cylinders. Flushed and refilled the brake fluid.

    Ordered new tires for the stock rims. 32x10.5x15 Ironman MTs. I ran the same brand on my JK and was happy with how they performed. Ironman is a subsidiary of Cooper Tire. Pulled the shackles and replaced all bushings. Installed new shocks.


    All the body mounts were bad so I picked up a urethane set, then decided to add a 1” body lift at the same time. I cut out hockey pucks from some 1” thick Trex Composite Decking I had in the garage for a cheap and easy lift. All new anodized bolts and nylocks replaced all the old body bolts.

    Swapped all running, reverse, and dash lights for LED. Added a 3rd brake light above the rear bumper. Built a new harness to run to the back of the Jeep. The old harness had been cut and spliced over and over throughout the years. The Jeep came with a new Speedometer and I installed a new cable. But reading so much about the quality of Omix Speedo’s, I bought Autometer Water and Oil Pressure gauges to replace the stock ones. Installed a tach on the steering column. Added some switches on the left side of the dash for the new driving lights, interior lights, reverse lights, with a couple extra switches for future mods. Added a fuse block and relay block under the hood. Added LED strip lighting to the grille support bars for an underhood light. Switch is on the radiator support. Light is great, exactly where you need it. Replaced the cigarette lighter with a USB / voltmeter. Rewired and cleaned up behind the dash, removing the ammeter wiring while I was there.


    It had a 20 gallon Poly tank when I bought it. That tank hung down lower than the shackles. That’s not going to be good out on the trail. I pulled the tank and ordered a new 15 gallon metal tank and sending unit. Replaced all rubber fuel lines with new. Eventually, I’ll cut down the tank skid plate so it fits with the smaller tank.


    New cables to the heater and a new blower motor ensured we would have heat. A dude on a Jeep Facebook page had a used Bestop for sale. Every nut, bolt and bracket came with the top. He did a good job of measuring and taking pictures so I would know where to install everything.

    The rear crossmember was pretty beat up, so I cut off the part that extends past the frame and cut some angle iron to make a bumper to fit over it. I bolted it to the crossmember through the d-ring brackets.


    I wanted d-ring brackets on the front bumper for the tow bar to connect to. At first I planned on bolting two d-ring receiver hitch inserts on top of the frame rails, drilling a couple extra holes to mount them.


    But then I thought it may look better to integrate them with the bumper. I cut square holes in the bumper so they fit through and bolted to the frame behind the bumper. The bumper still looked ratty to me so I cut the ends off to narrow it, then threw a couple of lights on it. I wired a wiring harness plug behind the grill to utilize the stock tail lights when being towed. The tow bar has an extension harness that plugs into it to connect the lights for towing.


    The Jeep came with a rear seat that was thrashed. And the front drivers seat was lowered and moved forward for someone short. I had to rework the drivers seat bracket to get it where it was supposed to be. I found a CJ7 fold and tumble rear seat for $75 on Facebook and snatched it up. The new seat matches the front seats well. The Jeep also had a small aftermarket steering wheel on it. A new stock wheel was sourced and installed. In the second picture you can see the light from the LED strip lights I put on the underside of the roll cage. They work great for an interior light.

     
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  2. Mar 5, 2022
    shadetreetim

    shadetreetim Member 2022 Sponsor

    Riverside, Ca -...
    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2019
    Messages:
    199
    Finally, it was time to drive it with all the changes made. With a new fuel sending unit, new wiring, and the new Speedo, I expected the fuel gauge to work. It didn’t. With the fuel sending unit so hard to get to I put off messing with it, figuring I could track mileage and estimate fuel. It was a little squirrely driving it around town. Part of it was just me getting used to it. Part of it was camber. Got it on the Interstate and ran 60 MPH. I got back on side roads as quick as possible.


    Now that we have driven it a bit, the water pump was weaping so I enlisted my granddaughter to help replace it.


    What I was really looking forward to was to take it out for some fun in the desert with our friends. Headed to the annual Thanksgiving Poker Run at Havasu Landing. The CJ5 is a lot rougher ride than the JK. A lot rougher. BUT, it is also a lot more fun. Easier to see out of, narrower, shorter, lighter, open-er. Exactly what I expected. The Poker Run wasn’t much of a test of 4WD as it was mostly fire roads or well maintained trails. Still, it was a good shakedown cruise. I kept up with the Samurai but the buggy left us both behind.


    I came home wanting to replace the carburetor. The old stock carb was worn out and wasn’t running as smooth as I wanted it to, and the new exhaust donut I had put in was leaking. I decided to put a MC 2150 on it, swapping to a header and 2 barrel manifold at the same time. I replaced the leaking valve cover gasket too. We had a few weeks to get it done as our next trip wasn’t until middle of January.


    Now we were ready for our annual winter trip to Anza Borrego with a bunch of Jeep friends. This would be a better test than the Poker Run. The new carb, and its electric choke, made the Jeep run better. The new header and muffler made it sound better. My only concern was the exhaust now ended with a turn down right in front of the rear axle. I wondered if I would be sniffing exhaust fumes too much. Turns out I don’t even notice the exhaust. What we did miss was the front locker. And the spare tire on the side was dragging on the side of the trail in one spot. We learned a lot about the Jeep on that trip. My granddaughter came with us. She loves going wheeling.


    I had the oldest Jeep in our group. Everyone wanted to watch the "old Jeep" make it through the trails. Was surprised how much articulation we had with the stock springs. With two wheels off the ground and open diffs we relied on a friend standing on the back bumper to get through this one part. Very happy overall with the Jeep. Always thinking about what to do next. As may be obvious from the pics, I'm a function over fashion person. The JK may have been better suited for interstate runs, but so far I'm happy with the trade off to have something this cool (in my head its cool anyway). I can't help smiling with the windshield folded down and a trail to explore.

    To be continued...
     
  3. Mar 5, 2022
    Fireball

    Fireball Well-Known Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Pullman, WA
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    Feb 9, 2018
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    5,626
    Thanks for posting this info. I've always loved your Jeep when you've posted excursion pictures in the past. I love that it still looks as stock as it does.
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2022
  4. Mar 5, 2022
    shadetreetim

    shadetreetim Member 2022 Sponsor

    Riverside, Ca -...
    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2019
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    199
    Thanks Fireball, that means a lot.

    Out in the desert there’s not a lot of water to consider. But we do occasionally find some. The 11” brakes on my ’74 were in great shape. But I thought about how drums performed in water and convinced myself I should do a disc brake upgrade on the front axle. It didn’t take much convincing. I started doing research and settled on Brennan’s Garage Samurai Brake Conversion. Ordered all the parts and got started. It was a simple swap, but the stock rims hit the calipers. I solved it by installing 1” spacers on all corners.


    After the experience with the spare dragging the trail, I decided to put the spare on the rear. I found an old spare tire carrier on fleaBay. It didn’t have any mounting brackets and was slightly taco’d in the middle, but the price was right. After I got it I sat it on the ground with the bow leaving the center high, then drove the Jeep over it to flatten it out. Time to build some brackets. Removing the side bracket left multiple holes in the body; I welded them up and put a thin layer of bondo over them. Ordered some color matching spray paint. The new paint matches pretty well if the old paint still had a shine, but a little dirt will match it right up.


    Went to a local car meet in the Jeep while building the bracket. Always fun when the shiny paint car guys come over to check out the Jeep. I didn't even wash it.



    On all the trips with the JK and now the CJ5, we camped out of our camper van, and towed the Jeep. In Anza Borrego we were setting around the campfire one night talking about trailers. I had been thinking about a trailer just in case we broke the Jeep and couldn’t tow it home. One of the guys mentioned a toy hauler, which got me to thinking. Which led to us buying a 25’ toy hauler that the CJ5 would fit into. We picked up the trailer and the next day went to Anza Borrego again with another group of people. They were a side by side group and we were the only Jeep there. Those side by sides kept running off and leaving us. The normal group I go with wouldn’t have done that. Our CJ5 rode too harsh in the rough areas to maintain the speed they did. I tried, but we were getting thrown around too much We had a general idea where they were headed so we just kept going. Before we reached the rendezvous spot, we ran out of gas. I guess my “track the mileage” idea didn’t work to well. Fortunately some fellow Jeepers let us buy the contents of their five gallon can. I should have fixed that gauge.


    Soon after we get back from that trip, Covid hit the news. All of our camping and normal events had been suspended. Lady Shadetree and I were going stir crazy. We had to get out of the house and do something in the Jeep. So we started going out on the weekends just exploring the secondary roads in our area. Areas we would drive past and ignore now became pretty important therapy. Once again the Jeep entertains us. A local Mexican restaurant we really liked had takeout, and many people would eat at their cars in the parking lot, leaning over into the back of their SUV's. I thought I could improve on that. We drove the Jeep over, brought a table and chairs, and enjoyed a meal out for the first time in months.


    The fuel gauge problem was getting old. After testing, I ordered the other brand available in sending units and swapped it out. Now with the sending unit sending the correct ohms, I realized the “new” Speedo unit had a bad fuel gauge too. When I installed it, I grounded the speedo assembly so I knew it wasn’t that. I bought an Autometer fuel gauge and added it to the dash. At this point I’m only using the speedo for a speedo, which makes me wonder why I don’t do something different there too. That will have to be another project someday.

    One thing that bugs me is the Jeep seems to remember which way I turned last. It leans whichever way it wants and keeps leaning until I turn the other way, or lift the fender to even it out. It doesn’t always lean to the left or to the right. It just leans. Not a fan of these narrow springs. Started looking at a YJ Spring swap, but not ready to do that yet. Pulled the shackles off and added UMHW washers and tape between the shackle and the spring pack bushing. It seemed to help a little bit. I figure the springs were binding a little, which kept them from returning to normal. Still, this is a future project for sure.


    The yellow lights I put on the front bumper don’t put off that much light. I started exploring other options. What I’m trying to avoid is a big honkin LED light bar across the front of the Jeep. I settled on some recessed LEDs in the front bumper.


    While running some errands one weekend, I stopped to admire the new jerry can and hi lift jack I recently added. I call this the "before" picture.

    Thoroughly enjoying the beautiful day and getting out in the Jeep, when, a couple miles from home I started noticing a creaking coming from the drivers side rear tire. Suspecting the spacer had come loose, I thought I could limp it the last mile home. Turns out I couldn't, the tire fell off completely with the spacer still attached to it. Thankfully, a kid in a TJ saw it happen and chased my loose tire as it rolled down the street.

    When I installed the spacers, I didn’t use the blue locktite as suggested. Totally my fault. I’m an idiot. Good thing I have AAA. Should have called AAA before the tire fell off. The rear fender is taco’d and the brake drum has a flat spot where it dragged down the street. Getting it home, I replaced the flat spot drum with one of the drums I took off the front, reinstalled the spacer with new lug nuts, and got it back on four wheels. Pulled the other wheels off and used locktite on them too this time. Then I started beating out the fender the best I could.


    Stay tuned for more foolish mad cappery...
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2022
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  5. Mar 5, 2022
    shadetreetim

    shadetreetim Member 2022 Sponsor

    Riverside, Ca -...
    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2019
    Messages:
    199
    Thanksgiving 2020 and another Poker Run at Havasu Landing. We had a good time and the Jeep performed well.


    I came home from this trip knowing it was time to add a locker. Our next trip planned was going to include some rock crawling. My JK had a limited slip in the rear so I added a lunchbox locker to the front. It worked well so I figured I would just do the same thing to the CJ.


    As I was installing the locker I realized my front driveshaft is bowed. It didn’t use to look like that. Time for a Tom Wood upgrade. The driveshaft arrived just before our annual January Jeep trip, which this time we were going to Johnson Valley instead of Anza Borrego. I brought the new drive shaft with me and for some reason my buddies installed it for me. Easiest upgrade I’ve done. Good job boys.


    Johnson Valley is pretty cool. We were a couple of miles from where they run King of the Hammers. For every trail, there’s another trail with varying degrees of difficulty going the same way. Since I only run 32’s the leader of the run suggested I avoid the canyon they were going into. I parked and watched. Later in the day we ran some trails that I figured was as hard as the morning one I skipped.

    The next day they ran the trail I had skipped the day before and this time I followed them through. Everybody gathered to watch my little Jeep make it. Unfortunately none of those people could be bothered to take pictures. The Jeep did great except when off angle. With the nose high in the air, it would sputter and die. It took three tries to get over the steepest part just because it would die each time. The final time I needed 3 feet to keep it revving, braking and feathering the clutch to get over. Good thing I know how to heel and toe, but that wasn’t fun. Okay, it actually was a blast, but it would have been even better if I could have made it over on the first try.


    The pic of the black JK climbing the rock wall is where I died.


    Coming out of the canyon are two large boulders you have to straddle like this JK is. My rockers got banged up going over it but I didn't get stuck.


    On another section of trail, with two large boulders to cross, the spotter suggested I try to keep the driver’s side low and not try to straddle both at the same time. We go to the point the rear fender was laying on the rock, I just kept moving forward, scraping the fender. Anyway, back at camp that night everyone was expressing their amazement at how well I did.


    I even got to pull someone off a rock


    The damage I did to the rockers meant I needed to build some sliders. I picked up some thick aluminum angle to build them out of.


    Before Johnson Valley's trip I was thinking about being visible on dusty trails. I decided to add some bright yellow LEDs front and rear to make myself more visible in the dust.


    I also wanted to move the compressor under the hood. Used some aluminum strap to build the brackets.


    After these trips and a couple others my daughters family decided to move to Texas, taking our grandkids. Now we love seeing our grandkids and are not very happy with them so far away. I am originally from Oklahoma and Lady Shadetree loves it there, so we started thinking about moving. To sell our current house for maximum value I needed to finish some projects around here. So for the past year that's been my project. Now as the home projects are drawing to a close I have begun planning my next Jeep project. At Christmas we towed the toy hauler and the Jeep to my sisters house in Oklahoma. Now all I can do is plan.

    I picked up a Holley Sniper BBD EFI kit for the Jeep. After thinking about the fuel pump, I went ahead and ordered the in tank Holley pump. So I have that install to do when I get to Oklahoma and rejoin the Jeep.


    I also picked up a Bluetooth head unit, amp and speakers to add to the Jeep. We've been using a JBL Bluetooth speaker, but the problem with it is the USB cord won't charge it enough while driving the Jeep. I always have to remember to plug it in when I get home if I want it to work next time out.

    And I have started doing the research to swap to YJ Old Man Emu springs. Looks like the HDs give you about 2.5" of lift. I don't really want to be any taller, it's hard enough for Lady Shadetree and I to get in now, and we're not getting any younger. If I put these springs on I'll take the 1" body lift and 1" shackle lift off. SHould be pretty close. Now the decision is, buy? or build?

    Rocky Road gets some horrible reviews. With the current supply chain issues how long would it take them to ship the kit? Their website isn't very clear about what's even in the kit. I've thought about just buying aftermarket YJ spring hangers / shackles and start swapping. Doesn't look like that big of a deal. Several places have the ARB CS036R Old Man Emu springs themselves for $135 a piece. Which from what I've read is used on the front and rear. I may just buy the springs now and wait until I'm in Oklahoma to decide on the kit for brackets. It's hard to buy this stuff and wait.
     
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2022
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  6. Mar 10, 2022
    shadetreetim

    shadetreetim Member 2022 Sponsor

    Riverside, Ca -...
    Joined:
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    I pulled the trigger and ordered the Old Man Emu HD springs for the project, so there's no turning back now. Shipping them directly to Oklahoma so I won't be able to gaze at them and fondle them. This remote gathering of parts sucks. I need to get done with my house here and sell it.

    Doing the research for the spring hangers, shackles, spring plates, etc, it is easy to add everything up and realize the Rocky Road kit is reasonably priced. Buying separate parts from multiple vendors is anywhere from a couple hundred less than the RR kit to several hundreds more than the RR kit, depending if I upgrade parts or not. The basic RR kit doesn't look like it comes with new u-bolts or bushings.

    The RR kit adds an inch of lift because of the way the brackets mount. If I cut off the old brackets and welded on new stock (or even aftermarket) YJ brackets I wouldn't get that extra inch of lift. I don't want the extra inch of lift, so I'm leaning towards the YJ bracket approach. Reading through the threads where the RR kit has been used, it doesn't seem like it would be that much extra work to do the stock weld on ones.

    Wondering if I need to drop the transfer case with this lift? Looks like the drop kit is just spacers to lower the transfer case a little. After installation I 'll have to look at my driveshaft angles and decide. Would be easy enough to build some spacers to drop it.

    Looking at shocks, the Rocky Road Long Travel ones look like an easy solution. Anyone use these shocks in their install? Is there a better solution out there? Just trying to make good decisions and get stuff ordered so there will be a pile of parts to install when I get there.
     
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  7. Mar 10, 2022
    scott milliner

    scott milliner Master Fabricator

    Seattle Wa.
    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2002
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    2,361
    I use their 3.5" lift springs. (I got the heavy-duty springs.) I'm very happy with them. You will love the soft ride. And as you can see it isn't that high or unstable.

    [​IMG]
     
  8. Mar 10, 2022
    shadetreetim

    shadetreetim Member 2022 Sponsor

    Riverside, Ca -...
    Joined:
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    That looks real good Scott. Are those 33's? If I remember from other post you've made, you used the Rocky Road kit and their shocks. Today I went ahead and ordered the YJ mounts to weld in, so mine will set an inch lower than yours, not counting tire size. If I remember correctly you had the front and rear shocks mounted in each others locations and had them bottom out? With them in the correct orientation, do you think they would still work if you were an inch shorter? Or would they be too long? Did you run a sway bar? Sorry for all the questions, but just trying to get everything sorted.
     
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  9. Mar 14, 2022
    shadetreetim

    shadetreetim Member 2022 Sponsor

    Riverside, Ca -...
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    My new springs have arrived in Oklahoma today. My sister opened the package to confirm the shipment and took some pictures for me. She said 3 numbers on the springs matched and 1 didn't. After she took more pictures I realized the different numbers probably indicate the build date, as they are all CS036R Springs. The 1 spring has the number 10AC21 on it, while the other 3 have 9H21 on them. Looking at the white sticker it was built in 10/2021. Regardless, they sure are purty. One of the springs has a Minus designation, while the other 3 have a Plus. I am thinking the 1 Minus spring should be installed on the passenger rear.


    Ordered the Rocky Road long travel shocks and an Addco sway bar today to finish up the purchases. The spring mounting brackets I ordered last week are backordered. Allegedly the order will be filled on March 21st by the manufacturer. So within a couple more weeks I should have all the parts in Oklahoma and ready for install. With the exception of my favorite mechanic, me, still stuck in California for a few more months. Need to get started, if no other reason than to stop the voices in my head debating other possibilities. :rofl:

    Will wait to order any brake lines until I have installed the springs. When I installed the front disc kit I upgraded those brake lines and they are a little longer than they needed to be with the 1" shackle lift on there now, I am betting they will work just fine. We'll see when I test the articulation.
     
  10. Mar 15, 2022
    txtoller

    txtoller Member 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Weatherford, TX
    Joined:
    May 28, 2014
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    971
    You will like the RR set up. I put it on my '69 6 and was very impressed with the ride and articulation!
     
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  11. Mar 22, 2022
    shadetreetim

    shadetreetim Member 2022 Sponsor

    Riverside, Ca -...
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    In my quest to build a better driving CJ5, I went ahead and ordered an Addco Sway Bar for the project. I already had a set of YJ sway bar disconnects that will "probably" work. At least I will start by trying to use them.

    My sister keeps receiving orders I've shipped to her house as I collect parts. By the time I get back there I'm going to have a pretty big project waiting on me. So far I've tried to keep the Jeep a driver and not have it down for more than a few days with each upgrade I've done. Now with the EFI and Spring upgrades it would be easier to pull the tank to put the in-tank pump in, and get the tank out of the way to weld in the spring hangers. So these upgrades might put the Jeep out of commission for a few weeks. Trying to think through every problem before hand and have the parts already on hand to solve it. The problem is, I've joined an Oklahoma Jeepers Facebook page and have seen a bunch of trails I want to go explore. Guess that will be my incentive to get the project done as quickly as possible. Fortunately it looks like I have only a few more weeks work on my California house before I list it on the market. Then, adios California and Hello Oklahoma, and then it's time for the Jeep.

    When I originally put the Jeep together I installed the new speedo that came with the Jeep. Also installed a new speedo cable. It worked great... until the day that it didn't. The needle started jumping around and eventually quit working altogether. I have been wanting to 86 the Omix Speedo, already don't use the temp and fuel gauges. So I started looking for a replacement speedo of better quality. My searching kept leading me back to Speedhut. What I would prefer would have been the Speedhut Speedo without the temp and fuel gauges since I've already installed Autometer gauges in the Jeep. But Speedhut kept calling my name. And they currently have them on sale. I started thinking with all the inflation lately I shouldn't wait, so I pulled the trigger tonight and ordered one. No more speedometer cable worries. GPS baby.


    I had replaced the ammeter with a water temp gauge, so I'll get a voltmeter to put in that hole. I had cut a third gauge into the dash for a fuel gauge, but I think the Bluetooth head unit I plan on installing would cover the hole when I pull the gauge out.


    Still waiting for confirmation my Rocky Road long travel shocks are getting shipped. Perhaps it's a good thing I'm not installing yet. Give them a chance to fill the order.
     
  12. Apr 3, 2022
    shadetreetim

    shadetreetim Member 2022 Sponsor

    Riverside, Ca -...
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    Rocky Road reached out to me about the long travel shocks. They wanted the measurements from eyelet to eyelet. Unfortunately, not having the springs installed yet, I don't have those measurements. They let me keep the order pending, but it may be several months before I have the springs installed. I had hoped to have the shocks sitting there waiting when I installed the springs, but it makes more sense to have them send the correct length for my application.

    As all I can do is plan and buy at this stage, I've been trying to research the exact dimensions for spring mount locations with the YJ springs. The shackle end seems pretty easy, but I was specifically looking for the fixed end to center pin, as it will ultimately determine the axle location. Not having my Jeep here to measure on, all I can do is theorize and try to find the elusive dimensions. The RR kit install threads don't help because they reference the RR hangers in relation to stock hangers. What I'm concerned with is a few install threads where the axles look like they are slightly closer to the center of the vehicle after the install. The rear axle isn't centered in the opening and the front axle looks too close to the back of the fender opening as well. May be an optical illusion in the pics I've looked at.

    I found this pic which gives the dimensions for a YJ spring. The numbers seem to fall in line with many of the YJ swap threads I've read.


    Drawing an imaginary line through the centering pin up through the frame, and measuring 22-1/2" from there, it seems I could get the fixed end tacked into place pretty quickly. It also would give me a starting point to test the shackle angle for the shackle end of the spring.

    Also been reading about boxing or strapping the frame at the new spring perch locations. Really like the way Howard Eisenhauer boxed his frame. Not sure I can build anything as elegant looking as his braces, but, they can certainly be my inspiration. Image shamelessly borrowed from his post.

     
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  13. Apr 4, 2022
    scott milliner

    scott milliner Master Fabricator

    Seattle Wa.
    Joined:
    Dec 17, 2002
    Messages:
    2,361
    Keep in mind that the spring will settle over time.
     
  14. Jul 6, 2022
    shadetreetim

    shadetreetim Member 2022 Sponsor

    Riverside, Ca -...
    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2019
    Messages:
    199
    Well as the months have passed I keep pondering on the best course of action for the suspension. On the one hand, I like the challenge of building my own stuff. On the other hand, Rocky Road's YJ Kit is bolt on and done. As I added up all the things for the conversion I needed to buy anyway, exploring many different ways to do it, the cost isn't that much different. What it comes down to is time to install. So after all the agonizing, I finally ordered the RR Kit this afternoon. I feel like my Jeep won't be torn apart as long with this kit already engineered for my application. There are many trails I have scoped out in Oklahoma and I don't want to put off exploring them, and I want to get the YJ springs on before I do. Well, Springs, Sway Bar with Disconnects, Sniper EFI, Speedhut Speedo, all vie for priority in my thoughts and plans. The Bluetooth Audio can wait until whenever. I can't wait to get started.
     
    Joe Dokes, Ol Fogie, Jw60 and 2 others like this.
  15. Jul 7, 2022
    Muzikp

    Muzikp Active Member

    Sacramento Ca.
    Joined:
    Sep 27, 2016
    Messages:
    1,450
    Love this Jeep, it looks great.

    I've heard from a few others here that aluminum rock sliders are "sticky" on the rocks. No experience myself but I can see how that would be the case, rocks could dig into the soft aluminum whereas steel would slide over the rock easier :shrug:
     
    shadetreetim likes this.
  16. Jul 7, 2022
    shadetreetim

    shadetreetim Member 2022 Sponsor

    Riverside, Ca -...
    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2019
    Messages:
    199
    That's a good point. Hadn't thought about that. Where I'm going we'll see less rocks than the desert has I'm thinking. Hopefully they'll be fine.
     
    Joe Dokes, melvinm and Muzikp like this.
  17. Jul 8, 2022
    Norcal69

    Norcal69 Out of the box thinker 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Northern California
    Joined:
    Sep 6, 2014
    Messages:
    3,549
    Aluminum sliders or steps look really nice! The steel sliders that I sell are a copy of the original aluminum set I had built.
    The aluminum, even at .250 wall thickness tube was a disaster in the rocks. Once you got down on the slider it would begin to peel, roll up, mushroom and skid rather than slide. It was a complete 50 shades of disaster. The best way to describe it is riding a bicycle on pavement then veering off into the sand.
    Keep in mind I'm talking about the never ending rock obstacles of the Rubicon, your local terrain should be more forgiving!
     
  18. Jul 10, 2022
    3b a runnin

    3b a runnin Active Member 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    virginia
    Joined:
    Jan 11, 2015
    Messages:
    1,290
    Definitely worthy of a build thread.
    Don't know how, but I had totally missed this entire thread.
    You're gonna have a great jeep when you get all these mods finished.
     
    shadetreetim likes this.
  19. Feb 19, 2023
    shadetreetim

    shadetreetim Member 2022 Sponsor

    Riverside, Ca -...
    Joined:
    Oct 2, 2019
    Messages:
    199
    I can't believe it's the middle of February already. When we were planning on moving to Oklahoma, Lady Shadetree and I had a vision of what we wanted. Several acres, move in ready home with lots of trees around it, and a nice shop for me to play in. Well after scouring the market in the areas we were interested in, concessions had to be made. Here's what we eventually bought.

    But this view out the back was what sold us. Our property goes back to the first set of trees.

    Very few trees. No shop. A 10x20 shed to store my tools in. A 18x30 carport with storage in the front 10 feet to store the requisite zero turn mower in. The home was move in ready, but that didn't stop us from deciding to make changes anyway. Since October of last year every spare moment has been used making upgrades in and around the home. And I haven't even started on the shop I want to build. Meanwhile, we are miles outside of town and I want the Jeep to be more highway friendly before I drive it consistently. The highway in front of my home is narrow and has ditches either side. When I pull out and immediately need to run 60-65 it gives me no time to get used to the Jeeps unique wandering personality. It usually takes a few miles for my muscles to unclench and allow myself to sail the tuna boat smoothly.

    Meanwhile, the pile of parts that should make it drive better has been silently mocking me. Now I'm thinking to put off building the shop and start working on the Jeep instead. I don't think the Rocky Road kit will be that hard to do, even though I'll be in the carport working on gravel. While I have it all apart, I might as well install the EFI kit. So I've convinced myself to change the order of projects around.

    With my new outlook on life, I was excited to find a cool way to do the bluetooth setup. The FC40 crowd has this cool bluetooth music switch that I found. It's much more subtle than the bluetooth head unit I had purchased before. I ordered one in the 100W configuration. It is small and intuitively easy to adjust volume.

    Lately we've been experiencing 2 degree weather, ice storms, snow days, freezing sleet and everything else Oklahoma weather throws at you. The past 32 years in SoCal I had forgotten some of this. As we approach spring all we'll have to worry about is thunderstorms and tornadoes. Sounds like a good time to start a project without a shop...
     
    Joe Dokes, Stakebed, Fireball and 3 others like this.
  20. Mar 26, 2023
    dvader

    dvader Member

    Northern Nevada
    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2006
    Messages:
    224
    Great story! What is the make and model of the toy box you found that will carry your '74? Thanks!
     
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